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Scales
- Thread starter Kipp Harrington
- Start date
I like how you counted 4 notes up the scale from G to C, and 5 notes up the scale from G to D. That's what scales are all about.
This is a really smart wrong answer, I kind of want to give you partial credit.
G Major chord = G B D
G Minor chord = G Bb D
You have correctly identified that Bb is the "defining" note of G Minor, that makes it sound different than G Major. So logically, we are going to be using Bb in our G Minor Blues song. Great work!
The only piece of information you are missing is that "minor blues songs" are similar to "major blues songs" that use the I, IV, V chords. The difference is that they are minor chords instead of major chords. We indicate this with lower case Roman numerals: I, IV, V for major and i, iv, v for minor.
In conclusion a "G Minor Blues" song uses the chords Gmin, Cmin, Dmin (or variations thereof).
Famous songs you might know, compare the sound of SRV's "Pride and Joy" (major blues) with BB King's "The Thrill is Gone" (minor blues).
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Yes, almost - there are also augmented triads but they can wait. But its not 'in', they just 'are'. Take a scale you know - I know, thread title and all - and instead of playing every note, miss out every other. So from the C Major scale, play C, E, G one after the other. Congratulations, you just (knowingly!) played a C Major arpeggio! Now, from the same scale, start on D, so D - F - A. That's a D minor arpeggio (an arpeggio has the same notes as a chord but played separately over time rather than together at the same time). See if you can work out and name the remaining ones starting on E ( clue: E - G - ?), F, G, A and B (pay attention to the top note on this one!).
Also observe that all of the notes you are using are (or should be) from that C Major scale. If you have access to a keyboard - a phone app will do (C is the white note just below any group of 2 (not 3) black notes) - you should be using no black notes. That's where the 'in' bit comes in. More later...
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Even though there are 12 notes, I made separate cards for A-flat and G-sharp. Even though they are the same note, they can use a different name in different contexts.
The more you familiarize yourself with even the major scale, the more the little things will start to make sense. I've only been doing this regularly for about a week and a half and I've already had a few 'a-ha' moments.
NO. A minor blues is still I, IV, and V. The chords are minor instead of dominant, or sometimes just the I is minor and the IV and V are still dominant. Depends on the tune and who you are playing with. Your ear will/should be able to tell you if the chord is a minor7 or Dominant7 though.
you'll go from a cat who has a bass to a cat who actually plays the bass. your fingers will be the same, but your brain will be different. your fingers/playing will follow your brain. good luck getting to know how music works!
I don't know about this book, but do yourself a HUGE favor and learn to read music.
TAB is a handicap and a crutch that hooks you in with seemingly quick results, but gives no actual understanding of WHAT you are playing, or why. In the long run Tab will only hold you back.
Learn to read. Learn the notes on your instrument. Learn to understand every note you play, and why you are playing it in the context of what chord is being played, what key you are in, what tonality you are in, etc.
You won't regret it.
Actually I was correct... When I typed G"m", I meant G minor. So if you are designating that a chord is in a minor key, do you type it Gmin instead of Gm? I am guessing that if you type Gm, this designates G Major.I like how you counted 4 notes up the scale from G to C, and 5 notes up the scale from G to D. That's what scales are all about.
This is a really smart wrong answer, I kind of want to give you partial credit.
G Major chord = G B D
G Minor chord = G Bb D
You have correctly identified that Bb is the "defining" note of G Minor, that makes it sound different than G Major. So logically, we are going to be using Bb in our G Minor Blues song. Great work!
The only piece of information you are missing is that "minor blues songs" are similar to "major blues songs" that use the I, IV, V chords. The difference is that they are minor chords instead of major chords. We indicate this with lower case Roman numerals: I, IV, V for major and i, iv, v for minor.
In conclusion a "G Minor Blues" song uses the chords Gmin, Cmin, Dmin (or variations thereof).
Famous songs you might know, compare the sound of SRV's "Pride and Joy" (major blues) with BB King's "The Thrill is Gone" (minor blues).
OK. So a I, IV, V minor blues song would be indicated by typing i, iv, v. Got it
LOL... that makes sense. I am beginning to see the importance of this. It's going to be a long, slow process... but I have to be ok with that.you'll go from a cat who has a bass to a cat who actually plays the bass. your fingers will be the same, but your brain will be different. your fingers/playing will follow your brain. good luck getting to know how music works!
OK, here's a bit more...
In that C major scale, each note is called a 'degree'. So, in the C Major scale, C is the first degree and is called the 'Tonic'. The second note, D, is the second degree and so on. The other 'technical' names can wait for now.
When you played the C Major arpeggio, you used the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the scale. When triads are named, regardless of the key, the lowest note of the triad when played in ascending order is called the Root, and it gives the triad it's letter name. The next highest note is called the 3rd, because if you built that chord from a western scale, that note would be the 3rd note in the scale. And on it goes. For major and minor chords, and as you will have discovered, it's the 3rd (middle note of the triad) that defines the quality (major or minor) of the chord.
Where it gets confusing at first is that, even though the D minor arpeggio you played earlier was built on the second degree of the C Major scale, the notes are still referred to as Root (D) 3rd (F) and 5th (A), not 2nd, 4th and 6th as you might expect.
In that C major scale, each note is called a 'degree'. So, in the C Major scale, C is the first degree and is called the 'Tonic'. The second note, D, is the second degree and so on. The other 'technical' names can wait for now.
When you played the C Major arpeggio, you used the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the scale. When triads are named, regardless of the key, the lowest note of the triad when played in ascending order is called the Root, and it gives the triad it's letter name. The next highest note is called the 3rd, because if you built that chord from a western scale, that note would be the 3rd note in the scale. And on it goes. For major and minor chords, and as you will have discovered, it's the 3rd (middle note of the triad) that defines the quality (major or minor) of the chord.
Where it gets confusing at first is that, even though the D minor arpeggio you played earlier was built on the second degree of the C Major scale, the notes are still referred to as Root (D) 3rd (F) and 5th (A), not 2nd, 4th and 6th as you might expect.
Actually I was correct... When I typed G"m", I meant G minor. So if you are designating that a chord is in a minor key, do you type it Gmin instead of Gm? I am guessing that if you type Gm, this designates G Major.
OK. So a I, IV, V minor blues song would be indicated by typing i, iv, v. Got it
Usually CAPS designate major and lower case designates minor. But not always. There's at least 3 different ways that I know of. The most clear is:
G Maj7 = major
G Min7 = minor
G7 = dominant
Actually I was correct... When I typed G"m", I meant G minor. So if you are designating that a chord is in a minor key, do you type it Gmin instead of Gm? I am guessing that if you type Gm, this designates G Major.
OK. So a I, IV, V minor blues song would be indicated by typing i, iv, v. Got it
Use of 'm', '-' and 'min' are interchangeable and are all acceptable ways of writing the same thing: minor. 'Gm' = 'Gmin' = 'G-'.
So I would still be playing a I, IV, V (instead of a I, III, V) over a blues song in a minor key? Or does that vary by chord, not the key the song is in?I like how you counted 4 notes up the scale from G to C, and 5 notes up the scale from G to D. That's what scales are all about.
This is a really smart wrong answer, I kind of want to give you partial credit.
G Major chord = G B D
G Minor chord = G Bb D
You have correctly identified that Bb is the "defining" note of G Minor, that makes it sound different than G Major. So logically, we are going to be using Bb in our G Minor Blues song. Great work!
The only piece of information you are missing is that "minor blues songs" are similar to "major blues songs" that use the I, IV, V chords. The difference is that they are minor chords instead of major chords. We indicate this with lower case Roman numerals: I, IV, V for major and i, iv, v for minor.
In conclusion a "G Minor Blues" song uses the chords Gmin, Cmin, Dmin (or variations thereof).
Famous songs you might know, compare the sound of SRV's "Pride and Joy" (major blues) with BB King's "The Thrill is Gone" (minor blues).
Read my next post. Count the number of frets (half-steps) from D to F. It's 3. Now count from C to E. It's 4. For our purposes today, 3 steps is a minor third, and 4 steps is a major 3rd. The 3rd defines the quality as major (M) or minor (m). But is is convention that the M is not used for simple triads. Without 'm', 'min' or '-' they are assumed Major.
I guess at this point I would say listen to the difference... So play the C arpeggio, then replace the E with Eb to make it Cm. For Dm replace the F with F# to make it D Major. Listen closely and commit the differences to your ear.
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I think I get it now. 3 steps (in this case) instead of 4 because there is no such thing as an E#.
So true. That's the next thing I'm gonna force myself to do. It can be kind of nice if you're 'close' to having a song figured out or take the extra step and figure out the 'why' but most people won't do it.
Well there is, but I don't think were ready for that yet...
