Aficionado question

[mr]

In Cmaj, why an F chord sound good to me on a D note?

[nuffink]

If you mean D, F, A, C it sounds good because it's a D minor 7th.

[mr]

oh.. A new world to explore for me.
THX

[nuffink]

oh.. A new world to explore for me.
THX

Seventh chords? Beware, that way lies jaaaaaath

[mr]

I will be stuck at 3Chords for the next 2 generations.
I was thinking of another way to find chords that harmonize with a melody note.

[Electric Chair Orchestra]

You start classical diatonic harmony with three parts. Show music and big band music, and some contemporary songs, and jazz tunes, use four part chords frequently. Some jazz relies on five part chords and harmony - which is why the sonority of some jazz is intriguingly different.

[JumpingJackFlash]

In Cmaj, why an F chord sound good to me on a D note?

As Nuffink said, D,F,A,C, make D minor seventh. In C major, this is the diatonic seventh chord on the second degree (iim7).

You might notice that this chord contains not only the notes of the D minor triad (ii), but also the notes of the F major triad, which in C major is chord IV.

This chord is quite common, in many styles of music. It often comes in first inversion, preceding a cadence for example. - Try this:
Dmin7 in first inversion - G major (or dominant seventh is even better) - C major.
F,A,C,D - G,B,D,F - C,E,G,C

Or, vertically with correct voice leading:

Code: Select all

         iim7    V7  I
Soprano: C       B   C
Alto:    A       F   E
Tenor:   D       D   C
Bass:    F       G   C

See my introduction to cadences for a musical example.

Details of the various seventh chords can be found in my post on Scales, Modes and Chords.

[mr]

THX everybody

[Petimar]

The D note against the F major chord is the sixth of the F major scale, making an F6 chord. The sixth is a very nice sounding note against a major chord in many cases.