Where did they come from?

[aste]

Hey! Hope everyone's okay here.

Anyway, I'm really new to chord theory, and have a few questions I was hoping you'd help me out with.

1.) I've noticed with some songs that when they're near the end -- you're playing the final v7 chord and supposedly about to go back to the root -- suddenly have this bviM7 - bvii progression then go back to the root. For example, with a key of G song, after the final d7, there's a kind of ladder where you play EbM7 and F then go to G. It sounds really great, but where did it come from? From what I read, it's something like Eb and F are the 4th and 5th of E, which is the relative minor of G, and because the relative minor and the root are well.. related, that's supposed to justify the Eb - F bridge. Um, can anyone help me out with this one?

2.) What other substitutions, tricks to do you have for the v7 chord (going back to root)? I use the ivm, v11, v13, vdim, vaug. What else do you guys use? I'm studying this book by Eddie Larkin called Creative Chord Substitution. Do you people recommend it?

Thanks for any kind of reply!!!

[starshoe]

The Eb-F resolving to G chord progression is a cadence borrowed from the parellel minor(G minor). G minor's relative major is Bb, and Eb-F are the IV and V chords normally resolving to Bb. In the relative minor of Bb(g minor) however the same chords, bVI bv11, resolve to the Iminor chord (g minor). this is a traditional chord progresion. (Look at the similarities between Bb Maj7 and the Gmin7.) (Or play bVI, bVII, I as power chords and you'll hear this as a common heavy metal progession).

Basicaly, the composer of the tune you're playing borrowed a couple of chords, that set up a cadence(need for resolution), from the PARALLEL MINOR. This changes the mood I'm sure, from a happy sounding Gmajor to the sad Gminor brief at the ending.

[mahayana]

Hello to you both. Glad people are still finding proboards a place of interest. All the regulars here, and some new people, have been hanging at a new site Shawn got going last week. Looks like it is down now, after Shawn got in a car wreck.

Back to your question, I'm not sure the Eb F G thing is a convention, but it's been around awhile. Did you ever listen to the Beatles' transition between the songs "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "A Little Help From My Friends"? SP is in E, and after the last chord they play C D E, then start ALHFMF in E.

Chords built on the whole steps below tonic sound "right" even though the chords are not in the key. You can also do this chromatically, with the half-steps below, as in the Jimi Hendrix tune "The Wind Cries Mary" G Ab A...G Ab A...

There are lots of tricks for endings ( just make sure the people you're playing with get a heads up!) and hey, that sounds like a great book.

[Professor1]

Something that might help you out is to try to look at it from the perspective of the composer. In a major key, there are only 7 chords available. In order to keep it interesting, one has to be clever. Modulation is one way to add harmonic interest. Now consider a minor key...now you have over 20 chords to use. You have access to much more harmonically interesting material. Now, add to that, the idea that major and minor are not really different keys at all....just different parts of the same system, and you now have over 30 chords you can use....and that's before you modulate.