Upper-Structure Triads

Worked example: three dominant identities

Against G7, compare three major triads:

G7 + A major → A-C#-E → 9-#11-13

G7 + Eb major → Eb-G-Bb → b13-1-#9

G7 + Db major → Db-F-Ab → b5-b7-b9

Notice what the compact notation reveals. Each complicated dominant can be remembered as a familiar triad plus an underlying function. The three triads also behave differently under voice leading.

Resolve G7 + A major to Cmaj7: C# → C or E, E → E, A → G or B.

G7 + A major resolving to Cmaj7: 9-#11-13.

X:1
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
V:RH clef=treble
[FAc]8 | [A^ce]8 | [EGB]8 |]
V:LH clef=bass
D,,8 | G,,8 | C,,8 |]

G7 + A major resolving to Cmaj7: 9-#11-13. Same voicing, arpeggiated instead of stacked.

X:1
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
V:RH clef=treble
F2 A2 c2 z2 | A2 ^c2 e2 z2 | E2 G2 B2 z2 |]
V:LH clef=bass
D,,8 | G,,8 | C,,8 |]

Resolve G7 + Eb major to Cmaj7: Eb → E, G → G, Bb → B.

G7 + Eb major resolving to Cmaj7: b13-1-#9.

X:1
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
V:RH clef=treble
[FAc]8 | [_EG_B]8 | [EGB]8 |]
V:LH clef=bass
D,,8 | G,,8 | C,,8 |]

G7 + Eb major resolving to Cmaj7: b13-1-#9. Same voicing, arpeggiated instead of stacked.

X:1
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
V:RH clef=treble
F2 A2 c2 z2 | _E2 G2 _B2 z2 | E2 G2 B2 z2 |]
V:LH clef=bass
D,,8 | G,,8 | C,,8 |]

Resolve G7 + Db major to Cmaj7: Db → C, F → E, Ab → G.

G7 + Db major resolving to Cmaj7: b5-b7-b9.

X:1
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
V:RH clef=treble
[FAc]8 | [_DF_A]8 | [EGB]8 |]
V:LH clef=bass
D,,8 | G,,8 | C,,8 |]

G7 + Db major resolving to Cmaj7: b5-b7-b9. Same voicing, arpeggiated instead of stacked.

X:1
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
V:RH clef=treble
F2 A2 c2 z2 | _D2 F2 _A2 z2 | E2 G2 B2 z2 |]
V:LH clef=bass
D,,8 | G,,8 | C,,8 |]

The last two produce especially strong semitone gravity.

A three-note shape can imply a dense extended chord. Over G7, A major gives 9-#11-13; Eb major gives b13-root-#9; Db major gives b5-b7-b9. Learn each as a block, in inversion, as an arpeggio, and finally as a source of melodic cells.

Why triads are so powerful

The triad is arguably the ideal superimposition object. It is small enough to recognize instantly, stable enough to survive inversion, and rich enough to imply three upper extensions at once. This is why an apparently complicated symbol such as G13(#11) can become physically simple: keep G7’s function in the foundation and place A major above it.

Do not confuse simplicity of representation with simplicity of sound. The ear hears the total sonority; the hand can organize it as layers. That asymmetry is one of the main advantages of the method.

Voice-leading laboratory

Play A major over G7 in root position, first inversion, and second inversion. For each inversion, find the nearest Cmaj7 voicing. Do not move all three right-hand notes if one can remain common. Compare the sound of minimum movement with a deliberately wider resolution. The first teaches gravity; the second teaches orchestration.

Then repeat with Eb and Db major. Notice that the altered structures often advertise their logic through semitone motion. The destination explains the tension.

The mental model

Keep three things separate while you work: function, object, behavior. Function is the underlying harmonic job of the chord. The object is the structure you choose to place above it. Behavior is what you do with that object through time. Confusion often comes from collapsing these levels. A scale, a voicing, and a melodic phrase may contain similar pitches, but they are not the same kind of musical thought.

At first, say the relationships aloud. Then shorten the verbal description. Eventually the sound itself should trigger recognition. The purpose of analysis is compression: a complicated sonority becomes a small object with a known effect.

Diagnostic practice

Use three tempos. At the first, stop after every chord and explain the sound. At the second, keep time but restrict the right hand to one object. At the third, improvise freely while preserving the chapter’s idea. If the concept disappears as the tempo rises, the problem is not speed; the relationship has not yet been internalized.

Record yourself. On playback, ignore what you intended to play and ask what is actually audible. Can you hear the underlying function? Can you hear the upper object? Does tension resolve, or merely stop? Does the phrase sound like music, or like a demonstration?

A useful failure

If an exercise sounds awkward, do not immediately abandon the structure. Change only one variable: inversion, register, rhythm, duration, or resolution. This is an important habit. Many apparently ‘bad’ harmonic choices are really bad placements of potentially useful material.

From exercise to vocabulary

After the written exercise, create three variants: one simpler, one rhythmically different, and one that begins from a different inversion. The goal is to prove that you own the relationship rather than the exact notes on the page.

Reflection

Before leaving the chapter, answer four questions without the piano: What is the underlying function? What is the superimposed object? What interval color does it create? Where does its strongest tension want to move?

Relationship drill

Write one concrete example from this chapter in the form:

underlying harmony + superimposed object -> pitch names -> interval degrees -> likely destination

Then play the four stages in reverse order: imagine the destination, hear the tension that would lead there, identify an object containing that tension, and finally play it over the underlying chord. This reverse drill turns analysis into a generative skill.

At the piano

• Play the underlying ii-V-I with the sparsest left hand that still makes the function clear.
• Play the chapter’s upper structure as a block, then in every practical inversion.
• Name every right-hand note as an interval against the underlying root.
• Turn the same structure into a one-bar line with at least one change of direction and one repeated note.
• Resolve the most tense note deliberately. If possible, compare semitone-up and semitone-down resolutions.
• Record the left hand and improvise for two minutes using only the chapter’s organizing idea.

Ear check

Close your eyes before the final repetition. Hear the intended color before playing. If you cannot, reduce the structure to two notes, sing them, and rebuild the full object.

Explain what you played

State the function, the superimposed object, the interval set it creates, and at least one voice-leading destination. Advanced technique does not exempt you from this step; conceptual clarity is a separate skill.