Somebody plays a tasty fill, or you hear a cool synth part in a pop song, and something in it grabs you. Chances are it isn’t just 1-3-5-7. There’s probably an extension in there: a 9, a sharp 11, a 13. If you can hear it, you can add it to songs you know.
Quick answer
Build each chord one level at a time: triad, seventh, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth. Play the triad, sing the next level against it, then play that note to check yourself at the piano. Then challenge yourself: take notes out of the chord and sing them instead.
Here’s the chord extensions ear training I use. You build each chord one level at a time, and you sing every level before you play it.
Which extensions go on major, minor and dominant chords?
There are three kinds of chords: major, minor and dominant. We’re going to add extensions to all of them, in levels.
- Level 1. The triad. A good old major triad, to start.
- Level 2. The seventh.
- Level 3. The ninth, which is a really beautiful sound.
- Level 4. The 11. On a major chord, that’s the sharp 11.
- Level 5. The 13. On C major, that’s an A.
On C major, there’s a shortcut for hearing the top of the chord: you can think of levels two through five as a minor seventh chord a half step below, a B minor 7.
Minor chords are pretty similar, because most of the extensions are the same. The only difference is level four. Instead of a sharp 11, it’s a regular old natural 11. On C sharp minor, you can think of the top as a major seventh chord a whole step below, as opposed to the minor seventh a half step below on the major chord. That minor 9 is a hard one to hear.
Dominant chords are harder, because there are more options. On D, level one is just a D major triad, and the dominant seventh sits on top of it for level two. That 1-3-5-7 doesn’t change. The extensions do: level three is the 9, level four is the sharp 11 and level five is the 13. But dominant chords have much more to offer. Next comes the flat 9 (on D, that’s E flat), then the sharp 9, then level eight, the flat 13 or sharp 5. That’s a crazy one, because it creates a dissonance with the fifth. Some people play the sharp 9 and the sharp 5 together.
How do you train your ear to hear chord extensions?
The best way to train your ear to hear these extensions is to sing them against the chord. The piano gives you a lens to understand the full chord, and you always check yourself with it.
So play the triad, sing the next level, and then play it to make sure it’s correct. Then go up a level. Start at level one, sing level two, sing level three. When I sing the ninth against the chord, it lets me really hear it. Because I can sing it, I fully understand it. (I sing these down low, because my voice is pretty low.)
A great test is to sing a level without playing it first, and then add the piano. If you can sing level four without playing it, that’s pretty impressive. Then challenge yourself: take certain notes out of the chord and replace them with your voice.
This might feel like a waste of time, but this will seriously train your ears.
Cole Davis
You’ll hear more than the chords and their qualities and feelings. You’ll hear the extensions you can use, too. It’s the same order I use when I transcribe by ear: get it in your ear to the point that you can sing it, then put it on the instrument.
Extensions aren’t only a jazz thing
People think extensions are a jazz-exclusive thing. Not at all. If you play classical music, your part has these extensions, and the best players are the ones who can actually hear what they’re playing. If you play popular music, the melodies have these extensions. They’re present in all music, not just jazz standards.
That cool synth part might be cool because it’s one of these levels. Maybe the person who played it did it by accident. Maybe they don’t even know it’s cool. Maybe they just heard it and thought it sounded interesting, without realizing that what they were reacting to was the extensions. Extensions add a secret sauce, and that’s what makes them cool.
Now, extensions aren’t the most important thing. I think jazz musicians tend to believe they’re more important than they actually are. You can write great, great songs and convey great emotional depth without ever using an extension, ever. But you’ll be a more complete musician if you can hear them.
Most of the time I prefer to play a song just as the song. But say I want to play “Yesterday,” and I want to add a fill or improvise on it and take some liberties. I can really only do that if I know the extensions. In other words, the extensions jazz it up. If you’re working on soloing, my jazz improvisation primer covers which notes to reach for first.
Try this today: one chord, five levels
- Play a major triad. Use a piano or keyboard. That’s level one.
- Sing level two. Sing the seventh against the triad, then play it to check.
- Keep climbing. Sing the ninth, the sharp 11 and the 13 the same way, checking each one.
- Test yourself. Sing a level without playing it first, then add the piano.
- Swap in your voice. Take one note out of the chord and sing it instead.
- Change chords. Do a minor chord next (natural 11 on level four), then a dominant, with the flat 9, sharp 9 and flat 13 on top.
If you want to take that same skill, your voice plus a piano to check yourself, and use it to learn whole songs by ear, that’s what Play What You Hear is built around.
Sit down at a keyboard tonight, play a C major triad and sing the seventh. Then see how high you can climb before you need to check.
Go deeper
Play What You Hear
Six lessons on learning songs by ear: sing it, find it on the piano, then play it on your instrument.
FAQ
How do you train your ear to hear chord extensions?
Sing them against the chord. Play the triad, sing the next extension, then play it to make sure it’s correct, and always check yourself at the piano. Go one level at a time: the seventh, the ninth, the 11, then the 13. A great test is to sing a level without playing it, then add the piano.
What’s the difference between major and minor chord extensions?
Most of them are the same. The difference is level four: a major chord takes the sharp 11 and a minor chord takes a regular old natural 11. On C major you can think of the top of the chord as a minor seventh a half step below, B minor 7. On C sharp minor, think of a major seventh a whole step below.
Which extensions can a dominant chord take?
More than major or minor chords, which is why dominant chords are harder. On top of the 1-3-5-7 you’ve got the 9, the sharp 11 and the 13, and then the flat 9, the sharp 9 and the flat 13 or sharp 5. That last one is a crazy one, because it creates a dissonance with the fifth.
Are chord extensions only used in jazz?
Not at all. If you play classical music, your part has these extensions, and pop melodies have them too. A tasty fill or a cool synth part is often cool because of an extension, and maybe the player did it by accident. They’re not the most important thing, though. You can write great songs without ever using one.
Do I need a piano to practice hearing extensions?
It’s what I use. The piano gives you a lens to understand the full chord, and it’s how you check yourself. Sing the extension first, then play it on the piano to make sure it’s correct. Once you can sing a level without playing it, add the piano afterward as the check.
