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What to play over specific guitar chords

#21
David1234 said:
I do get sad when I see charts with G2 on it.

There are two main types of "G with a 2 in it" chord, and saying G2 does not make it clear which is intended:

Gadd2 (G major with a 2 note added: G A B D). This chord is better written as "add9".
or
Gsus2 (a G chord that's been gutted. It isn't major or minor any more. It has G A D)

The lesson:
(1) never write a G2 chord
(2) when you're on bass and see a G2 chord, play a G.
Click to expand...

Good information. Although, you WILL see many uses of this chord symbol.

Also, be sure to NOT confuse a G9 with a G2. A G9 (or any X9) implies that the chord has a Minor Seventh - G9 = G, B, D, F, A.

When the arranger uses the G2 (or Gsus2, or Gadd2) he is NOT wanting the Minor Seventh (i.e., F).

One will also encounter chords with "add 9". These also have no Minor Seventh, but the "9" would be the top tone. Gadd9 = G, B, D, A. The Police used this type of chord in Every Breath You Take.
 
#26
1st, I can't stand those kind of charts with chords placed over words. It totally leaves you guessing on timing.

Is that a different arrangement or are you supposed to be playing like the Brewster recording?

Here's what I use for that song:
titd.gif





OPINION: When I see that G2, I tend to think that whoever wrote the chart is looking for this voicing of a G chord on an acoustic:

3
3
o
o
o
3

I would play the G in the bass.
 
#27
TL5 said:
Here's what I use for that song:
titd.gif
Click to expand...

The A/C# there makes a lot more sense than G2(#4).


OPINION: When I see that G2, I tend to think that whoever wrote the chart is looking for this voicing of a G chord on an acoustic:

3
3
o
o
o
3

I would play the G in the bass.
Click to expand...

I would play it 3x0233. I don't like the A and G next to each other in that lower register.
 
#31
busta_bird said:
This is a very newbie-ish question, so bare with me.

Let's say the guitar plays an Asus, G2, D, Bm7, Bm9, (Key D) etc... How do you determine what to play with these chords? I'm assuming I'd play a D when the guitarist plays a D chord, but I'm confused with the rest. I've played bass for a while, but typically by ear (and not very well). I've picked up a few books that I'm working through, but still on the search for a good instructor. Care to help me out a bit?
Click to expand...

You can play pretty much all the way with D. Even come up with an ostinato bass line around D and B.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, I see the chord sheet here is actually the real tune. Everything is in the key of D Major. No sweat,pretty easy, follow the chart it is all there. Don't forget the G function as a lydian (IV) with a C# in the scale , not C. Same for the Emin, it is a Dorian scale.
 
#33
Stick_Player said:
If one wants to "get it right", those chords written with the horizontal line (like a fraction) are normally played as polychords.

These are different than "slash" chords.
Click to expand...

I am fairly certain that in this case, they are intended to be slash chords, even though they are notated like polychords. For example, the A/C# is undoubtedly meant to indicate an inversion, and not an A Major chord over a C# Major chord.
 
#34
Febs said:
I am fairly certain that in this case, they are intended to be slash chords, even though they are notated like polychords. For example, the A/C# is undoubtedly meant to indicate an inversion, and not an A Major chord over a C# Major chord.
Click to expand...

+1 for this correction.
Even if it is true that an horizontal line does indicates a polychord, the example provided above is totally wrong musically speaking, especcially in this song,. What a misinformation that is !!!

Just make sure you know your modes in the key of D maj. B min is a Bmin7 Aeolian( VI min7), The G is Lydian(IV) with a #4 in the scale, the A is A7 (V7) mixolydian and the Emin is a Dorian (IImin7).
 
#35
Groove Master said:
Just make sure you know your modes in the key of D maj. B min is a Bmin7 Aeolian( VI min7), The G is Lydian(IV) with a #4 in the scale, the A is A7 (V7) mixolydian and the Emin is a Dorian (IImin7).
Click to expand...

This is a perfect example of a song where thinking in terms of modes is more likely to cause confusion for the beginning player than to add anything of value. All of the chords in the song are diatonic to D Major. Play chord tones and use the notes of the D Major scale to connect them.
 
#36
Febs said:
This is a perfect example of a song where thinking in terms of modes is more likely to cause confusion than add anything of value. All of the chords in the song are diatonic to D Major. Play chord tones and use the notes of the D Major scale to connect them.
Click to expand...

Hihihi,

To me this is the exact same thing but thinking in modes/scales imo will help not to play wrong notes when playing over the chords that last at least a bar like the Emin7. To me it is just a stronger way, a deeper understanding of what goes on harmonically. Just a different view. That doesn't mean the bass cannot play something from outside the key, as long as he/she knows what they"re doing.

If someone doesn't study modes, how do they will know that the whole chord progression is based on some of the diatonic chords from the D major tonality and that there is a difference in the scale construction between a D maj vs a G major and between the Bmin and the Eminor? To me this is where the study of modes and the application is strongly recommended.
 
#37
Febs said:
I am fairly certain that in this case, they are intended to be slash chords, even though they are notated like polychords. For example, the A/C# is undoubtedly meant to indicate an inversion, and not an A Major chord over a C# Major chord.
Click to expand...

Febs said:
This is a perfect example of a song where thinking in terms of modes is more likely to cause confusion for the beginning player than to add anything of value. All of the chords in the song are diatonic to D Major. Play chord tones and use the notes of the D Major scale to connect them.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
#38
Groove Master said:
If someone doesn't study modes, how do they will know that the whole chord progression is based on some of the diatonic chords from the D major tonality
Click to expand...

You don't need to have any knowledge of modes to learn this. You just need to learn the major scale and how to construct chords from it.

and that there is a difference in the scale construction between a D maj vs a G major and between the Bmin and the Eminor?
Click to expand...

This is where the fundamental difference in philosophy comes into play. You see a chord and you need to associate a specific scale with that chord. I see a chord, and I think of the notes that comprise that chord, and I use the other tones from the scale of the key to connect them. Both approaches end up at exactly the same place, but in my view, the chord-based approach takes a route that is much easier for the novice to follow, because the chord-based approach requires the player to think in terms of a single scale, while the mode-based approach requires the player to think in terms of seven separate scales.

To take a concrete example, you asked specifically about the B minor and E minor. Using your approach, the player needs to look at the B minor chord, recognize that he is in the key of D Major, recognize that the B minor chord is built on the sixth degree of the D Major scale and then recognize that the mode associated with that scale degree is the aeolian.

Using the chord-based approach, on the other hand, the player needs to recognize that the B minor chord contains a B, D and F#. He can then use the notes of the D Major scale to connect those chord tones, or to the tones of the next chord.

I don't dispute that it is ultimately useful for any player to understand what the modes are and how they can be used, but as you and I have discussed in other threads, I don't think that it is necessary to use modes to play over these types of diatonic progressions, and I think that introducing new players to these concepts too soon can cause confusion (as we see over and over again in these threads).
 
#40
Groove Master said:
Hihihi,


If someone doesn't study modes, how do they will know that the whole chord progression is based on some of the diatonic chords from the D major tonality and that there is a difference in the scale construction between a D maj vs a G major and between the Bmin and the Eminor?
Click to expand...

because the differences are already covered by knowing that there's and F# and C# in the key. for example, i dont know any piano players, if playing in C, that would think an entirely different scale name if starting from a D or an E or whatever.
 

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