Post by Charlie Hall on Jun 12, 2010 14:13:18 GMT
To all guitar players who want to understand more about simple music theory without understanding or reading music, I was asked for some hints and tips and this is more or less what I wrote back, below. I thought it would be useful for some players to post it here too.
I invite experienced players to add to this thread or suggest improvements and/or corrections to the text below.
Regards,
Charlie
A good start is by learning the notes of a major scale from any starting position. The spacing of a major scale is:
1: Root
2: one whole tone
3: one whole tone
4: one semitone
5: one whole tone
6: one whole tone
7: one whole tone
8: one semitone
The 8th note in the major scale is one octave higher than the first. A minor scale is the same except that the 3rd note is flattened by one semitone.
Looking at it another way, the major scale is evenly spaced by whole tones, except between 3 and 4, and 7 and 8, which are semitones. Easy to remember: 1 - 2 - 34 - 5 - 6 - 78.
A major chord consists of notes 1, 3 and 5. A minor chord consists of notes 1, flattened 3rd and 5. Most other chords are these notes with further notes added. Diminished and augmented chords are an exception.
Note 1 is Root.
Note 2 is a 2nd (or a major 9th or minor 9th, depending on a dominant or major 7th being included in a chord).
Note 3 is a 3rd. This note flattened by one semitone is a minor 3rd.
Note 4 is a 4th or 11th.
Note 5 is a 5th.
Note 6 is a 6th or 13th.
Note 7 is a major 7th. One semitone lower is a dominant 7th.
Note 8 is also root, or an octave above that.
Adding 7 to a note number lower than 8 will give the number of the note one octave higher, in a major or minor scale.
Now suppose you are told to play a C minor 9th chord. The root note will be the name of the chord, C, then a minor 3rd, then a 5th, then a dominant 7th, then a 2 (or 9).
Another example, if you are told to play a Cm 6 7th, it will contain a root, minor 3rd, 5th, 6th, dominant 7th. A Cm 13th is the same but also include a 2nd.
It must be realised that the note numbers of any chord do not have to be in the stated order or even in the same octave. They can be in any order you want and it will still be musically correct, but is up to how the musician wants it to sound.
Diminished and augmented chords are formed by notes that have equal spacings.
Diminished chords have spacings of 1 and a half tones (or minor 3rds). There can be only 4 different notes in a diminished chord. Augmented chords have notes that are 2 whole tones (or 3rds) apart. There can be only 3 different notes in an augmented chord.
Because of their equal spacings, diminished and augmented chords can be named by any one of their notes.
Relative minor chords. The relative minor chord for C is Am. The scales of 8 notes are exactly the same notes, except that note 1 is A instead of C. The chord Am is also the same as playing a C chord except that you play a 6th instead of a 5th, related to C as being note 1. Think of the chord progression C, Am, F, and G. The notes in all these chords contain the 8 notes in a major scale of C and no others. So there is a strong relationship between all of these chords and the reason so many songs or tunes use these chords, or similar chords relationships in other keys eg. A, F#m, D, E, or D, Bm, G, A.
Some chords can be called by 2 completely different names. An example would be A6 and F#m7. They are actually the same thing. In practise the notes might be in a different order but are still the same notes. On the other hand playing an F#m shape when an A6 is indicated could produce an interesting different effect. This again has to do with relative minor relationships.
I play chords and lead by knowing where the scales are on the fretboard. I do not read music but have a reasonable understanding of it, enough to enable me to play quite well by understanding most of the relationships between notes.
If you have access to a keyboard, everything I have explained will be almost immediately obvious using a C note as a root. The major scale in C is all the white notes. The relative minor, Am, is also all the white notes except that its minor scale starts from A. The notes in the chords of F and G are all white notes, although their individual 8 note scales do contain black notes.
There is much more, including whether to call a chord F#m or Gbm, which depends on the key you are playing in. Another similar thing is whether to call a B note Cb instead, or whether to call F an E# instead, again depending on what the key is at the time. Yet another is when to call a note a double sharp ## or a double flat bb. This is all because the 8 notes in a scale can not have the same letter from one note in the scale to the next.
Guitar players do not usually worry about such things, but they are very relevent when reading music or calling notes by their actual names to other music readers or those who understand it well.
I invite experienced players to add to this thread or suggest improvements and/or corrections to the text below.
Regards,
Charlie
A good start is by learning the notes of a major scale from any starting position. The spacing of a major scale is:
1: Root
2: one whole tone
3: one whole tone
4: one semitone
5: one whole tone
6: one whole tone
7: one whole tone
8: one semitone
The 8th note in the major scale is one octave higher than the first. A minor scale is the same except that the 3rd note is flattened by one semitone.
Looking at it another way, the major scale is evenly spaced by whole tones, except between 3 and 4, and 7 and 8, which are semitones. Easy to remember: 1 - 2 - 34 - 5 - 6 - 78.
A major chord consists of notes 1, 3 and 5. A minor chord consists of notes 1, flattened 3rd and 5. Most other chords are these notes with further notes added. Diminished and augmented chords are an exception.
Note 1 is Root.
Note 2 is a 2nd (or a major 9th or minor 9th, depending on a dominant or major 7th being included in a chord).
Note 3 is a 3rd. This note flattened by one semitone is a minor 3rd.
Note 4 is a 4th or 11th.
Note 5 is a 5th.
Note 6 is a 6th or 13th.
Note 7 is a major 7th. One semitone lower is a dominant 7th.
Note 8 is also root, or an octave above that.
Adding 7 to a note number lower than 8 will give the number of the note one octave higher, in a major or minor scale.
Now suppose you are told to play a C minor 9th chord. The root note will be the name of the chord, C, then a minor 3rd, then a 5th, then a dominant 7th, then a 2 (or 9).
Another example, if you are told to play a Cm 6 7th, it will contain a root, minor 3rd, 5th, 6th, dominant 7th. A Cm 13th is the same but also include a 2nd.
It must be realised that the note numbers of any chord do not have to be in the stated order or even in the same octave. They can be in any order you want and it will still be musically correct, but is up to how the musician wants it to sound.
Diminished and augmented chords are formed by notes that have equal spacings.
Diminished chords have spacings of 1 and a half tones (or minor 3rds). There can be only 4 different notes in a diminished chord. Augmented chords have notes that are 2 whole tones (or 3rds) apart. There can be only 3 different notes in an augmented chord.
Because of their equal spacings, diminished and augmented chords can be named by any one of their notes.
Relative minor chords. The relative minor chord for C is Am. The scales of 8 notes are exactly the same notes, except that note 1 is A instead of C. The chord Am is also the same as playing a C chord except that you play a 6th instead of a 5th, related to C as being note 1. Think of the chord progression C, Am, F, and G. The notes in all these chords contain the 8 notes in a major scale of C and no others. So there is a strong relationship between all of these chords and the reason so many songs or tunes use these chords, or similar chords relationships in other keys eg. A, F#m, D, E, or D, Bm, G, A.
Some chords can be called by 2 completely different names. An example would be A6 and F#m7. They are actually the same thing. In practise the notes might be in a different order but are still the same notes. On the other hand playing an F#m shape when an A6 is indicated could produce an interesting different effect. This again has to do with relative minor relationships.
I play chords and lead by knowing where the scales are on the fretboard. I do not read music but have a reasonable understanding of it, enough to enable me to play quite well by understanding most of the relationships between notes.
If you have access to a keyboard, everything I have explained will be almost immediately obvious using a C note as a root. The major scale in C is all the white notes. The relative minor, Am, is also all the white notes except that its minor scale starts from A. The notes in the chords of F and G are all white notes, although their individual 8 note scales do contain black notes.
There is much more, including whether to call a chord F#m or Gbm, which depends on the key you are playing in. Another similar thing is whether to call a B note Cb instead, or whether to call F an E# instead, again depending on what the key is at the time. Yet another is when to call a note a double sharp ## or a double flat bb. This is all because the 8 notes in a scale can not have the same letter from one note in the scale to the next.
Guitar players do not usually worry about such things, but they are very relevent when reading music or calling notes by their actual names to other music readers or those who understand it well.
