Stacked Triads

[-Will-]

I know how to form chords and know what a triad is, but can someone explain to me what a stacked triad is?

[jeremy c]

You probably will not use a stacked triad unless you are a soloist or you are playing chords.

 

Here's a simple example.

 

The chord is C major. C E G.

 

On top of that you stack a G chord G B D.

 

The resulting chord is a C E G B D or a CMaj9 chord.

 

So if you as a soloist play a G triad while the chord instrument is playing a C triad, you are "stacking" your chord on top of his and creating the upper extensions of the chord. Larry Carlton does this kind of thing beautifully..the result is a very simple sounding, melodic solo with very hip un-typical note choices.

 

And if you are the chord instrument and someone else is playing the root, by playing the stacked triad, you gain a whole realm of easy chord fingerings which give nice rich sounding chords to the band.

[-Will-]

Thanks Jeremy, I knew you would know.

[rumpelstiltskin.]

that's actually really cool. i had heard the term before, but never really paid attention.

 

robb.

[saxofunk]

And I thought this was going to be another SWR mega-rig thread.

 

Thanks for the right answer Jeremy - "Stacked triad" is a new term to me.

[Gruuve]

Cool...I'll have to try to remember this for the very occasional bass solo. Jeremy, would you always stack the top chord on the 5th/last note of the bottom chord? And if soloing over the bottom chord, then you essentially use only the notes in the 2nd chord?

 

Dave

[jeremy c]

Sometimes I'll stack the new chord on top of the third. Stacking the new chord over the 7th can lead to 11ths or aug11ths.

 

If you play a D major triad over a C Major chord, you end up with C E G D F# A or C6/9#11 (not your everyday run of the mill chord.)

 

If you know how scales are related you might get away with the scale of the upper chord.

 

You can also do things with my GMaj/CMaj example like playing a G major pentatonic instead of C major pentatonic.

 

That gives melodic choices of G A B D E instead of C D E G A. This gives you a different color to use.

[Transcending]

Originally posted by jeremy c:

You probably will not use a stacked triad unless you are a soloist or you are playing chords.

 

Here's a simple example.

 

The chord is C major. C E G.

 

On top of that you stack a G chord G B D.

 

The resulting chord is a C E G B D or a CMaj9 chord.

what's the difference between this and an Arpeggio to the 9th?

[jeremy c]

Originally posted by Transcending:

QUOTE]what's the difference between this and an Arpeggio to the 9th?

Nothing.

 

It's just another way of thinking about it.

 

The music that you are reading (or thinking about)may not say CMaj9. It may just say C.

 

You may say, fine, I'll play the whole scale.

Fine, I'll expand the arpeggio upwards.

Or, fine, I'll stack another triad on top.

 

They are all essentially the same thing, but the way you think about it and approach it may give different sounding results.

[Transcending]

so much to learn

thanks.

[Eric VB]

Ok, I've heard a similar term applied (misapplied?) to describe the way simple root-3rd-5th triads look on the staff (i.e., in standard music notation). The note heads "stack" one on top the other, like a triple-scoop ice cream cone. [is there a term for that? Or am I just remembering incorrectly?] After a quick google, however, it seems that "stacked triad" has the meaning Jeremy has explained so well here.

 

It's also interesting that googling for "stacked triad" brings up mostly bass sites. One that I'm sure has been linked to from here before gives a little insight in tip 110 (Carol Kaye\'s site) .

[Phil W]

Bump for DavidMPires

[1111000]

This is an awesome thread. Thanks Jeremy for expanding our knowledge.

[Phil W]

Apologies for bumping random threads but it just seems more interesting than some of the current debates.

 

Here's my tip -

 

Over a Csus play a Bbmajor or G minor triad.

 

Ok, that's not a stacked triad but it's related.

 

I like to play triads over chords. It's good to experiment - it's very cool to sit at the piano and try to work out how different triads sit together.

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Apologies for bumping random threads but it just seems more interesting than some of the current debates.

 

... not to mention more civilised and way more intellegent ...

 

The Bass Grimiore does a real good job of not only explaining this but breaking down visually how these chords are constructed from a scale. It uses the more "moderen" method of identifiying chords (Bb- rather than Bbm) which I personally don't like, but for those willing to shell out money for a book that is chocked full of scales (not an exciting read) ...

[Phil W]

I've heard some good things about, but I think it's written by a guitarist (not that that should necessarily be a bad thing - just be aware). I would go the whole hog and get The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine. If you want to know theory, ask a piano player. Well, that might not always be true but it works for me.

[Bottom End]

Thanks for the tips and explanations. As Transcending wrote "So much to learn".

 

As for piano players, it seems like some of them compose/play left hand lines in rock/pop songs that a bass-only musician would not consider.

[Tenstrum]

wow....i really don't know jack crap on music theory....

[fingertalkin]

wow....i really don't know jack crap on music theory....

 

Me neither!!!

 

Oh....that post gets my vote for post of the day!

[theTragicRich]

wow....i really don't know jack crap on music theory....

 

I'll thrice that! (Is that even grammatically correct?) My knowledge of theory is very basic. It's something I've been meaning to work on, but I'm lazy. Being the bassist in a band where the writer just writes/plays whatever 'sounds good', I'm often the one trying to figure out the key so I know how to apply melody in my bass parts. But figuring out the key (for me) is often a challenge in itself... yea, I really need to sit down and do some bonding with Hal Leonard LOL

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

The Hal Leonard Method books are a great place to start (I use them for the beginner I'm teaching). If you want to specialise, they also have a great series of books for blues, rock, jazz and funk (most written by Ed Friedland).

 

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A bassist with knowledge ...