Hi SD,
Can someone tell me the origin of the final three chords used to end many a happy song? I can only describe them as (for this example, in C Major) Dm7, D#dim and C. That is to say, D-F-A-C, D#-F#-A-C, E-G-C. They are usually played in a high octave, and occur on beat 3, beat 1, and beat 2-and, respectively. And then there’s a button C on beat 4. Do they have a name, these chords? Where were they first used? SD, this is driving me crazy!
You hear them in happy songs. I would link to one but I don’t know where to look.
I know very little about musical theory, but that wiki article has me confused. I get the general idea that the cadence (which I’m fairly certain is what the OP is talking about) creates a sense of “closure,” and I first assumed it did so because it ended on the cord of the key. So the last chord in a cadence of the a song in E major is an E major chord, right? That makes sense. But some of the other examples of cadences in the article don’t seem to do that, and for me, they don’t create a sense of “closure” at all. Then it occurred to me if a cadence doesn’t necessarily end on such a chord, then this idea of “closure” is totally subjective, so what’s the point of defining it in this way?
Closure is a poor term. What cadences do is end phrases, i.e. distinct small sections of music (usually around 4 bars or so, or what can be sung on one breath by even untrained singers). They signal that the phrase is complete. It is part of the Western music tradition that only certain chords can do this. While the effect is technically subjective, we’ve been steeped in this musical tradition all our lives, and are conditioned by its use. So if someone breaks the “rules,” we notice, and it sounds “wrong.”
Note that, the mere fact that these are the “correct” chords to use at the ends of phrases doesn’t mean they will always sound like the ends of phrases. If you don’t play them in the right context, you may not perceive the function. There are many cues in music to indicate ends of phrases, and chords are just one of them.
To make up for my mistake, I’ll explain how the chords function. Both are an alteration of a plagal cadence.
The original Count Bassie ending is the most obvious. Instead of IV-IV-I, it has IV-IV7-I. And it uses a particular voice leading for that one altered note. The middle voice is a 4, b3, 3, forming a sort of chromatic appogiatura. The 4 skips over the normal resolution to the 3, and then resolves back to it by step.
The OP’s versions is an alteration of this. Using the key of C, it adds a D to the F (IV) chord, and alters the F7 chord by changing the F to an F#. The former is just replacing the IV chord with a IIm chord, a common alteration. The added F#, on the other hand, replaces the appogiatura with simple parallel chromatic thirds.
Despite the fact that the F7 has an Eb, and the D#dim7 has D#, one can easily replace the other. This is yet another example of how correct enharmonic spellings aren’t as important in jazz harmony.
Thank you very much! I had no idea I was playing it wrong.
Count Basie ending, huh? Very cool stuff. I am using it to end a piece in one of my choirs, and I thought, what is this thing and why does everyone know it? It must have a name!