Guitar Lessons Columbus Ohio - What Makes A Chord?
Guitar lessons in Columbus Ohio just got easier! In this article we will explain how to assemble a chord from single notes. Chords are nothing more than products of the degrees of the scale that they lie in. For example, the single notes in the key of C are C-D-E-F-G -A and B. Chords whether on the guitar, piano, harp or whatever instrument you are currently playing on are always available when combining certain notes in such a scale as the one above to form a chord. In music theory, each note is called a ‘degree’. This translates into C as 1, D as 2, E as 3rd degree and so on. Pretty easy so far?
The next move is to figure out which degrees are in which chord and we will start with the 2 basic ones. There are 2 main chords in music; Major and Minor. Major chords have an ‘up’ sound to them and are generally ‘happy’ sounding. Minor chords have a ‘down’ sound to them and are generally ‘sad’ sounding. These two chords are the baseline or base for all other chords to come. Not only are they the root of every chord in the book, they are the 2 faces of music (good times, bad times!). No matter where you end up taking lessons, your should be taught these fundamental blueprints:
Major chords use these degrees to get their sound: 1 - 3 - 5
Minor Chords use these degrees to get their sound: 1 - 3b - 5
You will notice the Minor chord above has a “lowercase B looking thing” next to the 3rd degree. This is called a ‘flat’ and is used to denote that the 3rd must be moved down a half step to bring about the minor sound.
So going back to our example above using the key of C lets take a closer look at what is going on:
The key of C is: C-D-E-F-G-A-B.
Given thisinformation it is safe to assume that the Major chord will require C, E, and G. The minor chord in turn will require the same three notes except for one important difference. The dissimilarity is that the 3rd will be moved down a half step. A half step is the distance of one fret on guitar. By contrast a whole step is 2 frets. Try testing with this on the guitar!
So, with the minor chord, you will use C, E, and G but you will move the E to Eb or if referring to a piano the black key shortly to the left of the white key E. This is what produces the minor sound.
Besides Major and Minor there are many other contrasting chords that use the same process. For instance there is another chord called a seven chord. Seven chords use the primary structure of Major chords (ie. 1-3-5) to get their sound. They are used heavily in blues and rock and produce a backwoods-bluesy sound. They can also be used in place of any major chord anytime without disrupting the overall sound. So for example if you had a progression that used a D, then a C then a G, you could substitute a G7 for the last chord if you wanted to. It would add ‘spice’ to your major.
The Seven chord uses these degrees: 1-3-5-7b
Once again you will notice a flat symbol, but this time it is one the 7th. This means; once again referring to our key of C above, that we will use the same first three notes in a Major chord, and then ad the 7b at the end.
So, the notes in a seven chord in the key of C are: C-E-G-Bb
Bb is the key directly to the left of the white key B on the keyboard (it’s the black key). It is also good to remember as a rule of thumb that the amount of flats in a chord is directly comparable to the amount of agitation it has in it.
Minor chords are a little taut, and Major chords although happy can be tensed up by adding the flat 7th on the end! You don’t have to be taking guitar lessons in Columbus Ohio to know that!
Hopefully this abbreviated tutorial has given you some discernment into music and given you a fun and appealing way to look at things. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you at lessons! Guitar Lessons Columbus Ohio.
