60 chord system?

Perplexed by your question, I checked "The Bass Grimoire" which lists more than sixty chords. I'm certain theory experts can argue there are only sixty and a few listed in "The Grimoire" are really the same chords with different names. But really wanting to know more, I did a Google search and found that John Mehegan has written a book "Improvising Jazz Piano" in which he does discuss the sixty chord system.

I have the book "Improvising Jazz Bass" by Richard Laird and published by the same publisher. A quick check of his book shows that he spends a lot of pages on chords, but never specifies a sixty chord system.

I also checked "The Jazz Theory Book" by Mark Levbine, an exhaustive look at jazz theory, but that book does not specify a sixty chord system either.

I hope someone here can enlighten us because maybe it is an excellent system for learning how to form the sixty most commonly used chords in Western music. (Not country and Western.)

 

Care to name those Pacman?

 

Here's a wild guess about the sixty chord system. If you took every major triad, minor triad and diminished chord in every key would that add up to sixty different chords? I haven't got time to figure it out and I honestly never counted chords before.

I KNOW somebody here knows the answer. We have folks here who know the finest details of music theory.

 

Pacman, in respons to your reply, I thought it was three. Goes to show what I know about Country and Western muisc.

 

Until now I had never heard of a 60 chord system. So, I'm not really sure if I understand the question, but here is my understanding of a chord system known as the CAGED system.
There are all types of chords, but all fall under either the major or minor category. Because of the tuning of a guitar there are five basic open chord patterns: C, A, G, E, and D (F and B are missing because they don't have their own unique pattern). Every other chord, scale, and arpeggio can be built from these 5 patterns. These 5 chord patterns in all 12 keys would give you a 60 chord system.
I had posted my take on the CAGED system as applied to the bass, but there seemed to be little interest so I removed it.

 

Turock, that is interesting as related to the guitar. But the jazz pianist mentioned above writes about the 60 chord system im his book. So unless he adapts those guitar patterns to the keyboard, the system must refer to something else.

Anyway, I don't remember your post about the guitar chord CAGED system for bass. I'm sure it has some real merit. If you ever have the inclination, why don't you post it again?

 

There are at least 20 different guitar tunings that I can think of. Not counting the 5 commonly known open chord tunings.

Then, there are different modes for just about every tuning, and the variations of each chord. So... You can go from there.

 

well, logically thinking, 60 chords divided by twelve keys is 5... so five chords: major, minor, dominant, diminished, augmented?

i'm guessing here.. i never heard of it either?!

 

You're correct with what's commonly known and used today, in the western cultures. But I'm more thinking in terms of including other ancient, non European cultures ways of playing too. Before the guitar was introduced to Europe.

Any historian can sheard some lights here?

 

Please post that again.

 

Elwood Blues: What kind of music do you usually have here?
Claire: Oh, we got both kinds. We got country *and* western.



Turock,
Please post your views on the CAGED system again.

 

I don't know, but maybe you guys are thinking it is more complicated than it is.

Twelve different notes/keys in music. 60/12=5. Major, Minor, Augmented, Diminished, Dominant. There's your 60 chords.

Could it be that simple?

 

I think he read my post...

 

What about half-diminished chords - lots of them in Jazz, Latin etc ?