The Definitive Guide to Phrygian & Sus Flat 9 Chords
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Chords, Composition, Jazz Advice and Tips, Premium, Scales
After you’ve been improvising jazz for a while, most chords are pretty familiar. You’re used to major, minor, dominant, and half diminished…but just as you thought you were getting a handle on things, a chord comes out of nowhere that makes you go “What is that?!?!” And not only do you have to figure out what the thing is, you somehow have to learn how to improvise over it…
This was my experience with Susb9 chords, also called sus7b9, Dominant 7 Sus4 b9, Phrygian Dominant, or just Phrygian chords.
I barely knew how to play over a Sus Chord and then all of a sudden this even weirder variation popped up out of nowhere. I was lost.
What does “Sus” mean? Why is there a b9? What notes do I play?!?!
These are just just a few of the thoughts that go through your head when you encounter an unknown chord like this. And, the temporary fix to dealing with a new chord usually comes in the form of a scale…
When you google it or ask a teacher, they’ll usually tell you something like, just play the 5th mode of ...
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