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Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on January 4, 2012 at 8:06am

I appreciate the effort, and this is useful information, but if I may.....

Without getting into a bunch of theory, first I have a problem with the H's, havent found many of those in any chords before..... (Just ribbin' ya!)  they are B#'s, (or technically C-flats depending on the direction you are going, exactly the same thing.)

In my own exploration of music theory I have found one absolute. Online discussion threads are a terrible place to learn from because they are so often confusing, the topic wanders, becomes full of mixed wording and definitions etc, etc. It just so happens I have been working on something special though, it just takes me a while. I tried to get the ball rolling on this very part of the topic in the CBG tunings group a while back, hoping someone who could explain it better than me would take the trouble to write some of this out, But I think I am going to have to just give it a shot myself. Bear with me, I hope I get it right!

I would like to suggest the following exercise. Whatever your tuning or string count. Forget the highlighted stuff for now (Too many variations here!) and just map out your fingerboard fret by fret, nut to 12th fret. Write it down as (or similar to) above.

Now here is the most basic information you need to know to get busy exploring.

1. The most basic chord forms are three tones. (Triads) Starting with the root or key. Using C Maj as an example, the first tone is then C.
2. The last tone of the basic triad is the "perfect fifth."  So again using C Maj as our example we have a G. 1,2,3,4,5=C,D,E,F,G.
3. The tone in between to make it a Major triad is the third. Again using our C Maj as an example we have an E. 1,2,3=C,D,E. So a C Maj triad is the tones CEG. Now using the chart you made go find them on your instrument! Next using the same knowledge find some other major triads using the same steps. Root, third, fifth=1,3,5. (Or commonly I,III,V)

Now you know how to find any major triad! so what about minors? Really surprisingly simple. Simply flatten the third by moving down 1/2 step! or I, III flat, V So in our C triad it would be C, E-flat G. Now you know how to find the minor triads!

Now that you can find the Major and Minor triads, you have the ability to find the vast majority of what you are likely to find in most western music, with the exception of possibly 7ths, which isnt a very difficult next step in the logical progression of things, it simply adds the 7th tone. C7 would then include a B, or CEGB. You may hear the term inversions, that simply changes the order, but includes the same tones.

There you have the basics of chords. Go explore. And stay tuned for more........ (See, that wasnt so painful was it?

Hope that helps!

Mark

 

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Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on January 23, 2012 at 5:26pm

Actually I'd like to revise this a little as I realized later it may be misleading, mostly due to an attempt to keep it a simple and straightfoward as possible.

Hope this clarifies things somewhat!

Edit/update:

The most basic chord forms are three tones. (Triads) Starting with the root or key. Using C Maj as an example, the first tone is then C.

The last tone of the basic triad is the "perfect fifth." So again using C Maj as our example we have a G. 1,2,3,4,5=C,D,E,F,G. (Actually what you need to know to find this in any key is that the perfect fifth is always 7 semitones from the root note.)

The tone in between to make it a Major triad is the third. Again using our C Maj as an example we have an E. 1,2,3=C,D,E. So a C Maj triad is the tones CEG. (To find the major third in any key, you need to know it is 4 semitones from the root.)

For a minor triad, flatten the third by moving down 1/2 step, or I, III flat, V So in our C triad it would be C, E-flat G. (The minor third is always 3 semitones from the root.)

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Permalink Reply by Seaman Jay on January 4, 2012 at 8:15am

Well, first - H ist usual notation in continental Europe - I did it for my Russian friends, so the choice of the notation convention was obvious. After all it's first version, so don't nag so much - I'll eventually internationalise it. 

Second - I know how to build chords. It's simply an "exploration tool"...

Third - next versions (and there will be new version, regardless of popularity :-P) will include minor chords and all variations of  sevenths, "addX", 9ths etc.

Thank you anyway ;-) Your summary is quite comprehensive... 

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Permalink Reply by Mark Bliss on January 18, 2012 at 7:24am

"Second - I know how to build chords. It's simply an "exploration tool"..."

Hey Seaman, I was just trying to pick up on the topic, for anyone interested, wasnt necessarily aiming my response at you persoanlly. But there is a perfect example of why I wrote:

"Online discussion threads (I meant CAN BE) a terrible place to learn from because they are so often confusing, the topic wanders, becomes full of mixed wording and definitions etc, etc."

Anyway, I appreciate your effort and will be on the watch for more!

Mark

 

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Permalink Reply by Mike Bingham on January 4, 2012 at 12:04pm

Hey Mark - that is an excellent explanation.  I would like to reference it for some friends of mine who are getting into music.  Thanks for sharing this.  It's a great resource.

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Permalink Reply by Seaman Jay on January 4, 2012 at 9:47pm

Updated.

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