In Search Of The Lost Chord

[Dom Franco]

In Search of the "Lost Chord"

Most serious musicians after a few years of learning the basics, begin to develop an ear for harmony.
This often leads to a desire to expand their knowledge of extended chords. The basic majors and minors
can cover most songs, but when the trained ear hears a passing note or ascending bass line, he soon longs
to hear the melody harmonized correctly. As time goes on the little harmonic omissions in some arrangements
can really start to irritate a player, and in some cases can become cause for leaving a band because the other members
just don't care or won't put the effort into learning the correct chords.

Of course there is always room for creative interpretation, and a song can be re-harmonized many ways, but a real
musician knows the difference between creativity and plain laziness.

Harmony is a wonderful thing. I remember listening in awe to the Everly Brother's vocals. And as a little boy I always
loved Roy Rogers and Dale Evans harmony on "Happy Trails to You"
Then in the early 1960's I began to work out the song "Chim Chim Cherrie" on the piano and discovered the joy of
the minor chord with a descending root note... I was hooked and I just had to explore extended chords. I was never
again satisfied with playing a song using a chord that was just "Close enough" At times I drove my bandmates crazy
searching for that "LOST CHORD"

[Kenneth Kotsay]

DOM, THE MOODY BLUES...........


KEN

[Rich Gardner]

The lost chord reminds me of a lost chord in Willie's song CRAZY. When going into the bridge Willie plays some neat chords that have me stumped. The sheet music has the chords I, IV, I and I7, but that's not what Willie is playing. I've even tried watching him play it. No luck there. Any help out there?

[Dave Hopping]

Willie was big on substitutions.I always chuckled when(if he was in C,say for example) he'd throw in a nice fat C# major for the G7 in a II-V-I sequence

@Rich-there's a cool little thing you can do in the first two bars of the bridge on "Crazy".Walk the fifth of the IV chord up chromatically,two beats at a time.If you're in C,the chords underneath that line are F,F augmented,F6,F# diminished leading to C.Most likely there's a more accurate way of putting it,but I've played a lot of Willie myself

EDIT:I MUST have played a lot of Willie-maybe too much.Rich wanted the lead-in to the bridge,not the bridge.Sorry.

Here's a lead-in(still in C here) C,Gm7,C diminished,C7.The top note is the one that moves;C,D,D# E.

[Rich Gardner]

Thanks, Dave.
RG

[Russ Wever]

the chords underneath that line are F,F
augmented,F6,F# diminished leading to C

Dave, a little different take on the ascending line
you have might be F, A7 (with E in the Bass), Dm,
D#dim, etc. You'll hear your ascending line within
it as well as a descending line.
Just a thought,
Russ

[Dom Franco]

"Crazy" is a perfect example of the lost chord syndrome. Experienced listeners will hear those aug5's and diminished chords. But lots of garage band musicians remain blindy content to play 3 or 4 major chords and call it a song...

Dom