Inverted Powerchords?

[DeathKnell]

double edit: why do i post stuff before using google? sorry i've just been sticking to diatonic major/minor boring third theory thus far.. can anyone recommend any good jazz music that makes good use of 6's,7's,9's,11's,13's etc.

edit: ok.. maybe this is more of a misadventure into sus4 and sus2 chords

I'm just looking for a bit of background information in regards to them.

I guess i'm talking about any interval where its the tonic and the fourth.. are they used all that commonly?

Are there any more notes you can play in conjunction with them to form proper chords, or are they pretty much only effective when played as the interval? (What are they called in music notation? Power 4th?)

I also heard that the use of powerchords become popular on distorted guitars because the thirds create an unpleasant harmony.. does this apply to the 4th? I haven't experimented all that much on guitar.. but on piano/keys I sometimes play the 4th by accident but it still feels like a powerchord.

Thanks!

(is this the right subforum? wasn't sure if it was a newbie-ish question)

 

[andydeedpoll]

i suppose just the tonic and the fourth is similar to an inverted powerchord, like you said. it'd be in 2nd inversion, but without the 3rd. technically, the tonic and the fourth should never be used just on its own. you have to have the third in there. obviously, its a guideline "this will sound empty and strange if you don't have the third" kinda thing - its used all the time for effect.

Jazz harmony is as much a set of guidelines as it is rules - completely different to Bach harmony. the general rule is 'if it sounds good, it Is good' you never use octaves in the bass, always the tonic and the 7th (so in C, the C right at the bottom, and Bflat above it). if you want to use the 9th (in C, that'd be D) it goes without saying that the 7th (in C, that'd be Bflat) is already there - and the same with 11th chords, but in this case it has to have the 7th and the 9th... in fact, these notes are more important in jazz harmony are a lot of the time more important that the tonic, mediant or fifth. the texture created using them is often so thick that its literally impossible to hear whether you've got the fifth in there or not - try it. play a C minor chord, then pile the 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th around it, with the 7ths in the bass, and then add the 5th in the middle of it all, then take it away. you can't hear it. that often means that, if you want a note to ring out, like the 3rd, its got to be at the top, because its not going to be heard. its as much about inversions, and what you want to hear most as much as anything.

can anyone recommend any good jazz music that makes good use of 6's,7's,9's,11's,13's etc.

it could be argued that Jazz music without these kinda chords ain't Jazz!
so yeah, listen to any jazz music to get a feel of it... playing it is where you learn it though... i had to write a composition for school a month or two ago. spent hours at a piano, messing with 13th chords in all its different inversions.

i hope that helps. i feel like i just vomited everything i know about harmony into a post

Andy

 

[Disposable]

As to your orignal question an inverted powerchord is just that...
WHile you can say it's the Root and 4th...

It is Really, IMO a Root and 5th...

Take an a powerchord for example...

Root and 5th would be A and E right?

Root and 4th would be A and D

A is the 5th in a D powerchord

I would call it, in notation a D5/A

And I use them all the time... well, not ALL the time, but fairly often...
I also do a lot of Root & 3rd without the 5th.