Music Theory for Electronic Musicians 6: Advanced Harmony

Name: Music Theory for Electronic Musicians 6: Advanced Harmony
Rating: 4.7 (19 reviews)

Master complex harmony: From extended chords to weird progressions... the spice that makes electronic music fascinating.

Created byJ. Anthony Allen

Last updated 5/2026

English

What you'll learn

Craft sophisticated harmonies using 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths - the spices that make modern tracks pop
Master an encyclopedia of "weird chords" from the Hendrix chord to the "nu-disco special"
Understand when and why to use complex harmony in electronic music production
Learn voice leading and chord voicing techniques that add professional polish
Apply advanced harmony concepts to create distinctive, emotion-rich productions

Course content

9 sections • 59 lectures • 2h 51m total length

Introduction1:58
Tools We Will Use2:16
Explore advanced harmony and jazz-like textures in nu disco and popular tracks, and use a digital audio workstation and the midi grid to build notes and chords.
How Best to Use this Class1:42
Explore how to use this class to study harmony, take notes on chords and progressions, and capture their emotive qualities, with a deep dive into ninth chords.

Characteristics of the 11th Chord2:34
Explore the 11th chord as the fourth octave displaced, creating crunch with the third, and stack triad, seventh, ninth, and eleventh for a thicker minor ninth and eleventh sound.
The Minor 11th Chord2:12
Explore the minor 11th chord with an E minor 11 voicing that uses the seventh and 11th, omits the ninth, and uses open guitar strings.
The Major 11th Chord1:41
The Dominant 11th Chord1:29
The Dominant (Sharp 11) Chord2:32
The Major 9 (Sharp 11) Chord1:47

Characteristics of 13th Chords3:20
The Minor 13th Chord1:23
The Major 13th Chord0:53
The Dominant 13th Chord1:21
Lots of Variations on 13th Chords4:34
Explore variations of 13th chords, from minor and dominant 13th chords to sus and flat-nine flavors, and learn voicing and inversions to omit notes for spice.
Can we go Higher? We about 15ths, 17ths, and 19ths?2:07
Explore fifteenths, seventeenths, and nineteenth chords, showing that the 13th contains all scale notes, higher extensions reset at the octave, and chromatic additions complicate the harmony.
Let's Listen and Study These Chords2:26
[DOWNLOAD] Here is that file full of chords.0:01

First, Some Definitions4:39
Explore voicings, voice leading, and inversions, showing why root-position chords sound off and how moving one note at a time creates smooth connections between chords.
Avoiding Root Voicings3:29
How Many Notes do you Need in a Chord?4:49
The Chord Voicing Challenge3:28
Experiment with eight randomly generated chords in any key, using voicings and voice leading to make them flow together like a normal song.
Playing with Voicings11:53
Explore real-time voicings from g major seven sharp nine to f thirteen flat thirteen, shape smooth progressions, and use looping, leading-tone emphasis, and velocity tweaks for jazzy textures.
{DOWNLOAD] MIDI File of these Voicings0:01

Warning: These Chords don't Follow the Rules2:02
Fractional Chords5:09
Discover fractional chords, where the bass note is the bottom of the chord. Reveal how voicings like C over G or B diminished seven over E show bass-driven color.
Can you have two Chords at Once?3:33
The Oddly Powerful Half-Diminished Seven Chord4:14
The Even More Oddly Powerful Fully-Diminished Seven Chord4:11
Explore the fully diminished seventh chord, its perfectly symmetrical minor-third structure, a movable three-note set with only three transpositions, and its powerful leading-tone role in advanced harmony.
The Neapolitan Chord3:50
The Italian 6 Chord4:59
The French 6 Chord2:26
The German 6 Chord1:27
Explore the German six chord, raising the note to a minor third from tonic and creating outward seventh, as part of augmented sixth chords with Italian and French variants.
The Elektra Chord3:20
Explore the Elektra chord, a two-chord sonority from Strauss's Elektra heard as one electric chord, blending E major and C# major with characteristic dissonances.
The Rite of Spring Chord3:37
The Petrushka Chord3:41
The Bridge Chord2:47
The Hendrix Chord3:37
Many, Many, more.2:52
[DOWNLOAD] Here is that file!0:01

Requirements

Completion of Music Theory for Electronic Musicians Parts 1-5 (or equivalent knowledge)
Basic understanding of scales, chords, and progressions
Any DAW with MIDI capability (demonstrations use Ableton Live)
A willingness to expand your harmonic vocabulary

Description

Welcome to Advanced Harmony, the sixth installment in the Music Theory for Electronic Musicians series. If you've mastered the fundamentals from Parts 1-5, you're ready to expand your harmonic spice rack with the sophisticated flavors that make contemporary electronic music truly distinctive.

Think of this course as your advanced cookbook for harmony. We'll move beyond the salt-and-pepper basics of major and minor chords into a rich world of extended harmonies, exploring how modern producers use 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths to create those ear-catching moments in nu-disco, advanced EDM, and contemporary electronic genres.

As the author of "Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers" and instructor to over 1 million students worldwide, I'll guide you through:

A comprehensive encyclopedia of "weird chords" - from the iconic Hendrix chord to contemporary classics
Advanced voicing techniques that add sophistication to your productions
Practical applications of extended harmony in modern electronic genres
The "when and why" of complex harmony - understanding the emotional impact
Professional-level harmony techniques used in nu-disco and contemporary production

This course includes hands-on demonstrations in the MIDI grid, real-world musical examples, and practical applications for:

Extended chord vocabulary (9ths, 11ths, 13ths)
Voice leading and chord voicing
Tension and resolution in complex harmony
Creative chord substitutions
Advanced harmonic progressions

Each concept is demonstrated in context, showing you exactly how these advanced techniques are used in contemporary electronic music production.

Remember: Just as a chef needs to understand basic cooking before creating complex dishes, you'll need the foundational knowledge from Parts 1-5 to fully benefit from these advanced concepts. This course builds directly on that knowledge to elevate your production skills to professional levels.

Join me for this deep dive into advanced harmony, and discover how to create those sophisticated, emotionally compelling moments that set professional productions apart.

Who this course is for:

Graduates of Music Theory for Electronic Musicians Parts 1-5 ready to take their productions to the next level
Anyone who's mastered basic chords but finds themselves asking "why do some tracks sound so much richer?"
Electronic producers looking to add sophisticated harmonic elements to their tracks
Nu-disco, EDM, and electronic producers seeking that professional polish in their harmonies
Musicians who understand basic theory but want to explore the "jazz-like" harmony in modern electronic genres

Music Theory for Electronic Musicians 6: Advanced Harmony

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 6min

Ninth Chords9 lectures • 19min

Eleventh Chords6 lectures • 12min

Thirteenth Chords8 lectures • 16min

Voicings, Voice Leadings, and Inversions6 lectures • 28min

A Whole Bunch of Super Weird Chords for Your Enjoyment16 lectures • 52min

Using These Chords6 lectures • 28min

The Final, Most Important, Biggest Secret About Harmony That I've Learned2 lectures • 6min

Wrap Up3 lectures • 4min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: