Chord Connections

"Aldeia de Ogum"

Joyce Moreno's song sounds beautiful on the piano.

I made reference to the following chord in another webpage
G +  F Major 7  *
all of those are white keys on the piano.
G +  G Major

But Joyce's song uses that chord (in another key , transposed to another tonal center, which goes : )

E + 'D' Major 7

* That chord is used in a number of other songs:

Or, not a "7"th at the top of the D Major chord,
but instead a simpler D Major triad
with 'E' in bass (D/E) ?

Maybe, another way of interpreting that is:

as an 'E' Major dominant 11th chord? E 11?

I notated the chords of (my arrangement of) "Aldeia de Ogum" on -- albeit that is transposed up a semi-tone / half-step from Joyce's original. I start on 'F' and move to B-flat, then to E-flat, and to A-flat , in that score.

MuseScore notation transcription:
  • AldeiaDeOgum_inD_modal-chords-and-ending_draft.mscz with key signature of 'D' Major -- ends on 'A' Major, with a coda in 'A' and then, 'G' Lydian modes (two Major triads, off-set by a whole-step apart). Vince Guraldi -esque ending.
  • I worked through, note-by-note, chord-by-chord (see below) to realise the overall harmonic structure (which isn't complicated , if understood in these simple modal terms):

    Start in the home Major key. The bass starts with the dominant "5" pitch, and moves up a P4th to the tonic ("1") pitch.

    In brief, the first two chords (movement of bass) are in this home Major key, then it moves down one whole-step to a lower Major key-mode, for the 3rd and 4th chords, then repeats.

    In Joyce's original, the starting key is 'A'. The easiest key, however, is to start on 'G' (one whole-step lower).

    The chords in the right hand (or guitar) can be any* of the diatonic Major or minor seventh chords that fit the Major key (mode) -- based upon degrees '1', '2', '3', and/or '4'.

    * See how, among these four chords, pairs of (minor and Major 7ths) stack atop one-another. Only one of each pair will match the alternating bass / root notes in the left hand.

    I7, ii7, iii7, and IV7 of the Major key.

  • ii7 and IV7 match the '5' in the bass.
  • I7 and iii7 match the '1' in the bass.
  • Actually, a 3rd possibility matches that first bass note (which is the dominant pitch):
  • vi7 , ii7 and IV7 match the '5' in the bass.
  • Anyway, the song begins with the following four (4) chords:

    1st chord is:
    R: f# min. 7or: b min. 7
    L: E
    2nd chord is:
    R:c# min. 7
    next two chords are:
    R: C Maj. 7or: __7 ?
    L: D
    4th chord is
    R:b min. 7

    Then, another passage uses a nice modal Jazz 4-chord sequence/cycle/pattern
    that is similar to bridge of John Coltrane's modal rendition of "My Favorite Things"

    | D Maj. 7 , c# min. 7 , b min. 7 , A Maj. 7 : ||

    And, at the end, (last passage) uses those same four chords
    but skips (leap-frogs) them (re-arranges their sequence, thusly):

     D Maj. 7
                                c# min. 7
              b min. 7  
                                           A Maj. 7  

    Actually, (whoops), that above sequence uses only the first three chords, with the 2nd chord repeating at the end of the sequence of 4:

    | D Maj. 7 , c# min. 7 , b min. 7 , c# min. 7 : ||


    Back to the original (opening/verse/intro) main four (4) chords:

    1st chord is:
    R: f# min. 7or: b min. 7
    L: E
    2nd chord is:
    R:c# min. 7
    next two chords are:
    R: C Maj. 7or: __7 ?
    L: D
    4th chord is
    R:b min. 7

    On top of one another:

    1st chord is:
    R: D Maj. 7or: b min. 7
    L: E
    2nd chord is:
    --R:c# min. 7 or: A Maj. 7

    Recall the sequence of chords, mentioned above? :


    But, those 4 don't fit the following :

    next two chords are:
    R: C Maj. 7or: a min. 7 ?
    L: D
    4th chord is
    --R:b min. 7OR: G Maj. 7 ?

    Instead, that can be thought of as the key/mode (tonal centre) one whole-step (Major-2nd) below (lower).

    The first two chords (table), fit :
  • A Major
  • or
  • 'b' dorian mode
  • | A Maj. 7 , b min. 7 , c# min. 7 , D Maj. 7 |


    and the 3rd and 4th chords (last pair among the 4 in the verse/intro sequence), fit:

  • G Major
  • or
  • 'a' dorian mode
  • | G Maj. 7 , a min. 7 , b min. 7 , C Maj. 7 |


    VII7, i7, ii7, and III7 of the (relative) dorian mode.

    A chord substitution idea of mine that my fingers stumbled upon, by accident:

    E 7 ( E + G# + B + D )

    add an augmented octave (or lowered/flatted 2nd/9th?) : E# (F-natural) ?
    which goes back down to 'E' (octave above root), alternating between (in this case,) F and E pitches at top.

    Dominant ("5") pitch in left hand / bass + 2nd degree-based diminished-7 chord.

    next chord: a minor 9th. take the C Major 7 shape and move its '5' (G, in this case) up and down semi-tones.

    Or, put that idea in other terms: 'a' min.9 chord -- take the minor-7th of that (G) and move it up a semi-tone (G#), then again, "A".

    The root note of that chord is on the home tonic pitch ( that this piece is in, overall), albeit with a minor tonality, as opopsed to Major.

    After doing that , the 3rd chord is ready with 'D' in bass + C Major 7 in right hand (and/or 'a' min.7 -- stacked 3rds ) .

    My idea for ending/conclusion:

    Take that ending chord:

    E + D Maj. (7??)

    take the D Major and make that a diminished chord, but still based upon (rooted on) 'D'

    Maybe even keep the C# at top.

    D, F, A-flat , B , (and C# too?)

    Perhaps more academically-correct to label (identify) each letter-name of each pitch in that chord as:

    D, F♮, A♭ , C♭ , (and D♭ too?)

    And that concludes (resolves) with A Major.

    Bonus idea, add B Major triad (one-whole-step above A-Major's root) upward arpeggio.

    Like Vince Guraldi's endings on the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack.

    Is that Lydian mode (with raised 4th degree?). Two Major 7th chords, whose roots are a whole-step/M2nd apart make, together, a Major-13th chord?

    Take that shape and move it down a whole-step too:

  • A Maj. 7 + B Maj. (together, simultaneously)
  • G Maj. 7 + A Maj. (together, simultaneously)

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