Hello my friends ,

I would like to share with you a fun KEY
Navigation , which uses Melody and harmony in an easy yet creative way .

This system can bring you endless ideas and can be used with any key or harmonized scale. Enjoy.

 

Let's begin in the KEY of C major for now to make this easier .
C major KEY CDEFGABC.

Next the TRIADS .

1.CEG.... Cmajor
2.DFA.... Dminor
3.EGB.... Eminor
4.FAC.....Fmajor
5.GBD....G dominant
6.ACE....Aminor
7.BDF.....Bdim


Now , we are going to use this TRIADS representing the KEY .

The way which we use them is to start on a triad.

ACE ...........Amin

Next we change 1 note stepwise forward direction .

ACF............Fmajor

Next we change 1 note stepwise forward direction

ADF..............Dmin

Next we change 1 note stepwise forward direction

BDF...............Bdim

Next we change 1 note stepwise forward direction.

BDG............Gdominant

Next we change 1 note stepwise forward direction .

GBE............Eminor

Next we change 1 note stepwise forward direction

GCE..............Cmajor

Next we change 1 note stepwise forward direction.

ACE.............Aminor


We now have arrived back where we started covering all 7 TRIADS in the KEY.

 

Let's see this forward stepwise navigation

ACE..ACF..ADF..BDF..BDG..BEG..CEG..ACE..


What we have is a consonant motion which every new triad shares 2 common tones with the previous triad .

Let's now look at the backwards motion.

For this we start with our triad .

ACE........Aminor

Next we change 1 note stepwise motion backward.

GCE...........Cmajor

Next we change 1 note stepwise motion backward

GBE...........Eminor

Next we change 1 note stepwise motion backward.

GBD..........Gdominant

Next we change 1 note stepwise motion backward .

FBD.......Bdim

Next we change 1 note stepwise motion backward

ADF........Dmin

Next we change 1 note stepwise motion backward

ACF........FMajor

Next we change 1 note stepwise motion backward

ACE.......Aminor

We now have arrived back where we started covering all 7 TRIADS in the key .

 

To create a visual chart for this technique which includes the forwards and backwards motion .
We want to think of our starting triad in the center point .

FBD.....GBE....GCE.....ACE..... ACF..... ADF..... BDF
Bdim...Emin..Cmaj....Amin....Fmaj....Dmin...Bdim

 

That's it!
That's how easy it really is!

Now let's see this being used to make music.

We will create a loopable pattern.

Let's start with A min for now .

Play

ACEA....GCEG....ACEA....GCEG....

GBEG....GBDG.... FBDF.... GBDG...



Let's try another .

ACE...ACF...AD...

BDF... BDG... BE..


Let's try another.


ACF..ACE..GC..

GBE..GBD..FB..



How about changing things up a little this time?

We play descending

ECA...ECA...FCA...FDA...

FDB...GDB....EBG...ECG...


Try those to start with :D !

Can you see all the possibilities starting to wash over you with endless creativty yet ?

 

GBD.....GBE....GCE.....ACE..... ACF..... ADF..... BDF
Gdom...Emin..Cmaj...Amin....Fmaj....Dmin...Bdim
GBE.....GCE....ACE.... ACF..... ADF..... BDF.....BDG
Emin...Cmaj..Amin... Fmaj... Dmin... Bdim.. Gdom
GCE.....ACE......ACF....ADF....BDF......BDG....BEG
Cmaj....Amin...Fmaj...Dmin...Bdim...Gdom..Emin
ACE....ACF......ADF......BDF.....BDG....BEG....CEG
Amin...Fmaj..Dmin....Bdim..Gdom...Emin...Cmaj
ACF.....ADF......BDF.....BDG....BEG....CEG.....CEA
Fmaj...Dmin...Bdim...Gdom..Emin...Cmaj..Amin
ADF.....BDF......BDG....BEG....CEG....CEA.....CFA
Dmin...Bdim...Gdom..Emin..Cmaj..Amin...Fmaj
BDF......BDG.....BEG....CEG....CEA....CFA.....DFA
Bdim...Gdom....Emin..Cmaj..Amin..Fmaj..Dmin
BDG.....BEG.....CEG.....CEA....CFA....DFA.....DFB
Gdom...Emin....Cmaj..Amin...Fmaj..Dmin..Bdim

 

So we actually get ton uses with this simple triad system.

Let's look at a step up in complexity .

Say we need to represent a Dmin9 chord .
( From C major KEY)
Dmin9
DFACE
13579


We have this as our triad structure.

DFA,. CFA, CEA
FAD, FAC, EAC.
ADF, ACF, ACE

Let's make a music using it now.
( Using loopable patterns for now)

DFA..DFA..CF...
ACE..ACF...CF...

Or how about this.

DFAD...CFAC..
CEAC...CFAC...


How about triplet based?

FAD.. FAC.. EAC.. FAC..
FAD...FAC.. EAC... FAC..


Things can get interesting in rhythmic patterns

Forward then backward .

FAC.. FDA...CEA...CFA.


How about this patten
1234123412341234
12345R1234R12345

So starts a 5 note group rest then 4 note then rest
Then another 5 note group

FAD.AC..R.
ACEAR
CFA..CF

Try these out and then try your own also.

 

Let's look at the few concepts contained in this triad system.

First you have ascending
moving forward raising a note to get to the next triad.
Ex.
FAC to FAD to FBD to FGB

Second you have moving backward .

FAC to EAC to EGC to EGB to DGB

Third you have descending moving forward

Ex C down A down F ( FAC high to low
D down A down F. ( FAD high to low

So it's like the first structure but only playing the notes high to low

Fourth we have descending while lowering the note to next triad .

ACE ...AFC...ADF ( high to low

F down D down A up C down F down A etc.

These are our 4 conceptual movements with the system

Playing up or down TRIADS
That change by raising a note or lowering a note.

Once we get used to this 3 dimensional movements

We can do other things too.

Say ACE
So up then down
ACECA
Say ACE...ACF ( up then down pattern

ACECACFCACECACFC.

Then we can begin to see the freedom involved in our movement directions

Say 2 octave triad
ACEACE slide up F now backwards CAFCA

ACEACEFCAFCA

If we look at 3 TRIADS

GBD.. GBE...GCE...

That's the structure

We can make melody like this

GBD slide EGB slide CEGEC

The D slides to E
The B slides to C
So many things we can do

 

great work MMJ another angle is what happens when you work with the upper extensions....kapow

 

I love this stuff, always happy to learn and be inspired.
Thanks @MMJ2017

 

When you work with upper extensions , that is when you get the most options to you.

So with the key of C major,

There are 2 upper extension chords which can represent these grouping of notes .

Dmin13
DFACE..G..B
13579.11.13

Fmaj13#11
FACEG.B.D
135791113


Now let's take one,. The Dmin13
DFACEGB

DFA, CFA, CEA, CEG, BEG, BDG, BFG

You just have to decide which tones of the chord you want to hear to decide which of the triad forms to use because all the 7 TRIADS are available for this chord.


Fmaj13#11
FACEGBD

FAC,FAD,FBD,GBD,GBE,GCE,ACE,ACF

Same here all 7 TRIADS are avail to you in any direction of movement .

Let's see another one .

Cmaj13#11
CEGBDF#A

This time we have the TRIADS of Gmajor available with this chord to us.
1.GBD
2.ACE
3.BDF#
4.CEG
5.DF#A
6.EGB
7.F#AC

ACE, GCE, GBE, GBD,F#BD,F#AD,F#AC


Let's look at one a little more complex

G7altered

G# A# B C# D# F G G# ( G# melodic minor

1.G#BD#
2.A#C#F
3.BD#G
4.C#FG#
5.D#GA#
6.FG#B
7.GA#C


G7 altered

A#C#F, G#C#F, G#BF, G#BD#, GBD#, GA#D#,GA#C


Here is what you are representing
G7
GBDFA...G#...A#...C#...D#
13579.....b9...#9....b5...#5

 

Let's look at another upper extension chord .

The Lydian dominant scale
Is the most applicable scale on any dominant chord type in a progression

Let's take G7 Lydian b7 for example.

The Lydian dominant is the 4th mode of melodic minor .

In this case G7 Lydian dom is 4th mode of
D melodic minor .
So first look at D melodic minor .
D melodic minor
DEFGABC#D
It's 4th mode is G Lydian dominant (Lydian b7
GABC#DEFG

Now let's say our progression is
Dmin7,G7,Cmajor

And we decide to use Lydian dominant for the G7

GBDFA.C#..E
13579#1113

Next we want to use this triad system to play over the G7 Lydian dominant

We map out the TRIADS first .

G7 Lydian b7 ( Lydian dominant
GABC#DEFG

1.GBD
2.AC#E
3.BDF
4.C#EG
5.DFA
6.EGB
7.FAC#


Next we apply our triad connection system

AC#E,GC#E,GBE, GBD,FBD,FAD,FAC#

And now we can use the triad system during that time where we are playing over this one chord
G7 Lydian dominant.

 

Harmonizing the Triad system.

Let's go back to our Key of C major again for a moment .

Now let's look at how any stepwise melodic motion
Translates to a triad motion.

CDEFGAB

C to D or D to C
Is harmonized as
FAC..FAD(DFA..CFA)

D to E or E to D
Is harmonized as
GBD..GBE(EGB..DGB)

E to F or F to E
Is harmonized as
ACE...ACF(FAC..EAC)

F to G or G to F
Is harmonized as
BDF..BDG( GBD..FBD)

G to A or A to G
Is harmonized as
CEG..CEA (ACE..GCE)

A to B or B to A
Is harmonized as
DFA..DFB ( BDF..ADF)

B to C or C to B
Is harmonized as
EGB..EGC ( CEG..BEG)

We now have a way to convert any stepwise melodic motion in a key into a harmony motion

 

Using the triad system for expression .

Say you know you are in a Dminor chord .

DFA
You want to add in a slide or a bend into a melodic passage.

Well we know that a motion of
C to D or D to C
Is FAC..FAD..( or DFA..CFA

So here we can see the 2 common tones
AF then slide C to D or Bend C up to D or slide D down to C.

This opens up lot of options for us .

What if you on a keyboard without bends and slides
Picture this melody .

F..A.. half notes then C D C D Fast notes then F A slow up octave .

So we can still create same emotional impact as a slide or a bend but in slightly different way 9n instrument without bends and slides .

Let's try another one.

I want to take this chord
Cmajor9
CEGBD

And create an expressive melody using the triad system , what can I do?

First map out the TRIADS

GBD..GBE..GCE..

Here is melody comes to mind

B down to G down to D slide or bend up to E up G up B slide or B C B C B C down G down E.

BGDEGBCGE
BGDEDEGBCBCGE long ring.

 

Triadic Permutations.


In order for us to really understand deep inside ,
Our options and be able to call upon those options in a moment of creativty , we have to be able to visualize our connections .

Let's start by looking at a triad .

CEG

Next visualize this as a center point , for which we can melodically move down or up .

BEG...CEG.. CEA

Next we also want to see this in our minds eye in all inversions as well

EGB...EGC... EAC

GBE...GCE...ACE

We want to package CEG in our minds eye to really be

EGB..EGC..EAC
GBE..GCE..ACE
BEG..CEG..CEA

It shows us our main form from center position
With all of direction options burned in the form .

Now that we have our form all we have to do is create one for each of our 7 TRIADS in the KEY.

1.CEG

EGB..EGC..EAC
GBE..GCE..ACE
BEG..CEG..CEA

2.DFA

FAC..FAD..FBD
ACF..ADF..BDF
CFA..DFA..DFB

3.EGB

GBD..GBE..GCE
BDG..BEG..CEG
DGB..EGB..EGC

4.FAC

ACE..ACF..ADF
CEA..CFA..DFA
EAC..FAC..FAD

5.GBD

BDF..BDG..BEG
DFB..DGB..EGB
FBD..GBD..GBE

6.ACE

CEG..CEA..CFA
EGC..EAC..FAC
GCE..ACE..ACF

7.BDF

DFA..DFB..DGB
FAD..FBD..GBD
ADF..BDF..BDG

 

Once you get comfortable with the main form you can expand this.


Take our triad in key of C

CEG

We think of it as our center point .

BEG...CEG...CEA

Let's now visualize it in our minds eye to expand one more triad in both directions .


BDG..BEG..CEG.. CEA.. CFA


Now with the inversions .

BDG..BEG..CEG..CEA..CFA
DGB..EGB..EGC..EAC..FAC
GBD..GBE. GCE..ACE..ACF



And we think of it as CEG .
( Just expanded outward )

 

ADVANCED.

Suspended TRIADS.




If we take a look at our main form for the CEG triad

.BDG..BEG..CEG..CEA..CFA

Gmaj. Emin. Cmaj. Amin. Fmaj

You can see that at any one location center point
Ex. BEG.. CEG.. CEA

Emin..Cmaj.. Amin

We are moving to a triad which is very consonant
3 chord 1 chord 6 chord

And you actually have to move twice in order to get
To the IV or V chord


GBD..GBE..GCE.. ACE.. ACF
..V...... III....... I...... VI.... IV

This can work a lot of the time , but other times
This is not how we want to move .

We can integrate the suspended chords to the Triad system to add other motions too.

Take our triad to start

CEG
135

There are 2 sus chords .

Sus 2 means Sliding the 3rd down

Ex.
CEG
135

Becomes Csus2 CDG

So we can use our downward motion principle

CDG..CEG

Next Csus4 means

CEG
135

CFG Csus4

Now we have an upward motion .


CDG.. CEG.. CFG

Now let's look at the TRIADS which connect on either end of these next .

BDG..CDG. CEG.. CFG.. CFA


Compared to before

BDG..BEG..CEG..CEA..CFA

You see the suspended chords give us another way
To get to those end chords .

Also let's look at something.
FAC
135

Fsus2 FGC .. FAC.. .. Fsus4 FBC

Compare to CEG

Csus2 CDG.. CEG.. Csus4.. CFG

So Csus4 CFG and Fsus2 FGC

Are the same exact chord .
This connection exists with all sus chords

And means we can create another emotion with
Our sus triad connections

CEG..CEA..FAC

Compared to

CEG.. CFG.. CFA

The sus chord adds a unique way to get from the
C triad to the F triad
That sounds and feels different than the Amin triad does.
It's whole other set of options we have to integrate in the system .
It gives us other ways of being creative with the system .