In this thread I'll be posting quick tips to build your theory chops and fill the gaps with regards to chords, scales, harmony melody and all the other building blocks of music theoretical goodness.
Here's the first Theory Quick Tip
Each note in the major scale has a triad and a 4-note chord associated with it.
So, since you have 7 notes in any major scale, you have 7 triads and 7 four-note chords that fit into that scale.
The order for these chords is:
Triads - Maj-min-min-Maj-Maj-min-dim
Four-Note chords - Maj7 - m7 - m7 - Maj7 - 7 - m7 - m7b5
Knowing these triads and chords will not only give you more fuel for your next original song, but it will help you recognize groups of chords in a key when analyzing songs, especially for building soloing strategies over tough progressions.
*Assignment*
To better your ability to recognize chords in a key, write out the triads and four-note chords for each major scale, all 12 keys.
I will get you started with the key of C and you take it from here.
If you want to post your work for me to check go for it. I'll look it over and let you know if you're on the right path.
Triad in C - C Dm Em F G Am Bdim C
Four-Note Chords in C - Cmaj7 Dm7 Em7 Fmaj7 G7 Am7 Bm7b5 Cmaj7
Now your turn
Key of A
Triads - A Bm Cm D E Fm Gdim A
4-note chords - Amaj7 Bm7 Cm7 Dmaj7 E7 Gm7b5 Amaj7
Key of B
Triads - B Cm Dm E F Gm Adim B
4-note chords - Bmaj7 Cm7 Dm7 Emaj7 F7 Gm7 Am7b5 Bmaj7
Its like that, right Proffesor?
Also, the fifth having just a 7 is confusing me as well.
Close.
Before we worry about triads v. 7th chords it might be good to go over major scale construction.
In A - A Bm C#m D E F#m G#º (or m7b5 for the 7th chord)
In B - B C#m D#m E F# G#m A#º (or m7b5)
*Sharps and flats are very important.
Major scale intervals are ... Whole:Whole:Half:Whole:Whole:Whole:Half
I posted a short primer on building major scales or identifying major key signatures for those that are looking to explore that topic further.
You can find it here.
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=47641
Well,if I use the circle of fifths in a matrix form, I have no problem sorting out the sharps. Like this (this is just how I learned it):
C D E F G A B C
G A B C D E F G
D E F G A B C D
A B C D E F G A
E F G A B C D E
B C D E F G A B
F G A B C D E F
Then I turn the 7th notes of each key into a sharp. And That particular note gets turned into a sharp into all the keys below the key I'm on:
C D E F G A B C
G A B C D E F# G
D E F# G A B C# D
A B C# D E F# G# A
E F# G# A B C# D# E
B C# D# E F# G# A# B
F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#
That's a shortcut I was taught This is can also be done with circle of fourths. So I don't need to think how many semitones are there between two notes, but I guess that produced a weakness :/
I'll check the link out, I attended a music theory workshop where I learned the basics that's where I got that from.
They talked about the flats in the next class because they ran out of time in the first one, but I couldn't make it to class that day as I got sick, so I have no clue on how to figure out flats :/
As we got into chords and scales on the previous quick tip, let's take a look at triads and how the 4 main triads are built.
There are 4 main triads in modern music, some would argue that any 3-note chord could be called a triad, but here are the main ones.
Major - R 3 5
Augmented - R 3 #5 (Major Triad with #5)
Minor - R b3 5 (Major Triad with b3)
Diminished - R b3 b5 (Major Triad with b3 and b5)
When written from the note C, these notes would be
C E G - C Major
C E G# - C Augmented (Major Triad with a raised 5th)
C Eb G - C Minor (Major Triad with a flat 3)
C Eb Gb - C Diminished (Major triad with a flat 3 and flat 5)
So, if you know the major triad for the note you are on, you can then work out the other three variations as they can be seen as alterations of the major triad.
Here is an assignment for all those looking to solidify your triad knowledge. I will write out the notes for all the major triads, then you can take those and write out the related min, dim and augmented triads.
If you want to post your results go for it and I'll review them to make sure you are on the right path.
Here are the different major triads, and I've done all four in C for you, the first note of each is the root. Then you take it from here!
C E G - C E G# - C Eb G - C Eb Gb
C# E# G#
D F# A
Eb G Bb
E G# B
F A C
F# A# C#
G B D
Ab C Eb
A C# E
Bb D F
B D# F#
C E G
Alright, grab a pen and paper and see if you can write out the other three triads, minor, diminished and augmented for each of these major triads.
It's time for a new Theory Quick Tip!
In today's quick tip, we'll be looking at an easy and quick way that you can remember the order of sharps and flats when it comes time to applying them to key signatures.
Let's start with sharps. The order for sharps when using key signatures is:
F# C# G# D# A# E# B#
So, to help remember this, you can use a sentence where each word starts with those letters. Here's the one I was taught as a kid:
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
So, if you know that the key of E has 4 sharps, and you want to figure out which ones those are, you can just say the sentence up to the fourth word, so you would get.
F# C# G# D#
The four sharps in the key of E Major.
To memorize the order of flats in any key signature, you just say the sentence backwards, as the order is:
Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb
Or, as a sentence that would be:
Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father
Kind of a neat and easy way to remember the order of sharps and flats.
What do you think of this quick tip? Have any questions? Share your thoughts below.
This week I had a few emails about what chords do you solo over for each mode, so I decided to post a little quick tip lesson to help anyone out that is struggling with the same questions.
Here are the major modes, and the triad and 4-note chord that you can use for each one. So, for example, if you see a Cmaj7#11 chord, then you could use Lydian so solo over that chord change. OR, if you see C and want to produce a Lydian sound, you could use that mode to produce the #11 chord in that instance. There are two sides to approaching these sounds in your solos.
Major Modes and Chords
Ionian - Major Triad and Maj7
Dorian - Minor Triad and m7/m6
Phrygian - Minor Triad and m7/m7(b9)
Lydian - Major Triad and maj7/maj7#11
Mixolydian - Major Triad and 7th chords
Aeolian - Minor Triads and m7/m7(b6)
Locrian - Diminished Triads and m7b5
Hope that little list is helpful. If you have any questions about this or anything else, feel free to post below or PM me and I'll answer it right away.
In today's Theory Quick Tip, we'll be building on the last post regarding which chords can you solo over using different modes, although this time we'll be looking at the different modes of the Melodic Minor scale.
Here is a quick reference list that you can use to determine which chord lines up with which mode of the Melodic Minor Scale.
Mode 1 - mMaj7 chord and minor triad
Mode 2 - 13sus4(b9) chord and minor triad
Mode 3 - Maj7#11 chord and augmented triad
Mode 4 - 7#11 chord and major triad
Mode 5 - 7b13 chord and major triad
Mode 6 - m7b5 chord and dim triad
Mode 7 - 7alt chord and dim triad
Check it out and feel free to bookmark this and use it as a quick reference as you explore these modes/chords further in your practice routine.
Had a few questions about how to use Diminished Scales when soloing recently, so thought I would post a Theory Quick Tip to help clear things up for anyone that exploring the Dim sound in your soloing ideas.
There are two Diminished scales, one that alternated Whole and Half-Steps, which is called the Whole Half Diminished Scale, and one that alternates Half and Whole Steps, which is called the Half Whole Diminished Scale.
The Whole Half Diminished Scale can be used to solo over Dim, Dim7 and DimMaj7 chords, so basically if you have a Diminished chord of some kind, your go to scale is the Whole Half Diminished.
Here's an example fingering for this scale in case you want to check it out further.
If you have a 7, 7b9 or 13b9 chord, then you can use the Half Whole Diminished Scale as it brings a dominant 7 chord sound with a b9 to the mix.
Again, here are a few fingerings to help you get started on the Half Whole Diminished Scale.
Both scales are worth checking out in the practice room, getting them into your ears and under your fingers, just make sure that you go to the right scale when soloing to avoid any odd looks from the band/audience if you grab the wrong one.
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