There's way too much to digest all at one
time. BUT if you read it all once, get the gist
of what I'm talking about, then study it over
and over, by topic, you'll get a TON out of it!
Plus, you'll know more music theory than
about 80% of the jammers in the world!
Before you read this,
let me preface it as follows . . .
We all wanna be the best we can. No doubt.
And we wanna learn all we can. And I
encourage that, too. To a point!
HOWEVER . . . that being said . . . How about
just playin' the darned thing! Having some
fun. Let's make this simple.
OK, I'm gonna put this into a simple format.
My focus is on simplicity, not perfection.
So all you experienced players, don't go
hammering me about some minor point that
makes this more complicated than it really is.
Fair enough? For the most part, I kept this
in simple form, focusing on using player's
terms. This isn't a theory book. It's just
a guide.
Have some fun with this? If you follow this,
and commit just a little bit to memory, I
think you'll start playing, and enjoy playing
a lot more. (For now! But you still need to
learn all you can as you progress!)
The Chromatic scale: This is nothing more
than all 12 of the keys on a keyboard. And
they're in alphabetical order. So how hard
can it be? You have just . . .
A , B, C, D, E, F and G. Most of them have a
sharp (#) or flat (b) associated with them.
Sharp (#) just means one half step (one key
on piano, one fret on a guitar) higher than
the "name" of the note. A# is one key higher
than A. (And on keyboards, it's a black key.)
Flat (b) just means one half step (one key on
piano, one fret on guitar) lower than the name
of the note. Bb is one key lower than B. (And
on keyboards, it'll also be a black key. In fact,
it's the same key as the A#.)
SIDEBAR: OK, you pros, don't go interjecting
advanced theory, Medieval theory or OLD key-
board structure on this next part. As I said,
I'm trying to make this simple to understand.
END SIDEBAR
Some notes share a name. An A# is the same
note as a Bb. Look at a keyboard. The black
key between A and B is named, based on the
relationship to the key it's in. It's one key
higher than an A. So you could call it an A#.
It's also one key lower than a B.
So you could also call it a Bb. Same note. Same
sound. (CALLED ENHARMONIC) So, if you were
to name all of the notes, starting with C, you
would have:
C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B
The Natural keys are C D E G A B. Natural keys have
sharps. So when working in these keys, you use:
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B
These should be really common for guitar players
playing in common guitar keys!
The Flat keys are
Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb. So you would use:
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B.
Look at a keyboard. You'll see 2 places where
there is no black key between white keys. . . .
Please read on, this one time! Then be
sure to bookmark this tutorial!
THERE IS ONLY A HALF STEP BETWEEN B & C . . .
AND E & F ! ! ! COMMIT THIS TO MEMORY!
So, step one of your memorization . . .
learn to "say" the chromatic scale, for natural
and flat keys. And remember where the 2 half
steps are. (Between B & C, and E & F)
Learn to “say” . . .
C C# D D# EF F# G G# A A# BC . . . and . . .
C Db D Eb EF Gb G Ab A Bb BC
SIDEBAR: Just so I don't get hammered, here
are a few exceptions. The Key of C has no
sharps or flats. And you will (from time to
time) see chord charts for a tune in the key
of A# instead of Bb. But that's because no
one's perfect! Ha!
Um, you might actually see chord charts for
other "sharp keys". Just consider the source,
and know the difference. As long as you know
that an Eb is also a D#, you're fine.
I will say here that it's very common to say
F# as the key, or a note. Bb and Eb are almost
always spoken. I don't know why exactly most
people say F# instead of Gb. I really depends
on what key you're in! If you're in a natural
key, you can have an F#. But if you're in a
flat key, you would have a Gb. More about
this in a bit!
Chords: Where the heck do the chords come
from in the first place? Everything comes
from the Major Scale! And it’s easy to figure
out just about any chord. You pretty much
just pick a start point, then skip over every
other note. EZ! Kinda Sorta!
Start on the C major scale:
(Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do) Go every other note
and you get . . . C E G That's a C major chord.
On guitar or Uke, you change all of the strings
so they play one of those 3 notes: C E G.
C E and G are the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of
the C Major scale.
Skip over one more and then the next note is B.
That’s a Cmaj7. Skip and add again, you get a
D, the 9th note of the C scale. Also the 2nd, an
octave below. (As in sus2 chords, play the 2nd
instead of the 3rd)
Again, you get F, the 11th Also the 4th in the
octave lower. (As in sus4 chords, play the 4th
instead of the 3rd.) Go again and get A, the
13th (or 6th an octave below, Add6 chords)
You literally went every other note in the scale,
moving up in 3rds. Called stacking 3rds. And
you got all of the chord extensions there are.
There are more variations to chords. I just want
you to see how we get the notes. Pretty easy.
Let’s take a short look at the “music”. A real
music staff and what notes and chords look like.
Remember the ol' Do Re Me thang you learned
in elementary school? We can all recognize a
major scale when we hear one. All ya gotta
know is . . . where the half steps in a scale
belong. Then use the Chromatic scale, and
plug notes in. Like this . . .
The Chromatic Scale is just ALL of the notes.
And you’ll see below some keys have sharps (#)
and some have flats (b). So we can start at
any note, any key. But I’ll start from
C here . . .
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C Using sharps . . .
(to get the same identical notes!)
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
On a keyboard, the black notes are the sharps,
or flats. Depends on the key. NOTE: Contrary to
what many people might tell you . . .
It is NOT true, that how you know when to call a
note a sharp or flat depends on what direction
you’re moving along the keyboard! As in . . .
You do NOT necessarily call one black note a flat
because you’re playing a melody from right to left,
going DOWN the keyboard.
Sorry, but that’s just dumb! And therefore you
should call a note a sharp if you’re going left
to right up the keyboard? WRONG! Or if a
guitarist is playing a melody moving up the
scale, then the “off notes” are all sharps?
NOPE! He’s playing a solo moving down the
fretboard. So are the notes flats? NO! Well,
they COULD be.
But not because of the direction you’re moving/
playing. There is ONE thing that determines
whether you call a note a flat or a sharp.
And that ONE THING is . . .
The KEY you’re in!
C major has no #s or bs, right? So the notes will
be . . . . C D EF G A BC . . . Note that there is a
half step between the 3rd and 4th notes of the
major scale. And also between the 7th and 8th.
To make a G scale . . . do the same thing. Start
by typing out all the notes, starting from G.
G A B C D E F G Then you want the spaces
between them to be:
Whole Step (W) Half step (H) . . .
W WH W W WH Say it out loud:
whole whole half … whole whole whole half . . .
any times!
. . . . . . . . NOPE! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YUP! . . . . . . . . .
Now, look at notes 3 and 4. You need a half step
in there. 3 is B. 4 is C. Perfect! Now look at 7 &
8. Hmmmm. There's a whole step! Yikes!!!!
And look at 6 & 7 while you're at it. OUCH!
Only a half step! No problem.
Change the F to F# . . . Now there's a whole step
between 6 & 7 and a half step between 7 & 8,
as there should be. It's really that simple.
G A BC D E F#G. Look at your Circle of 5ths.
How many sharps are in the key of G? 1!
We’ll study the Circle of 5ths later. But here's
a look.
Note that the key of G has 1 sharp, NOT one flat!
Here's why. You could have just as easily made
the F a Gb. You would still have a half step
between 7 & 8, right? But could you have both a
G and a Gb in the same scale?
Simply put, you can't! So you make it an F#.
Same for all the other "Natural" keys. So
natural keys will have sharps. The other
keys are flat keys!
OK you pros. Argue this point if ya like. But then
try to explain to someone how the key of E could
have flats in it! Let's see . . .
E F G A B C D E . . . half steps need to be between
3&4 and 7&8. So let's make them right, using flats
E Gb Ab A B Db Eb E . . .
Can you imagine reading the music for a tune
in the key of E, written in flats! How hard would
that be? A note on one space could be an A or an
Ab. And a note on another space could be an
E or an Eb.
And there is no 'F" or "C" in the scale! There
must be one, and only one of each letter. It might
be a flat or a sharp. But it's gotta be in there!
Now let's rewrite the E scale using sharps . . .
E F# G# A B C# D# E. Somehow that makes a lot
more sense to me. Here are 2 of the “no exception”
RULES in music . . .
1). In a major scale you must have 1 of EACH note
represented. So there must be an A B C D E F & G
in the scale.
2). You cannot have more than one instance of
ANY note. As in, you cannot have an F and an F#
in the scale.
NOTE: We could have a piece of music (like a song)
that has an F and an F#. One of them would be an
"accidental". A note required for the melody that is
not actually in the key.
And that’s how easy it is. Literally pick the key.
Start with the note of the key you picked. EX: A.
Write every note, because you need 1 of each . . .
A B C D E F G A. Apply W WH W W WH . . .
A to B, OK. B to C, NOPE. You need a whole step.
So change C to C#. C# to D is OK. D to E is OK.
E to F, NOPE. Make it F#. F# to G, NOPE. Make it
G#. G# to A, OK. So A B C# D E F# G# A.
Look at the Circle of 5ths. How many sharps does
the key of A have? 3!
Here’s how we used to do it … I get a call from
the Union Hall. “Hey, Wayne. You’re playing at the
VFW on 5th Street, Friday, 8 pm. Look for Bob. Keys.
He’s the lead man.”
Friday, 7:40pm I look for Bob. “Hey, Bob. I’m
Wayne, guitar” He nods and points to the right.
I set up on the right side of the drummer.
No sound check! I’m expected to view the
place and figure our my volume. Start a bit
low, then bring it up.
8PM SHARP, Bob holds his hand up and points up
with 3 fingers and starts playing! No count
in. No hints except 3 fingers pointing up.
And somehow, miraculously, we all jump in, and
it all works! Then as he finishes up the last
couple notes he raises his hand again and
points down with 2 fingers, then starts
playing the next song.
HUH! Yeah. 3 fingers UP means 3 sharps. Key of
A. Next song, 2 fingers DOWN, 2 flats, Bb. And
that’s how we did it! At least for smaller combos
Not for large orchestras. About the only time
he’d refer to anyone in the band would be when
he’d nod at you to take a solo. No rehearsals.
Just show up and 3, 4, sometimes 5 guys would
show up, never played together before. And we’d
do a whole 4 hour show!
If you had a fake book, you’d flip to the song
as you played the beginning, if you didn’t know
it. Assuming you knew the name of the song he
was playing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chords
There are 4 "flavors" of a chord.
Major, minor, diminished and augmented.
Memorize these 4 easy formulae . . .
Major: 1st, 3rd & 5th notes of the scale. Key of
C: C D E F G A B C So a C Major Chord would be
these 3 notes: C E G
Memorize:
Major=1st, 3rd & 5th. Maj, M or a small triangle
(indicating a triad), or nothing. C by itself would
be C major. As would CMaj, Cmaj or CM.
Minor: 1st, b3rd, 5th notes of the scale. Only
difference between a C Major and a C minor
chord is, you flat the 3rd note. Pronounced
“flatted third”. So a C minor would be: C Eb G
Memorize:
Minor = 1st, b3rd & 5th. min or m . . . Cmin Cm or - (minus sign) . . .
Diminished: 1st, b3rd, b5th Flat the 5th, too,
and you have a dim chord. Cdim would be
C Eb Gb
Memorize:
Diminished = 1st, b3rd & b5th Dim
CDim, Cdim or C°
Augmented: 1st, 3rd, #5th notes of the scale.
Caug would be C E G# #5 is a “raised 5th” or
“sharp 5”, or “sharped 5th”.
Memorize:
Augmented = 1st, 3rd & #5th Aug, (Sharp 5, or
sharpd 5th) CAug, Caug or C+
Chord Scales:
Basically, a chord scale is a major scale, played
in chords. These will be the most common chords
in that key. If you were to sing or hum a major
scale in "C", you'd sing . . . C D E F G A B C
But if you were to play those same notes as
major chords, as in . . . Cmaj, Dmaj, Emaj, etc.
Sing the scale over the chords, it wouldn't
sound right at all. Some would sound OK.
Some, not so good.
If you were to play . . .
Cmaj Dmin Emin Fmaj G7th Amin Bdim Cmaj . . .
it would sound perfect!
So if you’re trying to figure out the chords for
a song, they will most likely be some of the 7
chords in the chord scale of that key! Called the
Harmony Scale.
You can have chords in a progression, or song,
that are not in the key's chord scale. Sometimes
we "borrow" chords from another key. Sometimes
we substitute a chord from it's parallell key.
Like changing a C to a Cm.
C Dm Em F G Am Bdim C.
C Major’s Jazz chord scale (7ths, 4 notes) is
Cmaj7 Dm7 Em7 Fmaj7 G7 Am7 Bm7b5 C
Here's how to write a C major chord scale.
Write out the notes of the scale.
C D E F G A B C You’re going to go to each
note in the scale and make it into a 3 note
chord. Going 1st, 3rd, 5th starting with
each note.
LATER, you can do the same thing, but go one
step further and make a chord scale using FOUR
notes instead of three. This will be the Jazz
Chord Scale with 7ths.
NOTE: As you go from note to note making new
chords, you know what the chord flavor is by
comparing the 3 notes you get making the new
chord to the scale of the new chord you’re making.
EX: C = 1st, 3rd and 5th note.
Go to the D and go up to the 3rd and 5th
above D. D F A. Look at a D Major scale.
Compare the D Major scale to the 3 notes
in the D chord you just made. You’ll see
the D Major scale is D E F# G A B C# D.
The new chord you just made is D F A.
So you have a b3rd, right? So the D is a Dm.
Chord 1 is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the
scale. C E G is a C major.
Chord 2 is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of that
scale, STARTING FROM NOTE 2! D F A,
which is a Dmin. The F# in a D scale is flatted
to F here. b3 is minor. Also, the 2nd note in the
scale is referred to as the "2nd degree" of the
scale. 3rd note is 3rd Degree, and so on.
Chord 3 is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of that
scale, STARTING FROM NOTE 3! E G B,
which is an Emin. The G# in an E scale is
flatted to G here. b3 is minor. Em
Chord 4 is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the
scale starting from note 4! F A C Fmaj
Chord 5 is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the
scale starting from note 5! G B D. USUALLY
played as a Dom7 chord, adding a b7(F) note.
G7 = G B D & F 1 3 5 b7
Chord 6 is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of that
scale, starting from note 6! A C E, which is
an Amin. The C# in an A scale is flatted to C
here. b3 is minor. Am
Chord 7 is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of that
scale, starting from note 7! B D F, which is a
Bdim. The D# & F# in a B scale are both
flatted to D & F here. b3 & b5 is Bdim.
For most songs you're going to play (unless you're
learning Jazz, or like Jazzier sounding songs, not
just simple songs with 3 or 4 chords) you'll be
playing Major and minor chords. Same thing with
scales. At least for a while!
So let's take a minute (or two) and talk about
minor scales.
Remember the formula for making a Major scale?
Half step between 3&4, and 7&8. Well, a minor
scale has a formula as well. Half step between
2&3 and 5&6.
If you compare the notes of a C major scale to
an A minor scale, you'll see that they share the
same notes! They also share the same exact
chord scale!
Am is called the Relative minor to C. Relative
because they share the same notes and chords.
If you write out a C major scale, 2 octaves, you
will find an Am scale right in the middle!
C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C
The 6th degree, or 6th chord in a key is
the Relative minor. You need to know the 4th,
5th and 6th chord for each key, because they
are the chords you'll use the most!
A HUGE percentage of the songs you'll play will
be these 4 chords. If you add the 2nd chord in
the key, you cover most of the bases.
100s and 100s of songs, Blues, Country,
Gospel, Folk, Rock-n-Roll, Rock-a-Billy
Surf, mostly use these chords.
Those of you who like songs that are more
melodic, with more comlex melodies, will
need to learn Dim and Aug chords!
OK, because you asked!
MODES:
If you just wrote out a C scale, then under
it, wrote the same scale, starting on
the 2nd note, then under that, starting on
the 3rd, etc . . . you'd have the C major
scale 7 times, just starting on a different
note of the same scale. Simple enough.
Then go 1 3 5 on each, and you have the notes
for that chord of the chord scale. AND . . .
you also have listed all of the Modes of the
key of C!
I'm not going there now, but if you re-read
all the great posts about modes I think
you'll better understand them now.
I will make one point now about modes. Many
associate a modal scale with its root key. This
is incorrect! In the above example, the 2nd
scale is Dorian mode of the D scale. You would
use this scale to play in the key of D, not C.
Ideally, you’d use it over a D Dorian chord
progression.
We won’t go into Modes much in this tutorial.
But just to get you started, here are a handful
of Dorian chord progressions you can play over
using the Dorian Mode.
You can think of it like just playing a C major
scale over the progression, but start playing,
starting on the D note, and emphasize the D,
NOT the C throughout your playing.
That’s not really the best technical way to
describe it. But it IS the easiest to
understand for now, until we delve a little
deeper into Modes a bit later in a
different tutorial. (See the Modes utorial
on my Index page.)
Here are some Dorian progressions.
Using the Chord Scale (Also called the Jazz
Harmony Scale) A Blues progression is often
called a I IV V (1 4 5) In C, look at the scale.
That would be C F & G7. When you hear a
musician say "It's a 2-5 in C", he means you're
playing a Dm & G (or G7).
And a I V IV (1 5 4) is C G7 F. A I vi ii V
(1 6 2 5) is C Am Dm G7 , Etc.
Knowing what mode you're in is essential if you
want to solo. Example: I could say the chords
we're going to play in a jam are Gm ''' C '''. So
what key do you play? Better asked what mode
are we in?
You can't say . . . "We're in Gm." Nope.
There is a Gm in the key of Eb. Also in
the key of F. And also in the key of Bb.
There is a Gm and a Cm in the key of Eb.
There is a Gm and C in the key of F! There's
also a Gm in the key of Bb.The chords
are different in these keys. So the scales you
use will be different. Yeah, you could just play
the notes of each chord. But you'll soon run
out of jam ideas!
Look at the three keys . . .
Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb Cm Ddim Eb. So Gm
would be the iii chord. But no C in Eb. The iii
could indicate we're playing in Phrigian.
F Gm Am Bb C Dm Edim F. So we have
a ii & V. 2 & 5. Promising! Could be looking
at Dorian. And we have both chords in F.
Bb might not be any better than Eb.
Bb Cm Dm Eb F Gm Adim Bb.
Here we have the 6th degree, or relative minor.
So could we be in Aeolian? Hmmm. Again, only
one of the chords are in Bb.
We're not restrained to only ever use chords
from one key in a song.
This is just one example of how knowing
and understanding theory is necessary if
you want to get to a higher level.
Examples: A ton of "American" music is
written in 12 bars. Meaning the pattern
of chords to get through a verse takes
12 bars, or measures.
“ % ” means repeat previous measure or bar.
" :] " means go back to the " [: " and repeat
from there.
We can (and often do) refer to songs as the kind
of chord progression they are. We describe chord
progressions by what chords are used in the song.
The chord's position, or degree is used to tell
you what order the chords are used, in whatever
key you're in.
So if a song is in the key of C, you can just tell
a musician the genre of a song, the key and the
order the chords are in by simply saying . . .
It's a slow Blues I IV V in C. We'll know it's
going to be a 12 bar using C, F & G.
A lot of old swing tunes are 12 bar 1 4 5
progressions. With some extra chords in the
mix for flavor, sometimes. And sometimes
"sweeter" chords are substituted to replace
some chords that are repeated often. Like
measures that use one chord for a whole 4
count measure.
Jazz progressions often use either 2, 3 or
4 chords per measure. Blues and Rock often
use only one. This can get pretty boring!
The dynamics in vocals and lead fills, etc.
help keep the groove from getting stale.
In a slow Blues tune, it can get boring
listening to a C chord for 4 whole measures.
So sometimes we'll play something like this . . .
In the above progression in C, instead of
playing 2 more whole measures of a C major
chord for measures 7 & 8, I might
"substitute" this . . .
Not so boring. The neat thing is . . . you can
play right over the C Dm Em and Eb7 just like
it was a C for all 8 counts!
It's going to sound a bit Jazzy, Swing! If you
make this substitution over a slow Blues
progression, you'll LOVE I!
A basic Blues progression is the same thing.
TONS of Country tunes are also 1 4 5
progressions. 1000's of tunes are either
1 4 5's or slight variations of a 1 4 5. Like
a 1 5 4. Bring It On Home To Me, for instance,
is a 1 5 4. So is It Hurts Me Too.
Your Cheating Heart. Yep, 1 4 5. Cold, Cold
Heart. Big Boss Man. Detroit City (I Wanna Go
Home). Kansas City. The Green Green Grass Of
Home. All 1 4 5's!
A 1 6 4 5 would be like Where Have All The
Flowers Gone. C Am F G. A 1 6 2 4 would be
similar. "This Boy" by the Beatles comes to
mind. C Am Dm G (The actual recording is
in D. D Bm Em A) Remember Then You Can
Tell Me Good-Bye by The Casinos? Same
progression. It was used for so many
songs in the 50s that it became known as
The 50s Progression!
"The" as in one of the two variations.
1625 or 1645.
All the chords are in the C major chord
scale, right? C Am F G And all the
notes of all the chords are in a C major
scale! So now, when you pick up a song
book that has the guitar chords in it,
you'll know where the chords came from.
OK, one more thing that will help you
understand where the circle of 5ths comes
from. Watch how Major scales "overlap"
from the 5th note of each MAJOR scale,
starting with the key of C. I SHOW THE
SCALES 2 TIMES for illustration purposes.)
And so on.
Note that the 1st 4 notes of the forward
5th scale are the same as the last four
of the preceding scale. And only 1 note,
(the 3rd) note of the 2nd 4 is different
from the last 4 of the preceding scale.
C D E F G A B C is C major The 1st 4 notes
of the G major are the same as C major's
last notes. G A B C.
And the last 4 notes of the G scale are
the same as the C scale, except for the
3rd note. And that note is raised.
(F becomes F#, etc.)
Interestingly, that F# is the tritone of C.
The exact middle of the key of C. Check
out my tritone 90 Day Guitar Challenge!
I hope this will make sense as you
read it over a couple times.
Putting some basic theory to work!
. . . This part is FUN!
OK, let’s build some chords, chord phrases,
and chord progressions. We’ll start with a
simple progression, then beef it up some.
I discussed some progression basics above. So,
because so much of American music is built
around 12 bars, and I IV V progressions, we'll
start there.
Let’s take a really simple, straight Blues
progression in G. This could just as easily be
used as a Country, Folk or Rock progression.
A
[:| G ‘ ‘ ‘ | % | % | % |
|C ‘ ‘ ‘ | % | G ‘ ‘ ‘ | % |
|D ‘ ‘ ‘ | C ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ ‘ ‘ | D ‘ ‘ ‘ |:]
If our band played this exact progression,
we’d need to add a lot of vocal and instru-
mental dynamics, or it could end up getting
boring for our audience really quickly!
It starts with 4 measures of G. Then 2
measures of C. Then back to G again for 2
more measures. (bars) This kind of simplicity
will be boring, unless the instrumentalists
add some dynamic strumming and solos.The
vocals will also need to be pretty dynamic.
So let’s make this more interesting.
B
[:| G ‘ ‘ ‘ | % | % | G7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |
|C ‘ ‘ ‘ | C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ ‘ ‘ |G7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |
|D7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ D7 ‘ |:]
Note bar 12 is split.
OK, that’s a bit better. Let’s go a little further.
A common modification of a basic progression
is called a “quick change”. We’ll replace those
first 4 boring measures with a quick change.
We replace the second bar of the I with the IV.
C
[:| G ‘ ‘ ‘ | C ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ ‘ ‘ | G7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |
|C ‘ ‘ ‘ | C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |G ‘ ‘ ‘ | G7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |
|D7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ D7 ‘ |:]
We can also raise the I chord a half step in
the 3rd bar and split the 4th bar like we did
in the 12th bar above.
D
[:| G ‘ ‘ ‘ | C ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ Ab ‘ | G ‘ G7 ‘ |
|C ‘ ‘ ‘ |C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |G ‘ ‘ ‘ | G7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |
|D7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ D7 ‘ |:]
When I use this change, I like to change the
4th bar as well. From | G7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | to | G ‘ G7 ‘ |.
Here’s why.
Note in the upper progression (D), the phrasing
of the bars is changing. Initially (A) we had 4
bars that all sounded the same. All G. I’ll use
da’s and de’s to show changes in sound.
This is called cadence. Cadence is a melodic
configuration or series of chords marking the
end of a phrase.
I’m only going to reference the first 4 bars
below. But note that we made a few changes
in the other measures as well, adding a 7th.
And this also helps add cadence to the rest
of the progression.
4 bars of G have no changes in sound,
or cadence.
|da da da da|da da da da|
|da da da da|da da da da|
Then, in progression (B) we made a couple
changes. The first 4 measures changed slightly.
We added a G7.
|da da da da|da da da da|
|da da da da|de de de de|
The quick change in progression (C) broke up
the 2nd bar. So bar 2 and 4 changed a bit.
|da da da da|de de de de|
|da da da da|de de de de|
When I added the Ab in bar 3, we added another
sound change. But this time it’s within a bar.
|da da da da|de de de de|
|da da de de|da da da da|
So bar 3 has two sounds. Bar 4 is OK the way
it is. But I like changing bar 4 as well, so it
also has 2 sounds. The first 4 bars will
“break up” into 2 bars of 1 sounds each,
and 2 bars of 2 sounds each.
|da da da da|de de de de|
|da da de de|da da de de|
Here’s how to get that 2nd sound in bar 4.
E
[:| G ‘ ‘ ‘ | C ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ Ab ‘ | G ‘ G7 ‘ |
|C ‘ ‘ ‘ | C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |G ‘ ‘ ‘ | G7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |
|D7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ D7 ‘ |:]
Now bar 4 has 2 sounds. The 1st 4 bars are now
|da da da da|de de de de|
|da da de de|da da de de|
Not too bad now. Much more interesting. We
can go a little further using the same techniques
for measures 5 & 6, and 7 & 8.
And there are many interesting possibilities
for measures 9 thru 12, commonly called the
“turn around”.
Remember the discussion about chord scales?
Just like notes can form a melody, so can chords.
Let’s try substituting some chords with chord
phrases. Don’t forget, the notes of all the
chords in the chord scale are all in the major
scale. (More about the Eb later.)
F
[:| G ‘ ‘ ‘ | C ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ Ab ‘ | G ‘ G7 ‘ |
|C ‘ ‘ ‘ | C7 ‘ ‘ ‘ |G ‘ Am ‘ | Bm ‘ Bb7 ‘ |
|Am ‘ ‘ ‘ | Eb ‘ D7 ‘ | G ‘ C7 ‘ | G ‘ D7 ‘ |
OK, this is a much more interesting progression!
But can we go further without over-doing it?
Sure. Imagination is the only limitation.
We’ve created a more Jazzy sounding
progression.
So let’s take that idea, going “Jazzy”, a step
further. Just a little bit.
Just as you can make those major chords 7ths,
so can you make minor chords (or diminished
and augmented) 7ths. And this sounds great in
Blues and Jazz. And we can add 9ths!
A 9th is a Dom7th, and a 9th.
C E G Bb D would be a C9th.
NOTE: If you want a Dom9th chord you also
need a b7. Same with an 11th. You need a b7,
the 9th and the 11th. And ditto for a 13th.
You need a b7, the 9th and the 11th with
the 13th. That’s what keeps it Dominant.
Otherwise they are just “added” 9ths, etc.
Dom 7th = flat the 7th. B becomes Bb. The 9th
is D. C9 = C E G Bb D. If we simply added the 9th
note without adding the b7, it would then
simply be an add9 chord. Cadd9.
NOTE: There are no 10ths or 12ths.
Now let’s sweeten it up just a little more.
[:| G ‘ ‘ ‘ | C9 ‘ ‘ ‘ | G ‘ Ab7 ‘ | G ‘ G7 ‘ |
|C ‘ ‘ ‘ | C9 ‘ ’ ’| G ‘ Am7 ‘ | Bm7 ‘ Bb7 ‘ |
|Am ‘ Am7 ‘ | Eb9 ‘ D9 ‘ | G ‘ C7 ‘ | G Daug7 ’ ‘ |:]
The interesting thing about this progression is,
you can sing the same melody, or play the same
solo over it, as you can the first (A) progression!
You can also add a lot of variation to your
solo playing over the added chords!
Also, note the addition of the augmented chord
at the end. One count of G, and 3 counts of
Daug7. (An augmented chord is 1 3 #5)
You might not use all of these ideas in any
one progression. But even if you don’t use
the chords, you can play the notes of the
chords in your solo, offering a lot of
variety in your solos.
More Chord Structures/Chord Alterations
I’m not going to go into chord substitution
any more deeply here. But I will touch lightly
on some chord alterations you can use to add
flavor to your chord progressions, and to help
create melodic lines using chords. (Chord
phrases) I’ll also give you a few more
examples of building chords.
About 7ths:
You know from above that a G7 is a G dom 7th.
We flat the 7th note, giving us a bluesy, or
even Rock sound. But we can also use the 7th
note of the scale in chords. If I use an F#
instead of an F in a G chord, instead of
the bluesy sounding Dom7th, I get a jazzy,
“pretty” chord, a major 7th. GMaj7
I showed you above that you can make a chord
a 9th by adding a flat 7th and a 9th note to
a chord. You can also add 11ths and 13ths.
Same for minor chords. Just keep counting up
from 8. You can have Minor 9ths, 11ths, etc.
And Add9s. (And 6ths. Think country!)
To get a C9, for example, I’d need to add a Bb
(flat 7th) to the chord, then add a D, the 9th.
This would be a Dom9th. The Dom is implied.
C7 is the same as a Cdom7. If I add the D
without the 7th, it would simply be a
Cadd9 chord. And if I add the 9th on top
of a Maj7 chord it becomes a Major 9th.
And we can use the 9th note to make a
sus2 chord. Use the 11th to make a sus4.
We just leave off the 3rd to do that.
So substitute the 3rd for the 9th or
11th and we have a sus2 or sus4.
If I want to use the jazzier sounding
natural 7th note in the chord, I need
to spell that out. Cmaj9 would have
the natural 7th and a 9th. C9 would
be a Dom9th.
You can also add b9ths, or #9ths.
(Flatted or raised 9ths) You can also
have add9 chords. An add9 would be
adding the 9th to a chord that doesn’t
have a flatted or natural 7th. There
are also 6ths, and, well, the list is
endless. And you can combine!
Ever hear of a 6/9 chord? (pronounced
6 9 chord) Hmmm, could this be the
mystery chord you were looking
for when you tried to figure out those
descending chords in Jimi Hendrix’
If 6 Was 9? (Spoiler alert, it IS!)
So now, if you see a chord called Bbm7b5,
you can figure out what notes are in
the chord. This is by far not all
the chord types. But it's a chunk of
them!
One more interesting thing you can do is to
add a bit of a melody line by changing the
bass note of the chord, called “Slash Chords”.
We could play 4 measures of Am, and change
the bass note by a half step in each measure
to create a cool chromatic walk down in your
progression. And it’ll still be an Am. We
just add a slash, then the bass note desired.
Am/G# for example is an Am, with a G# bass
note. Pretty common in slow Blues, usually
the 5th and 6th measure of the 12 bar.
The beginning of Stairway To Heaven, for
example, does exactly that. Am, walking
down in half steps with the bass notes.
| Am ‘ | Am/G# ‘ | Am/G ‘ | D/F# ‘ |
(Note: This is a bit simplified.) It
also adds notes on the top end
of the chord. The Am/G# also plays a B
note on top – add9 – Am(add9)/G#. The
Am/G adds a C note on top. C is just
another 3rd on top.
HOMEWORK . . .
Read this tutorial once a day for a week.
Then once a week until it sinks in!
Write out the Major scale for each key.
Circle the 1st, 4th and 5th notes.
Write out the chord scale for each key.
Circle the 1st, 4th and 5th chords.
Write out a 1 4 5 for each key (12 bar
progression)
Write out a 1 6 4 5 & a 1 6 2 5 for
each key.
B I N G O ! . . . .
You now know more theory than probably
80% of the Jammers in the world. : )
Next time I’ll go more into chord
substitution. And I might hit on music
and theory terms. But that’s it for now.
There is a cool tutorial about using the ii V I
(251) "inside" your progression to add a lot
more variation in your BLAH chord
progressions.
That would be a great choice if you liked how
we transformed blah Blues progressions
above into cool progressions.
The 251 tutorial is the next level!
Scroll down the home page to . . .
"Add Some COOL to your progression with
this 2 5 1 trick!"
Back to the Tutorials Index Home Page
Read, absorb, and enjoy!
Hope you found this interesting. If you did,
please feel welcome to drop me a line.
Email me, or drop me a PM on Facebook!
Email me any time! ~/~
Wayne on Facebook
My Band Website, Route 66.
Check out my Backing Track Support Group
The MidKar Group
My main Backing Tracks Support Website,
MidKar, has over 41,400 free bacing tracks!
Timbres of Heaven SoundFont, MIDI editors,
and players and more! All freely distributed!
MIDI, KAR and BIAB files and 23 custom BIAB User Styles!
Visit MidKar, click below!
Visit my MidKar websie!
|
