Question about interesting chords/progressions

Hey..

I'm wanting to learn more about creating interesting chord progressions using interesting chords. I got turned on by shmanges newest trick which is a really cool prog. which goes Dm, Dm/maj7, Fmaj6, Bm7b5, then Em7, A7, Em7, A7.

My question is, are there any secrets or tips to how to effectively use some of these interesting chords in a progression, and also, why does this work? Is there a formula for cool sounding progressions like this that I can learn?

Oh, one more thing-.. What's a maj6 chord? I've heard of a 6 chord and a maj7 chord but not maj6.

Thanks for the help guys.

the best effective way to use these chords is to make sure they flow smoothley. In every chord there's leading tones that make you feel the need to resolve to another note. Using these leading tones properley can leave you with a very catchy and sexy chord progression.

Ex: (BASIC CHORDS) C [c e g] G [g b d]

the c in th C chord leads to either d or b of the G chord

When you use 7th, 6th, sus2, sus4, etc chords. you double the amount of leading tones.

As for a sixth chord;

Take any major chord, say A maj. The A major scale consists of A B C# D E F# G# A. All you are doing is adding the sixth degree of that scale to that chord. So instead of having A C# E, you'd have A C# E F#. The chord is now a compound of A major (AC#E) and F# minor(F#AC#) giving the chord a very mellow, or jazzy sound.

As we begin substituting extended chords in the place of traids and power chords to spice up our old progression, we often ask whwether or not there are rules or generalizations for when playing these different chords...One of the most important things to consider when choosing a substitute voicing is the quality of the chord to be replaced. You'll wan't to catagorize the chord as being major (containing a major 3rd) minor (containing a minor third), or dominant (major third with b7)in tonality. This is important because chords can be swapped easily, without fear of clashing with the existing melody. The only limitation is how far you want to go with the complexity of your voicings. Let the stryle of the music you're playing be your overall guide.

-Joseph