Composing With More Colorful Chord Combinations Part 1

Composing With More Colorful Chord Combinations Part 1

I believe I’m going to start a series on composing music using more advanced and colorful harmonies than the basic, vanilla progressions.

Below, you’ll find some recent combinations I’ve tried out and where they resolve to:

You can shape some really expressive colors by letting 9th, 11th, and 13th chords resolve in functional ways. These examples keep the voice‑leading smooth and show the before → after motion clearly so you can feel the release.

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🎵 Dominant 9th Resolutions (V9 → I or vi)

Dominant 9ths resolve just like dominant 7ths, but the added 9th gives a sweeter, more suspended pull.

1. G9 → Cmaj9

• G9 (G — B — D — F — A)
• → Cmaj9 (C — E — G — B — D)
• • Motion:• A → G (9th resolving down)
• • F → E (7th resolving down)
• • B stays as common tone

2. A9 → Dmaj9

• A9 (A — C# — E — G — B)
• → Dmaj9 (D — F# — A — C# — E)
• • Motion:• B → A
• • G → F#
• • C# stays as common tone

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🌙 Minor 9th Resolutions (ii9 → V13 → I)

Minor 9ths give a lush, introspective color.

3. Dm9 → G13 → Cmaj9

• Dm9 (D — F — A — C — E)
• → G13 (G — B — D — F — E)
• → Cmaj9 (C — E — G — B — D)
• • Motion:• E (9th of Dm9) → E (13th of G13) (common tone!)
• • C → B
• • F → E
• • A → G

This is one of the smoothest extended‑chord cadences in tonal harmony.

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🌤️ Dominant 11th Resolutions (V11 → I or IV)

11th chords behave like suspended dominants.

4. G11 → Cmaj9

• G11 (G — B — D — F — A — C)
• → Cmaj9 (C — E — G — B — D)
• • Motion:• C (11th) → C (root) (common tone)
• • F (7th) → E
• • A (9th) → G

5. C11 → Fmaj9

• C11 (C — E — G — Bb — D — F)
• → Fmaj9 (F — A — C — E — G)
• • Motion:• F (11th) → F (root)
• • D → C
• • Bb → A

This one has a gospel/soul flavor.

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🌅 Minor 11th Resolutions (iim11 → V9 → I)

Minor 11ths are atmospheric and modern.

6. Em11 → A9 → Dmaj9

• Em11 (E — G — B — D — F# — A)
• → A9 (A — C# — E — G — B)
• → Dmaj9 (D — F# — A — C# — E)
• • Motion:• A stays from Em11 → A9
• • F# stays from Em11 → Dmaj9
• • G → F#
• • D → C#

This is a classic smooth‑jazz ii — V — I.

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🌈 Dominant 13th Resolutions (V13 → I)

13ths give the warmest, most open dominant color.

7. G13 → Cmaj9

• G13 (G — B — D — F — A — E)
• → Cmaj9 (C — E — G — B — D)
• • Motion:• E (13th) → E (3rd) (common tone)
• • A → G
• • F → E
• • B stays

8. E13 → Amaj9

• E13 (E — G# — B — D — F# — C#)
• → Amaj9 (A — C# — E — G# — B)
• • Motion:• C# stays
• • D → C#
• • F# → E

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🌧️ Minor 13th Resolutions (iim13 → V13 → I)

Minor 13ths are lush and cinematic.

9. Am13 → D13 → Gmaj9

• Am13 (A — C — E — G — B — F#)
• → D13 (D — F# — A — C — E — B)
• → Gmaj9 (G — B — D — F# — A)
• • Motion:• F# stays through all three chords
• • C → B
• • G → F#
• • B stays into Gmaj9

This is a gorgeous, film‑score‑friendly progression.

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🎼 A Fully Connected Extended-Chord Cadence

If you want one progression that uses 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths in one flow:

10. Dm9 → G11 → G13 → Cmaj9

• Dm9 (ii)
• • G11 (suspended V)
• • G13 (dominant V)
• • Cmaj9 (I)

Voice-leading:

• E stays from Dm9 → G13 → Cmaj9
• • C → B
• • F → E
• • A → G

This is one of the smoothest extended‑chord cadences you can write.

Hopefully, these will help you in your writing journey. Check out my music theory online course for more!

I’ll be back with part 2 soon!