DOCSLIB.ORG

Chord Workshop 2020: Day 6 – Major and Minor 7Th Chords

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Chord Workshop 2020: Day 6 – Major and Minor 7Th Chords Chord Workshop 2020: Day 6 – Major and Minor 7th Chords DISCLAIMER: Before you begin this series, I ask that you understand two basic elements: • When we work with a standard Major chord, we'll use the 1 – 3 – 5 of the given scale. • When we work with a standard minor chord, we'll use the 1 – b3 – 5 of the given scale. Up to this point I've only hinted at scales, but they are absolutely required to be used in order to understand chord construction. Does that mean you must know scales in order to play chords? Absolutely not. What it really means is based on understanding them. There isn't a single thing wrong with just using a chord diagram as provided or even memorizing a given chord as a shape/pattern. This is the same idea as using our E Style (Major/minor) and A Style (Major/minor) barre chord templates to find every standard Major or minor chord ANYWHERE on the fretboard. That being addressed, doing just that might only help you remember locations. Plus, it's much harder to think of the notes used in a given chord if you just look at a chord diagram. Truth be told, that was my biggest problem when I first started learning chords. I just saw them as pictures. They are pictures – but they are also much more. Each and every chord features at least two or more important elements just inside their given frames. These important elements are the BASIS for everything you do in the future. You cannot (and will not) be satisified just going through the motions of memorizing chords as merely pictures. Furthermore, you won't always have a picture or a cheat sheet to use. Thus, do not be content with just learning a basic set of Major, minor or even suspended chords. There are more – and they will pop up on you when you least expect it. So, now is the time where we have to get a little more scale-oriented. We won't dwell on too much yet, but we must see scales in action in order to understand our next set of chords, which are Major 7 (maj7) and minor 7 (m7) chords. The first thing you'll notice when I mention those names will be the (7) in them, right? Well, the (7) in both cases is simply an added note to an already established Major or minor chord. X Major 7 (xmaj7) = 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 | x minor 7 (xm7) = 1 – b3 – 5 – b7 What's the difference with X Major 7? We add a 7 to the Major chord, which will give us an X maj7. Sometimes you will see the maj7 property shown as M7 as well. It's the same thing. The biggest point is to make sure you DO include either the word “maj7” or “M7” because it's beyond just a regular Major chord. Recall in the past that we rarely, if ever, actually call a C Major chord a C Major chord. Instead, we usually just call it a “ C ” chord. Well, we can't do that here. We aren't just playing a C Major. We are adding a (7) property to it. First we'll check out one of the easiest maj7 (M7) chords you'll ever learn: Looks a lot like a C Major right? Instead of another C note we have So, we DO have 1 – 3 – 5, but Heck, it's even easier. a B note. But hey, we still have C. now we also have 7. While the Cmaj7 (CM7) diagram above makes it seem that we've lost a note when compared to C Major, we have actually gained one. C Major = C – E – G (1 – 3 – 5) vs. Cmaj7 = C – E – G – B (1 – 3 – 5 – 7) Where does that 7 note come from, right? Yep, it comes from the C Major Scale. C D E F G A B ( C ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ( 1 ) (M) chord sus2 (M) chord sus4 (M) chord ??? * XXX (M) chord I've labeled these scale degrees/notes based on what we've covered so far. The (M) here just means Major. The sus2 (1-2-5) as well as the sus4 (1-4-5) are the properties used to replace the standard Major (1-3-5) chord. The green box is where our Major 7 property comes in. It's just a (7) note. It's ALSO called, when dealing with the Major scale, the leading tone. Simply put, the (7) quite frequently (almost always) “leads back” to the tonic. The tonic is just a fancy name for the (1). I really really really want to explain the (6) here. Long story short – that note, when played as a minor chord, is the relative of the Major. I won't go too far there, but I did mention it in the past. So, keep this on your mental back burner: Any (6) in the Major scale is the relative minor chord of that scale. That means C Major and Am are relatives here. If that's the case, then the C Major scale is also = to the Am scale. Same scale, different note order. C Major Scale = C – D – E – F – G – A – B - ( C ) Am Scale = A – B – C – D – E – F – G – ( A ) While this scale above is the C Major scale, you can also think of each note as chordal properties if it makes you more comfortable. Each tone has been clearly identified now in terms of how it is used in a chord spectrum. How about the m7 chord, right? Since I already let the cat out of the bag in terms of scale/chord relativity between C Major and Am, let's go ahead and have some fun with chord relatives. Thus, we can use the Am scale. It's just the C Major scale starting on A. A B C D E F G ( A ) 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 ( 1 ) (m) chord sus2 (m) chord sus4 (m) chord (na) XXX (m) chord *don't worry about the b6 (F) property right now. We're still working with chords. It doesn't do anything for us right now. I haven't even shown you the Am7 chord, but if you know that the m7 chord is created through 1 – b3 – 5 – b7, you have your answer. Am7 = A – C – E – G (1 – b3 – 5 – b7) ← the b7 property (G) is added to the Am chord. For giggles, see if you can find the spot in the block that would relate our Am chord to its Major relative. Yep – the b3 is a C note. So, If you're thinking in a given minor scale, the b3 is the note that “relates” the Major chord or scale. That same b3 also happens to be the one tone in a chord that makes it obvious it's a minor chord. Terminology of m7: The good thing about the minor 7 property is that we ALWAYS use the “m” in a given minor chord. So, if we are thinking of a standard Am chord, the “m” is already there. It tells us that we are playing an A minor (Am) not an A Major (A) chord. When we name a given m7 chord, we are adding the b7 property from the minor scale (not the 7 from the Major scale) to the already existing minor chord. Now we can actually look at (a few of the many versions) of the Am7 chord as a visual reference: All of these reference the Am chord with an added b7 tone. The b7 tone here is G. Why so many versions? Well, it's just about note manipulation and options. Any of them work just fine. Your first Am7 will sound the lowest because the G tone is played open. Your second Am7 will sound a bit higher than your first one because of the added G (b7) note on the 3rd fret high E string beyond your initial open G string note. The third Am7 will basically BE an Am with an extra b7 (G) tone quite literally added to it. It's going to sound the fullest because we also have that extra “A” note fretted. That's all there is to maj7 (M7) and m7 chords. Seriously. With a given maj7 chord you just add the (7) tone to the already established Major chord. With a given m7 chord you just add the (b7) tone to the already established minor chord. One question you might have is this . “Well how do we find a Major 7 chord?” Take the root note of the chord in question and move back one fret space. There's your 7! There's only 12 notes in music. Out of the 12 notes, standard scales only use a handful of them. If you think Pentatonic, you're looking at 5 notes. If you think of a standard Major or minor scale, you're looking at 7 notes. Even going full standard in terms of scale, even out of those 7 notes in a standard Major or minor scale, FIVE of them are still Pentatonic. We don't need to think beyond those right now. Below are JUST the 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 notes of each Major scale. 1 3 5 7 ( 1 ) Result of M7 prop. A C# E G# ( A ) Back a fret = G# A#/Bb D F A (A#) Back a fret = A B D# F# A# ( B ) Back a fret = A# C E G B ( C ) Back a fret = B C#/Db F G# C (C#) Back a fret = C D F# A C# ( D ) Back a fret = C# D#/Eb G A# D (D#) Back a fret = D E G# B D# ( E ) Back a fret = D# F A C E ( F ) Back a fret = E F#/Gb A# C# F (F#) Back a fret = F G B D F# ( G ) Back a fret = F# G#/Ab C D# G (G#) Back a fret = G Aside from the fact that each column goes up a semi-tone (hint hint!) as you move downward, you can also see that once you reach the ending tonic (1) you start over.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Affordant Chord Transitions in Selected Guitar-Driven Popular Music
    Affordant Chord Transitions in Selected Guitar-Driven Popular Music Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Gary Yim, B.Mus. Graduate Program in Music The Ohio State University 2011 Thesis Committee: David Huron, Advisor Marc Ainger Graeme Boone Copyright by Gary Yim 2011 Abstract It is proposed that two different harmonic systems govern the sequences of chords in popular music: affordant harmony and functional harmony. Affordant chord transitions favor chords and chord transitions that minimize technical difficulty when performed on the guitar, while functional chord transitions favor chords and chord transitions based on a chord's harmonic function within a key. A corpus analysis is used to compare the two harmonic systems in influencing chord transitions, by encoding each song in two different ways. Songs in the corpus are encoded with their absolute chord names (such as “Cm”) to best represent affordant factors in the chord transitions. These same songs are also encoded with their Roman numerals to represent functional factors in the chord transitions. The total entropy within the corpus for both encodings are calculated, and it is argued that the encoding with the lower entropy value corresponds with a harmonic system that more greatly influences the chord transitions. It is predicted that affordant chord transitions play a greater role than functional harmony, and therefore a lower entropy value for the letter-name encoding is expected. But, contrary to expectations, a lower entropy value for the Roman numeral encoding was found. Thus, the results are not consistent with the hypothesis that affordant chord transitions play a greater role than functional chord transitions.
    [Show full text]
  • Consumables Music As a Second Language & the Modern Band Movement – Little Kids Rock Teacher Manual V3.3 Parts of the Acoustic Guitar
    GUITAR CONSUMABLES Music as a Second Language & The Modern Band Movement – Little Kids Rock Teacher Manual v3.3 Parts of the Acoustic Guitar Headstock Tuning Machines GUITAR Nut Frets Neck Sound Hole Body Strings Pickguard Bridge 106 Music as a Second Language & The Modern Band Movement – Little Kids Rock Teacher Manual v3.3 Parts of the Electric Guitar Tuning Pegs Headstock Nut Frets Neck GUITAR Pickguard Pickup Volume Knob Strings Tone Knobs Body Output Bridge 107 Music as a Second Language & The Modern Band Movement – Little Kids Rock Teacher Manual v3.3 Some of the Basics Fret Numbers String Numbers 3rd Fret 1st Fret 6 5 4 3 2 1 2nd Fret GUITAR Think of each box as a fret. Put your finger in the first box, and you’re playing the first fret. E A D G B E String Names 1 2 3 4 2. Finger Numbers The thumb doesn’t get a num- ber because it sits on the back of the neck (The guitar’s neck, not your neck!!!) 108 Music as a Second Language & The Modern Band Movement – Little Kids Rock Teacher Manual v3.3 Chord Diagrams A chord diagram is just a drawing of what a chord looks like when you play it on your guitar. Look at the chord diagram and key below. Chord name Don’t play this string D XXO Play this open string Nut GUITAR Frets 1 2 Finger number Fretboard 3 Here are tips for Reading Chord Diagrams: ❶ The black dots with numbers in them are where you place your fingers.
    [Show full text]
  • Guitar Lessons Outline
    Lesson 6: Barre Chords E formation: Major, Minor, Sevenths Although most folk songs can be played without the use of barre chords, they are essential to playing most rock songs! Barre Chords are chords that have your index finger holding down more than one string and not playing with any open strings. Below is a picture of an F major chord, using the barring method: Note that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers are playing the formation of an E major chord while the 1st finger is barring all of the strings of the first fret. You may find this hard to do at first because the 1st finger must be held flat and you are putting your 4th finger to work for the first time, but barre chords have a great advantage over open chords: they can be moved up and down the neck to make any chord you want. For example: When moved up two frets becomes All major, minor and seventh chords can be made using E formation barre chords. Let’s look at A major, Am, Am7 and Amaj7 using E formation barre chords. The 1st finger is barred across the 5th fret, making the 6th string an A note. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers make an E formation to create the rest of the chord: 31 Then the minor chord follows the same pattern as the open Em chord by flattening the 3rd note: C# By flattened the 7th note of the A major scale, the 2nd A note drops a whole step (G) to become an Am7 barre chord: By dropping the 2nd A note down a half step, we get an Amaj7 barre chord: These variations of the E formation barre chord may be played anywhere on the neck.
    [Show full text]
  • THE 15 STEPS to CREATING Your Own Music on the Guitar INDEX
    the BEGINNERS GUIDE TO GUITAR MASTERY THE 15 STEPS TO CREATING your own music on the guitar INDEX Page Number Contents 1 About this book and why we made it 2 Our philosophy and community 3 Guitar Construction 4 Strings and string names 5 Open position notes 6 Open chords 7 Strumming 8 Tablature and notation 9 Riffs 10 Barre chords 11 Power chords 12 Pentatonic scales 13 Arpeggios 14 Major scale formula 15 String effects 16 Octaves 17 Alternate tuning 18 What now? 19 About us ABOUT THIS BOOK Hey there reader, and guitar player! We have created this learning resource in an attempt to help people accelerate their journey of understanding the guitar, and inspire them to start creating their own music. A lot of people when wanting to start playing guitar will go straight to Youtube, learn ran- dom songs here and there, but the information you are consuming is really scattered and has no building of structure. This makes it harder for you to remember, much longer to improve, and when you don’t feel like you’re improving you’re going to lose motivation real quick. Think of this book as a blueprint of what you need to learn, and the order you should learn it in, so you can start wailing on the guitar and creating your own music as quickly as possible. WHY WE MADE IT We are committed to teaching people not only the technical aspects of playing this amazing instrument, but also to helping people understand, interpret, and celebrate this phenome- non we call music.
    [Show full text]
  • Chord and It Gives It It's Name
    Interval Functions • In any chord, each interval has a ‘job’ or ‘function’ • The root is the most fundamental part of the chord and it gives it it’s name and ‘tone’ or pitch • The third is what makes the chord sound happy or sad. • The fifth ‘bulks’ up the chord • The seventh adds the ‘spice’ on top of the chord Intervals (Advanced) • Perfect intervals are the 4, 5 and 8 (octave). These are intervals whose frequencies divide into neat fractions. • Perfect Intervals are considered ‘consonant’ as opposed to ‘dissonant’ ROUGHWORK Note Frequency Note Frequency A1 28 A4 220 C B1 31 B4 247 G C1 33 C4 262 D1 37 D4 294 E1 41 E4 330 F1 44 F4 349 33 G1 49 G4 392 A2 55 A5 440 49 B2 62 B5 494 C2 65 C5 523 D2 73 D5 587 E2 82 E5 659 F2 87 F5 698 2 G2 98 G5 784 A3 110 A6 880 3 B3 123 B6 988 C3 131 C6 1047 D3 147 D6 1175 E3 165 E6 1319 F3 175 F6 1397 G3 196 G6 1568 • Non-perfect intervals are 2, 3, 6 and 7. They can be either a major or minor interval. Interval Name Interval Alternate Name Unison 0 Aug Diminished Second Minor Second Dim m2 Majo Augmented Unison r Major Second Minor M2 Aug Diminished Third Minor Third Dim m3 Majo Augmented Second r Major Third Minor M3 Aug Diminished Fourth Perfect Fourth Dim 4 Aug Augmented Third Diminished Fifth/Augmented Fourth Dim Tritone Aug Diminished Fifth/Augmented Fourth Perfect Fifth Dim 5 Aug Diminished Sixth Minor Sixth Minor m6 Majo Augmented Fifth r Major Sixth Dim M6 Majo Diminished Seventh r Minor Seventh Minor m7 Aug Augmented Sixth Major Seventh Minor M7 Aug Diminished Octave Perfect Octave Dim Octave
    [Show full text]
  • Music-Theory-For-Guitar-4.9.Pdf
    Music Theory for Guitar By: Catherine Schmidt-Jones Music Theory for Guitar By: Catherine Schmidt-Jones Online: < http://cnx.org/content/col12060/1.4/ > This selection and arrangement of content as a collection is copyrighted by Catherine Schmidt-Jones. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Collection structure revised: September 18, 2016 PDF generated: August 7, 2020 For copyright and attribution information for the modules contained in this collection, see p. 73. Table of Contents 1 Learning by Doing: An Introduction ............................................................1 2 Music Theory for Guitar: Course Introduction ................................................7 3 Theory for Guitar 1: Repetition in Music and the Guitar as a Rhythm Instrument ...................................................................................15 4 Theory for Guitar 2: Melodic Phrases and Chord Changes .................................23 5 Theory for Guitar 3: Form in Guitar Music ...................................................31 6 Theory for Guitar 4: Functional Harmony and Chord Progressions ........................37 7 Theory for Guitar 5: Major Chords in Major Keys ..........................................41 8 Theory for Guitar 6: Changing Key by Transposing Chords ................................53 9 Theory for Guitar 7: Minor Chords in Major Keys ..........................................59 10 Theory for Guitar 8: An Introduction to Chord Function in Minor Keys
    [Show full text]
  • Ukulele Movable Chord Shapes 1
    Ukulele movable chord shapes 1 Ukulele movable chord shapes by Mike Pope This booklet teaches you how to form hundreds of chords on the ukulele based on just a couple of dozen shapes. If you've spent any time practicing the uke, you already know many of the shapes you can use to create new chords. The booklet is for concert ukulele (not baritone) using the most common tuning (G–C–E–A). This book is free and you may pass it along to anyone who's interested. For details, see the License section. Seattle, Washington July 3, 2019 © 2019 Mike Pope. Creative Common license Version 1.9 Last update: 3-Jul-2019 Ukulele movable chord shapes 2 Introduction: Open and movable chords ....................................................................................................... 3 How to move an open shape ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Using barre chords to make shapes ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Why learn multiple shapes for each chord? ................................................................................................... 8 Legend ................................................................................................................................................................. 9 The open shapes .............................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Guitar Chord Chart for Standard Tuning
    Page | 1 Guitar Chord Chart for Standard Tuning This is the base Standard tuning chart for each string: Next, we'll walk through the neck positions for the chords you'll find in your rock songs. Each has a guitar chord chart so you can "eyeball" it easily. Let's start with the open chord A Major. A Major/A Minor A Major is one of the easy guitar chords to learn how to play. There are a couple different ways to finger the chord in the open position. The easiest is just to "barre" the fourth (D), third (G) and second (B) strings at the second fret with your index (first) finger. This gives you a combination of the notes E, A and C# (C "sharp"). Another way to play an open A chord is to start with your first finger on the G string/second fret, your second (middle) finger on the D string/second fret and your third finger (ring) on the B string/second fret. Midlife Rocker Media ©Copyright 2007‐2010 www.learn‐to‐play‐rock‐guitar.com Page | 2 Back to A Major. Place your index finger across all six strings at the fifth fret. Next, put your middle finger on the G string (third) at the sixth fret. Now you’re going to press your ring finger on the fifth string (A) and your pinky on the fourth string (D), both at the seventh fret. This time we’re going to do another barre chord but at the seventh fret, so press your index finger across all six strings there.
    [Show full text]
  • Moneychords Guide to Guitar Chord Shapes
    1 MoneyChords Guide To Guitar Chord Shapes Richard J. Scott 2 MoneyChords Guitar Chord Shapes All Rights Reserved © 2001 Richard J. Scott 3 Contents Introduction - 4 Augmented Chord Shapes - 4 Barre Chord Shapes ("A" Form) - 7 Barre Chord Shapes ("E" Form) - 10 Dominant 7th Chord Shapes - 12 Major Chord Shapes - 14 Power Chord Shapes - 18 4 Introductions A great way to kick-start your guitar playing is to study chord shape relationships. This was particularly helpful when I studied Jazz guitar. All Chord Shapes shown are closed, moveable chords with the Root designated in Red. Any given chord is named after its Root note. The chord diagrams indicate proper fingerings as follows: The Index finger is shown as a "1". The Middle finger is designated as a "2". The Ring finger is notated as a "3" and the Little or Pinky finger as a "4". Strings that are not to played are marked with an "x". Strings without a finger number or an "x" are to be played as an open string. 5 Augmented Chord Shapes (1-3-#5) There are five primary "Augmented" Chord Shapes which are based on the open position "A", "C", "D", "E", and "G" chords. The fingering diagrams for these chords are presented below with a link to commonly encountered variations. The most widely used chord shapes are the "C" and "E" Forms. Augmented Chords are unique in that if you move a chord up or down the fingerboard four frets, the chord notes remain the same but in a different order. For example, let's take a look at the "C+" (C Form) Augmented Chord.
    [Show full text]
  • Mastering Stubborn Barre Chords by Dave Isaacs and the Staff at Jamplay, LLC
    Mastering Stubborn Barre Chords By Dave Isaacs and the staff at JamPlay, LLC All you intermediate to advanced players who have years of Barre Chords under your belt, you can politely ignore these first few pages... we want to be sure the beginners understand a few basics before piling into more advanced tips. For you rookies out there who haven't had the pleasure of trying one yet, a barre chord is a chord in which you use your index finger, or first finger, to hold down multiple strings across the fretboard. This generally constitutes your first finger pressing down five or six strings, there are of course variations but we will not worry about these for now. The main advantage from playing barre chords is derived from the ability to move the chord shape up and down the neck, without worrying about the open strings. The two most commonly used barre chords are the E shape and A shape. There are of course other variations which eventually leads into the A!ED system of guitar playing, which you can see covered in some of our online guitar lessons. #f you look at the diagram of the E shape barre chord to the left, you can see that the index finger is covering all six strings. That is the barre which makes this chord considered a barre chord. For example, picture yourself playing a regular ! major chord. Now move that exact shape up the neck one fret. Notice the awful, dissonant cacophony you are greeted with& That's because you are only fretting three (or four notes, depending on how you play it).
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson 6 Barre Chords
    Lesson 6 Barre Chords There are only three types of instruments that can play chords: (1) harps, (2) keyboard instruments like the piano, and (3) stringed instruments like the guitar. Of those three, only the stringed instruments, specifically the guitar, can use the same fingerings anywhere up and down the fretboard. To be able to move the same chord position anywhere up and down the fretboard makes learning chords in any key much easier. This gives guitar players a tremendous advantage over harp and keyboard players. The same type of chord can be played on any fret and produce that type of chord (Major, minor, 7th etc.) in every key. Barre chords enable the guitarist to use the same chord position on any fret on the fretboard. Many guitarists learn barre chords early on because of their usefulness. Barre chords are easy to learn, but generally more difficult to finger than open position chords. Barre Chords Are Based on E and A Chords The most common barre chords come from the open position E chord and its forms (minor, 7th, Maj7, m7) and the open position A chord and its forms. The E chord uses as its bass and root the open 6th (E) string (See Figure 1, following page). The A chord uses as its bass and root the open 5th (A) string. The barre is produced by placing the first finger over all six strings for the “E” chord forms, or by placing the first finger over the 1st thru 5th strings for the “A” chord forms. If you were to play a standard E chord using the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers (instead of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd), then the 1st finger becomes available to use as the barre finger (see Figure 2, following page).
    [Show full text]
  • Barre Chord Variations" on the DVD for Additional Information
    3/15/2010 Untitled Document Moveable Major and Minor Variations You can play dozens of chord types (minor, seventh, suspended, etc.) by altering slightly the two basic moveable major chords. (ex. lower one string one fret to flat a third; which changes the major chord to a minor chord). This is an easy way to expand your vocabulary. The two major moveable chords (and all major chords) consist of roots, 3rds, and 5ths. Make sure you know your intervals in these two formations. The chord grids above identify the intervals (the 5th and 2nd strings in the barred E formation are 5ths). You can relate other intervals (4ths, 7ths, etc.) to 1, 3, and 5. For example, a 4th is one fret higher than a 3rd, and an augmented 5th (#5 or +5) is one fret higher than a 5th. Musical terms: Augmented - Raised a half tone (one fret) in pitch, usually in reference to the interval of a 5th in a chord. Diminished - Lowered a half tone (one fret) in pitch. Suspended - To replace the interval of a 3rd with that of the 4th in a chord. To know how to alter the two major moveable chords to create other chord types, you need to know the formulas for the different types. These formulas are in the boxes below. Sometimes chord symbols in songbooks and fakebooks are self-explanatory. For example, G sixth is written G6, and G ninth is written as G9. Other symbols can be unfamiliar or confusing. In the boxes below, each chord formula is followed by a "G" chord symbol (G7, G9, etc.) as a sample of how the chord type is commonly written.
    [Show full text]