Question About What Defines A Chord |
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Question About What Defines A Chord |
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Aug 1 2008, 01:15 AM |
I'll just give a quick answer since Andrew is ofline,
he'll fill it more in deep I'm sure. Lowest note isn't always the root, those are inversions,you can have 3rd as lowest note, or 5th etc. Cheers. -------------------- Youtube
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Aug 1 2008, 01:05 PM |
Hi There, Muris is right, here is the complex version though!
The trick here is to look at the context of the whole song, not just the guitar parts. Let me explain ... Lets look at an example, C major. We have the notes C-E-G. These three notes always make a chord of C major no matter what order they are in, BUT they also make 2 other chords as well depending on our point of view, and what is going on overall. If we make E the lowest note (but not the root), and play E-G-C, well since C is still the root, this is still a chord of C major, we call it the first inversion. Not surprisingly, we can also start on G, play G-C-E and that is the second inversion. However, in isolation, there is nothing stopping us looking at the chord a different way. Lets take that first inversion again: E-G-C - going back to our triad theory, we have a root, a minor 3rd between E and G, and a major 6th between E and C. Now, root, minor 3rd, major 6th isn't any of our main triad types, but it is still a chord of sorts, although a little hard to name We can do the same thing for the second inversion: G-C-E. We make G the root, C is a perfect 4th, E is a major 6th - again, root, perfect 4th major 6th is not a well known triad type. So, here is our first clue - if we try to interpret them based on the lower note, we end up with unusual and unfamiliar chords that are difficult to name, and our ear prefers to interpret them as inversions of more usual chords. The next clue is that we can't look at these chords in isolation, we need to understand what the rest of the musical piece is doing. What if we play C in 2nd inversion - E-G-C. We could try and call it some sort of weird E based chord, but more likely than not, the bass will be playing a C note, and that bass note, being lower than the rest will also have the effect of firmly establishing in our minds that the chord is an inversion of C. This leads us to the final point you made about players just playing a couple of notes or the upper half of the chord - again, if you look at this in the context of the whole song, other parts of the arrangement will serve to contribute the missing notes and provide a grounding in the root note. So, you can see that it is our perception of what the root note is that makes these chords what they are, not the actual lowest note. I say perception deliberately, because as long as we have in our minds what the root note is, even if it is not played anywhere else, like a kind of optical illusion, our minds interpret the notes in light of that root note, especially if the root is played elsewhere in the arrangement. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
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Aug 1 2008, 01:33 PM |
Great explanation Andrew. Cleared some things up for me too Really weird, like you say, it's almost like an "audio illusion". Yes, perception is very important here, especially of root notes - the same is true of modes as well, sometimes you have to hear the root note in your head to get the mode you are after -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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Aug 1 2008, 09:17 PM |
a muted string in the middle of a chord). These are in fact perfectly practical chords - just harder to play that's all, and used a lot in Jazz. Regarding voicings, there is no substitute for trying things out. If you know where the chords come from, and can get hold of a diagram with all the possible notes, you can work out the voicings yourself - CAGED is in fact very useful here, as a lot of voicings are 2 or 3 notes taken from open or bar chords without the open notes and moved up and down the neck. -------------------- Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ... My Stuff: Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab |
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