here are some examples of my favorite
functional chord the flat six chord in
9in Nails
songs
better but I think the best way to
demonstrate to you why I think this
chord so powerful is just to play you
some examples the first example is in
something I can never have and it's
actually the very last chord played in
the entire song that is the only time
that we hear the flat six chord and it's
the chord that the whole song ends on
now that's a little atypical right there
because usually songs end on the tonic
chord I just want
something I can
never I just want
something I can never
[Laughter]
[Music]
have I can't
[Laughter]
[Music]
never the next example is not so obvious
this is actually in the bridge of Mr
self-destruct but it's one of the things
that makes me love the bridge I am
[Music]
can't
suain
Del we
have there it
is the same thing that was happening in
something I could never have
fifth uh the other example though is in
Ruiner you had all of them on your
side
you didn't you you believe all your lies
didn't
you you you believ in all your
life now I wouldn't say that when I
heard the flat six chord in either of
these songs I was like that's because
they're kind of touched on briefly
they're not really fleshed out there's
not a lot of Harmony happening around
them but if we play the chords of Ruiner
in a different style you might actually
be able to hear the power of the flat
six chord come through a little bit
clearer you all on your
side didn't
you didn't
you you believe in all your
lies didn't you
did you I am not going to put this on
YouTube ever but patrons that's what you
get that's what I get now moving on to
the fragile era one of my favorite
instances of the flat six chord is in
the big cown are you surprised by that
yeah it's in the chorus it's really
really pretty there is no place I can go
there is no way I can hide
feels
like breaking that down into just the
the harmonies and Melodies dripping it
everything else
away that's gorgeous and it's all thanks
to the flat six chord if we were to play
this over the tonic chord we'd have
[Music]
[Applause]
she still great
[Music]
but there is no place I can go one more
from The Fragile era is the very end I
guess the Decay part of ripe with decay
[Music]
yeah there are two really great examples
of the flat six chord on the still album
the first is an all that could have
been
all
pie and promises and left behind if only
I could
see in my
nothing you
know
everything to
please take
this and run far
away far
away from
me and by
nothing you meant
there it
is it's such a tender moment that's the
part that always gets to me and lo and
behold it's the flat six chord there's
like it's like sad then there's some
hope no
hope perfect segue into the next one off
still with the flat six chord is leaving
Hope
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
a that's the most hopeless sounding
major 7th I've ever heard and it's also
the first chord in every phrase in the
chorus there it
[Music]
is there are quite a few examples of the
flat six Cordon with teeth actually the
hand that feeds the line that blurs hand
that feeds the line begins to blur and
besid you and
time
will
be you
this song always gets to me so we've
got there it is followed
by what's around the flat six chord
definitely has an impact but even if
there was nothing else going on just
flat 6 tonic over and over again it's
still extremely beautiful but but listen
to that
[Music]
change
ah so it's not quite as uh harmonically
fleshed out and the line begins to blur
but it is a part of the progression and
I think it hits at just the right
moment I stay
here the more it's not
so the more I stay in
here the more I
Dan isn't all that
tension as far far as I
can as
I and one of their biggest commercial
hits was the hand that feeds and this
has a flat six chord prominently
featured in the
chorus Hollow and it's cold there it is
how de do you
believe will you fight that hand that be
we you are telling me you get up off
your knees are you brave enough to see
do you
want there's not a lot of really strong
harmonic functions in year zero so
there's one song that I could find that
had the flat sixti cord prominently
which is the beginning of the end one of
my favorites probably not a
surprise
begin we think we come so high
over back SM
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
condem this a
cons this is the beginning
[Music]
[Applause]
one example I could find in the slip
which is
discipline
iine there it is I need you
disine you know one I canot help myself
and the progression and discipline is
kind of buried because they've got sort
of petal tones happening at the same
time but it is there if you listen and
it is important because the cannot help
myself it's all against the flat six
chord so we get some really nice tension
with it so we have you know I start I
canot help myself cannot oh
yeah there's that ninth major ninth
canot help
myself and his singing it sounds as if
it would be over the tonic chord but
instead of being over the tonic chord
it's over the Flat 6 it's such a great
substitute in a way for a tonic chord if
you're delaying the gratification You're
Building tension I need your
[Music]
discipline you know start I cannot help
myself that's if it just went to the
tonic but cannot help myself oh yeah
there are so many examples of the flat
six cord and hesitation marks so many I
I don't even think I have time to go
through all of them came back haunted
All Time Low various methods of Escape
in two while I'm still
[Music]
here I don't believe
it I had to see
you I came back
home I came back
home I said goodbye
[Music]
I don't believe it oh
yeah had to see
it very briefly in all time low but it's
an important moment check it out
cuz before it's going
[Music]
and stretch across the
sky it's going to last forever
baby never going to die you hear that
difference because before it's playing
the natural six not the flatten six but
just the regular old six
but then it
goes we're never going to die it's so
much Bolder and it really sets us up to
go back to one because that whole Court
progression doesn't hit the tonic at all
it's really really interesting uh at
least not in the Baseline so the
satisfaction we get
going we got this up top too
it's so great it's also in various
methods of Escape it's the first chord
in the
[Music]
chorus I've got to get
straight why you have to make
so I make got away
the bridge of the bridge of in two is
really really cool and it Cycles this
court progression sort of an uneven way
but the first chord of that that cycle
is the flat six chord
[Music]
I just don't
know
anym I just don't
know any it's also the first chord in
the course of while I'm still
[Music]
here every
day falls upon
it steps
away I don't
mind I'm
okay wish
you have to end
this
a little
war Every
Day falls
apart slips away
but I don't
mind I'm
okay nothing
[Music]
ever guitar
okay two examples of the flat six chord
in the trilogy and they're both on ad
violence less than and the background
roll and the back
R so what are you waiting
for you got what
you what's wrong with you
less
than are you less
than gorgeous awesome powerful and
lastly the background world I'm going
into you
[Music]
again I know you saw it
too
ready now will'll keep myself
[Music]
awake I know what's
coming I feel it reach this is
interesting because the background World
likes to move away from the cords that
feel like we're supposed to stay on them
very quickly like something sort of
slips through your fingers every time
and the flat six chord is one of the
ones that it sort of touches and then
moves away every time it happens I'm
like there is no future poting a so so
beautiful and
tense sounds like a
ninth oh I just wish he would stay there
but he
doesn't but I really like what he does
too I'm just obsessed with the flat six
chord and I just want everyone to stay
there forever there's one more n nail
song that does have it and it's in
Pretty Hate Machine see if you can find
it I hope you found this interesting but
most of all I hope that this illuminated
something in your heart if there are
those moments in music that just catch
your breath and it has it happens to be
this chord I'll be happy to know that we
have that connection and if not stay
tuned cuz there's other chords I really
like if you enjoyed hearing me sing and
want to hear more of that well good news
I have an album coming out in early 2025
if you want to hear Snippets of the
songs they're all over my live stream
replays and also on the kickstarter
itself check it out and if you're
watching this in 2025 well guess what
the album's out so buy it download it
stream it zip it lock it bop it you know
everything all right see you