Chords...

[paio135]

hello... i write electronic music, but have recently been interested in different chords sitting over each other, an Em over F5 and such...

However i don't really know what exactly this is (subject wise) in order to read further into... and was also wondering if there were any " rules " with this sort of thing.... like a minor 7th chord over a major 6th or something or anything relating to the circle of 5ths...

any help much appreciated.

=)

[ingunite]

Sorry, not the foggiest; but I am sure someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly with a good answer.

[Bob]

If it helps....

You can look at extended chords as being simpler chords.  A major triad over a dominant seventh chord.... It's really just some kind of extended chord, like a dominant 13th with raised 11th.  If you want to look at them that way.  It could also be two triads sounding at the same time... Maybe bitonal with two key centers.

If it's extended chords, I don't think it matters so much up high.  In terms of what notes are up there.  At certain point it can work, if it's not clashing too much with the lower notes, unless you want that.  But with all the little variations on the upper parts of extended chords you still come down to only about four actual functions -- tonic, dominant, pre-dominant, and other ambigious chord probably leading to predominant. 

I think that might be a little off from what you asked, but it's related.  I just find them interesting.  I think you can do whatever you want - It's your composition or improv.  Things like parallel fifths or octaves might stick stick out (combine independent voices into one voice with a little emphasis possibly for a second).