Why boredom is a “good thing”

Because it forces you, albeit eventually, to break out and seek new ground. Perhaps tedium is the mother of invention.

Oh, the unbridled joy of altered chords. A prising open of hidden doors. Enabling the smash and grab of fresh sounds. A suprise for the ears around every corner. A break from the humdrum of an all too familiar palette of tones.

So there you are. I can while away a happy couple of hours seeing where major chords – suitably adorned with a suspended ninth, or flat-five, or suspended fourth, or major seventh – will take me. Slip-sliding from one key to another. Maybe, scattering a few diminished chords about in a carefree fashion. Then sneakily import some minor chords with the same adornments. Occasional major seventh chord with suspensions and / or flat-fives on top. Get drunk on the rich and heady brew. Stumble about the bright streets and dark alleys trying to maintain a balance and sense of orientation. Trying to remember at least where you came from while not too concerned, for the time being, where you are headed. Try to find some unexplored corner. Settle and rest. In a stranger tonality.

Boredom is banished. The featureless landscape of unremitting diatonic chords is broken the jagged peaks and yawning chasms of a teetering tonality. Fasten your sealtbelt and hold on tight!