In music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, an approach chord (also chromatic approach chord and dominant approach chord) is a chord

Chord (music)

A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...

 one half-step

Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....

 higher or lower than the goal, especially in the context of turnarounds

Turnaround (music)

In jazz, a turnaround is a passage at the end of a section which leads to the next section. This next section is most often the repetition of the previous section or the entire piece or song...

 and cycle-of-fourths

Circle of fifths

In music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys...

 progressions, for example the two bar 50s progression

50s progression

The 50s progression is a chord progression and turnaround used in Western popular music. As the name implies, it was common in the 1950s and early 1960s and is particularly associated with doo-wop...

:
|G Em |Am D7 ||
may be filled in with approach chords:
|G F9

Ninth chord

A ninth chord is a chord that encompasses the interval of a ninth when arranged in close position with the root in the bass.A dominant ninth is a dominant chord with a ninth. A ninth chord, as an extended chord, typically includes the seventh along with the basic triad structure. Thus, a Cmaj9...

 Em Abm |Am D#7 D7 Gb7 ||
F9 being the half-step to Em, Am being the half-step to Am, D7 being the half-step to D7, and G7 being the half-step to G. G being I

Tonic (music)

In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...

, Em being vi

Submediant

In music, the submediant is the sixth scale degree of the diatonic scale, the 'lower mediant' halfway between the tonic and the subdominant or 'lower dominant'...

, Am being ii

Supertonic

In music or music theory, the supertonic is the second degree or note of a diatonic scale, one step above the tonic. In music theory, the supertonic chord is symbolized by the Roman numeral ii in a major scale, indicating that the chord is a minor chord , or ii in a natural minor scale, indicating...

, and D7 being V7

Dominant seventh chord

In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord,is a chord composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. It can be also viewed as a major triad with an additional minor seventh...

 (see ii-V-I turnaround and circle progression

Circle progression

In music, the circle progression is a chord progression named for the circle of fifths, along which it travels. It is "undoubtedly the most common and the strongest of all harmonic progressions" and consists of "adjacent roots in ascending fourth or descending fifth relationship", with movement by...

).

An approach chord may also be the chord immediately preceding the target chord such as the dominant (FMaj7

Major seventh chord

In music, a major seventh chord is any nondominant seventh chord where the "third" note is a major third above the root.Most typically, major seventh chord refers to where the "seventh" note is a major seventh above the root . This is more precisely known as the major/major seventh chord, and it...

) preceding the tonic

Tonic (music)

In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...

 (CMaj7) creating a strong cadence through the contrast of no more than two common tone

Common tone

In music a common tone is a pitch class that is a member of, or common to, a musical scale and a transposition of that scale, as in modulation...

s: FACE – CEGB.

Approach chords may thus be a semitone or a fifth

Perfect fifth

In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...

 or fourth

Perfect fourth

In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...

 from their target.

Approach chords create the harmonic space

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

 of the modes in jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 rather than secondary dominant

Secondary dominant

Secondary dominant is an analytical label for a specific harmonic device, prevalent in the tonal idiom of Western music beginning in the common practice period...

s.