What is your favorite interval and favorite chord?

[jazzpiano88]

From a Ben Folds interview being asked the question on favorite interval (I added favorite chord).

 

Mine:

- Interval: Major 2nd

- Chord: C#min first inversion below Middle C (Beethoven).

 

[Justin Havu]

This is a tough one...

 

Interval: I'd probably go with minor 3rd

Chord: I/bVII (First chord of the chorus in Toy Matinee's "Last Plane Out.")

[Docbop]

2nds - Maybe because after decades of playing guitar and it's strange matrix of note they are hard to play and just don't sound the same as on piano. 

 

Chord MinMa7

 

 

 

[bill5]

Chord: tough to choose between maj7 and 7. Very diff chords and so basic but just classic standbys. 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, justin_havu said:

(First chord of the chorus in Toy Matinee's "Last Plane Out.")

Wow someone else remembers this great group huge props

[ElmerJFudd]

In jazz - tritone of course!     In classical, pop, rock - m6

chord - too many to choose from.  but two next to each other, I have a soft spot for when the IV goes to iv before heading home.  

[CyberGene]

The obsession about chords in themselves is a typical jazz pathology and is the reason why I distanced myself from jazz, I felt too much is spent on coming up with weird chords and chord voicing, consequently scales/modes/outlines for the sake of the momentary sound of it, but the whole just sounds like stitching some quasi-random chords next to each other (besides the obvious ii-V-I cadences) for the sake of creating ambiguity and "complication", kind of "look how unpredictable and complicated it sounds and how well I can apply all these pre-cooked scales and licks on top of it".

 

All that being said, I used to love all that 😀 Not anymore though. My favorite chord (with the corresponding voicing) still is the Am7/9/11 in the following low-to-high voicing:

A - E - B - C - G - D

 

I believe some books attribute that voicing to Herbie Hancock as his first popularizer, not sure about that but I wouldn't be surprised.

[JamPro]

Favorite Interval: minor 3rd

 

Favorite chord: any minor 11th is pretty cool.  But my favorite is when I put a major triad built on the 5th scale note above a minor triad - i.e Gmaj/Cm; Emaj/Am; etc.

[time4jazz]

Don’t think I have favorites, but two I like that spring to mind are…
 

Interval: left-hand tenths (which I typically can’t reach 🙂)

 

Chord (really a specific voicing): Vince Guaraldi’s opening C7b9 chord on O Tannenbaum. C3, Db3, Bb3, C4. 

[jazzpiano88]

4 hours ago, CyberGene said:

The obsession about chords in themselves is a typical jazz pathology and is the reason why I distanced myself from jazz, I felt too much is spent on coming up with weird chords and chord voicing, consequently scales/modes/outlines for the sake of the momentary sound of it, but the whole just sounds like stitching some quasi-random chords next to each other (besides the obvious ii-V-I cadences) for the sake of creating ambiguity and "complication", kind of "look how unpredictable and complicated it sounds and how well I can apply all these pre-cooked scales and licks on top of it".

 

All that being said, I used to love all that 😀 Not anymore though. My favorite chord (with the corresponding voicing) still is the Am7/9/11 in the following low-to-high voicing:

A - E - B - C - G - D

 

I believe some books attribute that voicing to Herbie Hancock as his first popularizer, not sure about that but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

I'm perfectly happy with major and minor triads with an occasional dominant 7 thrown in and proper voice leading.  Sonata Pathetique 2nd movement.

 

According to the interview, Herbie's favorite interval is min9. That is the Herbie chord you like.  I like this version a tiny bit better:   A - E - C - D - G - B

 

[Docbop]

7 hours ago, CyberGene said:

The obsession about chords in themselves is a typical jazz pathology and is the reason why I distanced myself from jazz, I felt too much is spent on coming up with weird chords and chord voicing, consequently scales/modes/outlines for the sake of the momentary sound of it, but the whole just sounds like stitching some quasi-random chords next to each other (besides the obvious ii-V-I cadences) for the sake of creating ambiguity and "complication", kind of "look how unpredictable and complicated it sounds and how well I can apply all these pre-cooked scales and licks on top of it".

 

 

I LOVE CHORDs and it started on guitar I was the guy who prefered play the rhythm and didn't care if I got a solo.   That love of chords is even more intense since moving to piano and I have more options that I didn't on guitar.   I don't think there's anything quasi-random about it, it comes from a lot of seat time experimenting and working on tunes and changes.   True Jazz is about exploring in the moment so the is experimentation in live performance but it part of exploring an idea, it's not just grabbing clusters of notes to be weird.    That why I like chords and Jazz. 

[JimboKeys]

Favorite interval - p5th (power chords baby!!!)

Favorite chord - minor add 2

 

[stoken6]

K blunt demented?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[GovernorSilver]

Today it's dominant 13 sus 4, because of how it leads so nicely to a Maj9.

 

Tomorrow it might be a different chord.

[16251]

For this exercise I would say a m2. Where would Mack the Knife or Sunny be without the m2?

 

And fav chord would be the m2 movements in song Little Sunflower.  The Dm to EbMaj7 then the EbMaj7 to DMaj7

[Steve Nathan]

Gee....My favorite chord has (from bottom to top) G F A C# E, but I don't know "What Chord is This"?  😉🤣

[CyberGene]

1 hour ago, Docbop said:

I don't think there's anything quasi-random about it, it comes from a lot of seat time experimenting and working on tunes and changes.

Exactly. It’s not random, because there is often some logic in connecting these chords to make it sound “jazz” but it’s often based mostly on the individual chord color or a desired sudden change of tone content, so that it doesn’t sound diatonic or too logical (in the ii-V-I sense), so it’s almost like striving to be random while it’s not. Hence, quasi-random. See, I’m not criticizing it from a general point of view, only from my own personal point of view: it bores me. And I used to love it. So, I perfectly understand why people love chords and jazz, etc. I just moved on. To me these types of jazz that are too “chordy” are like cooking with spices only. Add to that the improvisational element which necessitates certain routines and templatization and it becomes all too same for me. I’m not opposing genres but I went back to classical music where they sparingly use these complex chords and ambiguous changes only when needed, to spice up at the right moment and spend much more time on form, development, careful architecture and planning on huge scale between multiple instruments (which simply can’t happen with improvisation). Again, I’m not opposing genres, not rejecting jazz. I just had been eating too much of it for quite a long time and reached a point where I can’t stand it anymore… Rather my own issue, nothing wrong with jazz 😕

[Canoehead]

Major or minor 2nd, especially on Hammond.  
 

 

[drawback]

E non-committal, followed shortly by A non-committal. 

[CEB]

Hell I don't know.

 

Bb major over Ab major and other like type polychords are cool.

 

So What chords and quartal harmonies are cool. ... I like all the cool chords.

[S_Gould]

Interval:  6th

 

Chord:  Diminished

 

Why? Hell, I dunno...except generic pop seems to avoid them like the plague.

[Mike Davis]

Major 2nds always feel good.

 

For a chord? 1-2-5 with the 3rd in the bass. I could play that ‘til the cows come home.

[CyberGene]

34 minutes ago, Mike Davis said:

1-2-5 with the 3rd in the bass. I could play that ‘til the cows come home.

I also love that but even more when you add the maj7 on top. 

[re Pete]

Strictly speaking, one note has intervals in overtones. Chordwise I like altered dominants.

[RABid]

5th

Cm7

[Theo Verelst]

Originally I was taken by pure, well laid out major chords, let's say like Bach, power chords, Hymns and grand pop songs. Of course, the way a chord or an interval sounds, or in fact even how a single note sounds influences the pleasure of playing chords  lot. Modern digital instruments appear often tuned and harmonized and envelope mangled towards "music" interpretations which don't appeal to me and which make even basic gospel sounds sh*tty.

 

On a good sounding and well tuned instrument, lots of chord sequences are wonderful, and the jazzier it can sound, the better to the point where I don't acknowledge individual chords any more and an overall tonality and sound appears. this is only possible on good instruments. It's like you take your nice guitar chords and take every tone over to a sampler and play them like on a guitar, will it even sound ok ?

 

Quite a while I liked the major triad with added b10 chord for spicing up funky pieces, but pretty soon that becomes a difficult game with technical knowledge need to understand produced Sample (Joe) to improvised Chorea (Chick) in terms of exact notes played. I like that but there I meet technical barriers that I cannot just skip. That's about changes more than knowing a few attractive chords, like playing Yellowjackets without self control: a hopeless enterprise and harmonic hell.

 

T

[stoken6]

22 hours ago, Steve Nathan said:

Gee....My favorite chord has (from bottom to top) G F A C# E, but I don't know "What Chord is This"?  😉🤣

That's the Layla chord (if the outro was in A I think?). 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Steve Nathan]

2 hours ago, stoken6 said:

That's the Layla chord (if the outro was in A I think?). 

 

Cheers, Mike.

My post was just a nod to the legendary thread of several years ago.😝

[stoken6]

11 hours ago, Steve Nathan said:

My post was just a nod to the legendary thread of several years ago.😝

Went straight over my head Steve - I genuinely missed the reference completely. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Tom Williams]

Favorite Interval: 48 hours.

Favorite Chord: 25 foot (8 meter) XLR.

 

 

Actually, I'll go for minor third (I use that for trills at the top end of a lead)

and a perfect fourth power chord.

[stillearning]

On 1/12/2023 at 10:44 PM, justin_havu said:

…Toy Matinee's "Last Plane Out.")

Thanks for the reminder… I had long forgotten about this great song/band!