Advanced Chords

[evryali]

Everyday when I practice I go through all the typical major/minor chords in all the keys what chords do I go to next.

[kevonthegreatpianist]

don't really get what you're saying

[themeandvariation]

Hi Evryali.
Not sure exactly what you know.. And how at first you wish to apply these chords.. They can be used for analysis or for a short hand rendering of a lead sheet, or for improvisation… Without applying  it somewhere, but only to memory - it may not stick.
 There are different possibilities for a next step… I am assuming you are now quick to recognize all the major and minor triads..
Have you tried sight reading  a simple ''lead sheet'' - one where the 'basic' chords are indicated with a simple melody?  Or perhaps this is already easy for you.  If it is, you are probably ready to employ the 7's to the chords.. Learn the 7's form each particular scale first.  So for instance the c scale would have : Cmajor 7, Dminor 7, Eminor 7, Fmajor 7, G 7, Aminor 7 and B diminished.. Learn them in all inversions.  The same patterning of 7's occurs in each scale… Then you might try: Pick a few 7 chords from a scale, play a simple steady pulse with the lh. At first maybe 4 quarter note beats for each chord.. With a moderate pulse (60bpm) see if you can improvise with the rh with the notes in the  scale while you keep a beat with the left.. By using this knowledge to play, it is reinforced considerably.  Then try 9's, 11's, 13's. But to improvise with those chords - the lh hand playing - obviously some notes may have to be dropped.. This gets into a more complicated area to talk about here… But you could form these higher number chords without applying them to a piece… (which can also be altered, but we shouldn't talk about that yet)..
It helps if there is a piece to learn (again using a lead sheet) in order to use this knowledge..
(Of course there is also the augmented..  I forgot to mention)
I am not sure if any of this will be useful for you - as you may already know this, or that you don't have a concept to understand what i am saying… Tell me more about where you are, what you are looking to accomplish, and I may better be able to respond.  Though, it can be tricky to talk about this stuff in a forum.. You might do well to pick up a book.

[chopinlover01]

I see what he's saying.
In his daily practice, he plays all 24 major and minor chords as part of his warm up. He's mastered these, so he wants to know new chords to do this with.
The answer- 7ths for now, later 9ths, maybe even 13ths (learn some jazz voicings for these).
Also, diminished and augmented chords.

[ted]

There are only 352 possible chord and scale combinations excluding voicings and pitch. After I realised that many years ago I used it has a means of learning. Over the years though I became convinced that regarding music as a series of harmonies is very restrictive and more of a hindrance than a help for spontaneous creation. Also, all chords comprising more than a few notes can be thought of as combinations of two or more smaller chords, sometimes in more than one way, and this too provides a very enjoyable way of expanding vocabulary and fluency.

In short, the best course for you is to formulate your own scheme, always with a view to its agreement with your musical interest in the future.

[roncesvalles]

After learning the basic major and minor chords, it is a good idea to start connecting them in the classical manner.  This means chord progressions where each successive chord contains at least one note from the previous chord.  There are of course many exceptions to this in the literature, but it is the basic way of moving from one chord to the next.  A good harmony book will be of use at this point.

The next thing I would do, if I were you, would be to learn all inversions of chords, the 6 and 6/4 chords.  These are variations on major and minor chords that give different sounds and that can open up your playing and voice leading.  

I also second learning seventh chords.  Pay special attention to the seventh chord on the dominant (fifth degree of the key), as it is quite important.

Diminished and augmented chords can be a way to spice up your harmony, to make it more interesting, to add tension.   You may want to consult a book on harmony on ways to prepare and resolve dissonances caused by the tritone on diminished chords (a diminished chord is two minor thirds).   For classical music, this is essential, but for more modern music dissonances are not given special treatment.  Augmented chords (two major thirds) are not a part of the natural scales, but the third degree (while ascending) of minor melodic scales is augmented.  

Another thing is to distribute chords between your hands, to give them more space, as if a chorus is singing them.  Experiment with open spacing and closed spacing.   This is really helpful for composition, where not every piece consists of chords played by one hand and a melody in the other hand--at times you want a melodic bass, or an interesting tenor or alto line, and thinking of chords spread out between the hands can facilitate this.

In short, as a beginner I would first learn the major and minor chords, their inversions, then seventh chords, and then diminished and augmented chords.   There are, of course, many more types of chords.   Getting a good harmony text will help you learn these.  It is also a good idea to start analyzing the harmony of works of musical art that you like--what harmonies, what progressions did the composer use?