Which Chord Could This Be? Options

[Lester]

Hi guys,

I was practicing a bit on the intro from "Ghost", It's on the new album from Slash and the intro goes like this:

Lead Guitar:
e|-------------------------------------------|
B|-10----12----10----12----10p9--------|
G|-----11----11----11----11-------9-----| x10
D|---9-----9-----9-----9---------------9--|
A|------------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------------|

Now, I was trying to analyze what he was actually playing so i wrote down the notes.
The last lick consists of an E, B and G#, so that would be an E major
On the first licks the notes are B- F# and an A, now I was wondering: which chord is this?

The only thing that makes sense to me is that F# is the root note, with the A as a minor 3rd and the B as a perfect fourth.
I Don't know how some would call that chord? or the B as root note, F# as a diminished fifth and A as a minor 7th?

Any suggestions?

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[stratman79]

I don't know the song at all.

If B was root - f# would = perfect 5th and A would be the minor 7.

That would mean the chord would be either Bm7 or B7 depending if the 3rd (D) was major or minor.

It could easily be either but the general key would give you the idea.

If E is the tonic, B = V = B7

If the song is in A. E = V (major) and B = 2nd (m7)

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[Lester]

I don't know the song at all.

If B was root - f# would = perfect 5th and A would be the minor 7.

That would mean the chord would be either Bm7 or B7 depending if the 3rd (D) was major or minor.

It could easily be either but the general key would give you the idea.

If E is the tonic, B = V = B7

If the song is in A. E = V (major) and B = 2nd (m7)

Thanks for your help!

I totally missed that F# is the perfect 5th of the B, it makes more sense now.

So I have a B7 or Bm7 chord at the beginning (alternating with a B5) and an Emajor in the last lick.

But since the chord in the firt lick doesn not seem to have a 3rd could it be a B5m7 or something like that??

I don't quite understand though what you are saying with the tonic part.

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This post has been edited by Lester: Jun 6 2010, 02:29 PM

[stratman79]

If you harmonise the major scale you get

1=maj7 (maj)
2=min7 (min)
3=min7 (min)
4=maj7 (maj)
5=dom7 (maj)
6=min7 (min)
7=min7b5 (dim)

we know E is a major chord. We don't know if its a major 7 or a Dom 7 though.

That mean E can either be the first chord in E, the 4th chord in B or the 5th chord in A...

B is either a Dom7 or a Minor7 (it can't be a mojor7th because of the A natural)

So that rules out the key of B.

That means the song must either be in the key of A, where B would be a minor7 (the 2nd chord in the harmonised major scale) and E would be the 5th...

OR the song could be in E where E the first chord (Tonic) and B would a dom 7 (the 5th chord in the harmonised major scale).

The 3rd of the B is implied by the key you are in...

this is all theoretical and could be complete rubbish and Slash was just playing a riff that sounded nice...


**edit**

Just listened to the song basically the first time the chords come in you have a 4 bar progression round B5|E5|A5|E5|
then it just chugs along on a B5... that would suggest your in E major. But you would have to look at the relation of the notes against each cord to understand why it sounded like it does...

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This post has been edited by stratman79: Jun 6 2010, 06:28 PM

[djohnneay]

this is all theoretical and could be complete rubbish and Slash was just playing a riff that sounded nice...

I think you can be both theoretically correct and be right about Slash playing a riff that sounds nice
Theory is always there, how you imply it is just a whole diffrent thing.

By the way, this album rocks! Although I like 'nothing to say' from M.Shadows the best.

edit :

e|-------------------------------------------|
B|-10----12----10----12----10p9--------|
G|-----11----11----11----11-------9-----| x10
D|---9-----9-----9-----9---------------9--|
A|------------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------------|

The notes played in the riff (A , B, F#, B, G#, E and in that order, over the chords (B5,E5,A5,E5 if i'm correct) harmonize the 5-chords.
This harmonization leads to playing
B7add13 over B5
Eadd9 over E5
Asus2add13add15 over A5

The extended use of roots and 5ths (A is a 5th up from E, B is a 5th down) makes this song very appealing to listen to.
The 2nds and 6ths are used as passing notes.

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This post has been edited by djohnneay: Jun 7 2010, 06:21 PM

[Vasilije Vukmiro...]

This could be B min7, Bmin9, or B5, because note on the top changes.
But we could say that it's B minor! Changing notes on the top are actually melody, I don't think they should be considered as part of the harmony structure.

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[Lester]

Wow, thanks guys for the help...
I will have to study more theorie, because I have no idea what that harmonizing part means.

The extended use of roots and 5ths (A is a 5th up from E, B is a 5th down) makes this song very appealing to listen to.
The 2nds and 6ths are used as passing notes.

This i understand though

Anyway, thanks again!

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