history of chords

The discussions of this page are centered around the how our present system of harmony historically evolved and how it is used the various styles of American music. The ideas of this page run parallel to the chords page, where the discussion is dedicated to a more detailed account of the mechanics of various chordal colors and how they are constructed.

Theoretically, where do the chords come from that we use to create the American sounds? The vast array of harmonic colors we enjoy today are the result of the development and implimentation of the tuning system known as equal temperament. Prior to the development of this musical system in the 1500's and it's gradual emergence to prominence during the 17th and 18th centuries, there was not a codified system of harmony as we enjoy today. Early harmony, prior to equal temperament, was for the most part created by voices singing different melodic lines together, the composers writing consonant, easily sung intervals within one tonal center. Pitches combined together where mainly the perfect intervals, with the early use of thirds accredited to the English as far back as the 14th century (fn). Chords were also produced on early string instruments, such as the lute, the predecessor of our modern guitar, both of which enjoy the full benefits of equal temper tuning.

Thinking 1600's times, with the emergence of a scientific approach to understanding nature, the evolving ability to measure pitch and to build instruments that could consistently reproduce pitches of consistent tuning, we find the emergence of the equal tempered system, a system of tuning by which the octave is divided into 12 equal parts. And although nearly all of our present day instruments follow these equal tempered principles, there is one which possibly best represents the full potential of equal temper. Any ideas on which modern day instrument this is? Here is a picture representing part of this wonderful instrument and the division of the octave into 12 "equally tempered" parts. Example 1.

Look familiar? It's predecessor? The modern day piano is perhaps the best representative of the system of equal temper that began to evolve back as early as the 1500's. What is basically contained within the piano are the older church modes, tempered so as to be able to coexist within one another simultaneously within one instrument over the range of 7 octaves. What scale / mode is created if we play the white keys of a well tuned piano from C up to C? D up to D? E up to E etc.? Any ideas? These scales are the modern day representation of the ancient church modes. Here is a chart of the "modern" modes contained within a well tuned piano. Example 2.

If the pitches are all the same, then why do they sound different? Any guesses? Right, it is all in the placement of the half steps, between the pitches where there is no black key ( see above picture of keyboard ).

The total magic created by this system of equal tuning and organization is that not only are the seven modes created from the above pitches, but due to the equal tempering, that each of the seven modes can be created from any of the 12 pitches created by the division of the octave, as prescribed in the equal tempered system. Really? So, we can build a Ionian mode on each 12 pitches of the keyboard? Yes. Dorian from 12 pitches? Yes again. Any of the modes form any of the pitches? You betcha, and as perhaps you already know, the pitch range of the piano is well extended past one octave, usually there are actually seven full octaves on a regular piano, so all combined, a rather extensive melodic resource eh? 

So if any mode can be created from any pitch, does this flexibility relate to the harmony? What does this have to do with the theory / history of chords? Well, the chords are created from the scales n'est pas? And if any mode can be created from any pitch within equal temper, then can any type of chord be created from any of the 12 pitches of equal temper? Precisely.

Does the melody created from the pitches of the Ionian mode in the following musical example ring a bell, sound familiar? Do you normally associate another label with this group of pitches? Example 3.

L.Mason's winter holiday classic "Joy To the World" is simply created from the pitches of a descending Ionian mode or perhaps more modernly commonly known today as the major scale. If we can build a mode on each pitch of this scale, can we also build chord? Sure, why not. Do the chords we build on each pitch reflect the sound of the mode built on that pitch? Pretty much. Example 4.

And if we can create a major scale / Ionian mode on each of the 12 pitches, created by the equal division of the octave, can we create chords for each of the 12 scales as done in example 4 above? Absolutely. With the above ideas, can you begin to see the picture emerging of the vast harmonic resource provided by the equal tempered system? I often call this the anything from anywhere concept.

The 12 divisions of the octave we usually call keys, and from each of these keys we can build any of the scales / modes, from which we can create chords. The coolest aspect of this system of tonal resources is that it all simultaneously exists, all of the time, on a well tuned piano. Due to the tempered tuning, all of these melodic and chordal colors exist "side by side" one another and are in a sense, just a keystroke away. So much for "movable frets" from yesterday huh? No matter how we shake it down, this division of the octave into 12 tempered parts creates a vast musical resource. So vast, that European and American players have been using this same resource to create their tunes for the last 300 years or so. This includes everyone through Bach to Mozart to Beethoven to Wagner to Stravinsky for the Euro cats and Foster to Sousa to Ives to Copeland to Joplin to Ellington to Parker to Coltrane to Metheny to you and I for the American players and composers. Even Elvis? Yep, even Elvis.

Are there any drawbacks to this totally awesome system of tonal resources? Well, I think there are, and in these "drawbacks" lies part of the beauty and spirit of American music. Did we loose some of the "spiritual essence" of the original modes when they were homogenized into the equal tempered system? Some might say yes. But how can we know for sure? We can't. The big stars of the days of purely modal, non tempered music unfortunately never got recorded, and reconstructing the music from the available written music of that day is to a certain degree, still a "best guess." There are experts who do this, recreate modal music on original ancient instruments from this period of time, who seek to capture the long forgotten essence of modal music and their efforts create gorgeous music which evoke memories within us all of a time when perhaps the world was a simpler, more modal place to live. So is there a way to reconnect with this ancient musical past where folks lived a lot closer to the earth?

Part of the coolness of American music is that one of the important "spices" used to flavor our music can "fall between the keys" of a well tuned piano. These come to us today known as the blue notes, and although these pitches are found on a well tuned piano, common practice with these pitches is to "bend" the pitch, searching for the emotional essence of the pitch "contained between the pitches".

Years ago while performing at a club in rural Alaska, I "found" just a wee bit of this essence and was instantly shocked to the roots of my soul. While playing a "blues", during my solo I bent a pitch and low and behold, my eyes filled with tears of compassion. I quickly looked around to see if my sounds had a similar effect on anyone else. Nope, everyone else was just jamming and dancing away! So I played the "bent pitch" again, sure enough, more tears. I had to stop, I thought, what have I discovered? When reflecting back on this "musical miracle", I realized the emotional potential of what might exist between the tuned pitches of my guitar. Needless to say, things have not been quite the same since and the search continues onward.

Many styles and players of American music rely on the blues colors to get the message across. The interesting thing is that oftentimes a melody created from pitches that are of "uncertain tuning" are invariably supported by the well tuned system of chords created from equal temper. So is there a way to "go back" to the roots? Perhaps through the blues. We find the blues color in almost every style of American music, from every era and almost every performance we enjoy. 

So, does the compromise in tuning create the vast harmonic resource we enjoy in virtually every aspect of American and European music? Yes it does. Can we still get "between the keys" pitch wise? Yes we can, with the blue notes. Can we combine the two together? Absolutely, we naturally do it all the time in many styles of American music. 

Here is a chart showing various common styles of American music and the chords used to create them. Example 5.

Are there other benefits besides the chords that is created by the tempering of the pitches of the equal tempered system? Yes there are. Two new colors emerge that were perhaps not part of the older, modal system. These are the whole tone and diminished colors, both of which are based on a consistent intervalicly symmetrical formulas. Another idea is to use all of the 12 pitches to create "tone rows", the sequence of which becomes the scale used to create some rather "modern" sounding music, the harmony of which can be pretty unlimited. Another is the "looping" of modes that occurs with a consistent major 3rd / minor 3rd sequencing of the pitches, which in itself creates a rather unique tonal universe. What are your ideas on these topics? What are your needs harmonically? Do you play a chordal instrument? If not, why is the knowledge of chords important to you? Do you aspire to be an improvising musician? Comments / questions?

Other topics in this section?

Talent is always conscious of its own abundance and does not object to sharing. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

1) Isacoff, Stewart. Temperament: The Idea That Solved Music's Greatest Riddle. New York: Knopf, Alfred A. 2001