Hey Friend,

That's what I used to tell my Latin teacher. She was not amused...

Just as Roman numerals are a common way to tell you which chords are played in a song, the Greeks had even more influence over modern music.

Ever hear of a dude named Pythagoras?

If any of you are having flashbacks to high school geometry and the Pythagorean Theorem, good, you got it right.

Pythagoras is credited with our tuning system, which also gives us the Circle of Fifths. Both of these concepts are based on "stacked fifths," which uses the fifth notes from the key scale to determine tuning and accidentals (sharps and flats). 

Pythagorean tuning uses a ratio of 3:2 to calculate the pitch of that fifth note. Here's how it works:

Start with the frequency of the first note. The frequency of middle C is 261.6 Hz (Hertz), or roughly 262 complete sound waves per second. Next, determine the fifth note from the C major scale. This would be G. To get the frequency of G, simply multiply the frequency of C (261.6) by 3, then divide the total by 2. This will give you the frequency of G.

Let's get our Algebra on...

Okay, I agree, not terribly helpful here, but at least you get a little better idea of how the pitches that influence our musical life so much are determined.

Circle of Fifths

The Circle of Fifths is a nice tool because it tells us how many sharps or flats are in a key. Knowing how to write out the major scale for a particular key gives you the notes you need to construct  all the chords for that key. 

If you're slow like me, you can figure it out by counting. Each key on the Circle can be considered a spoke (like on a wheel). The first spoke is the key of C major, and we go clockwise around the circle as we figure out the fifths.

Let's begin with C (in the 12 o'clock position) because there are zero sharps (#) or flats (b) in the key. Starting with the C note, I count up five notes.

C - D - E - F - G

G is the fifth note from the key of C major, and the next spoke in the Circle of Fifths. The key of G major has one sharp - F#. Let's see what the next spoke is...

G - A - B - C - D

The key of D major. D major has two sharps in it - F# and C#.

As you continue moving on to the next key, you may notice that the number of sharps is cumulative. They include the sharps from the previous keys. 

You can keep going around the circle, and eventually you will get into sharp keys and flat keys. Fortunately for us Rockers (and Blues and Country), we don't see too many songs in weird keys.  For the most part, we stay in the keys of C, G, D, A, and E.

Of course, knowing how to write out a major scale allows you to then use that scale to figure out notes in a chord. 

Okay, chilrens, fair question...

It's perfectly legit to just learn the chord shapes. It's fine to play what sounds and feels right. I'm not going to argue. I did okay not knowing any of this. So did the Beatles (although I have to say they did a lot more 'okay' than me!).

I'm just trying to open the world up a little for you. Give you some additional options I didn't know were available.

You see, the more knowledge you have, the easier it is to understand new things that come your way. 

You may not understand any of it...

It might hurt a little bit...

I share it out of love!

The exposure creates questions in your mind. Questions lead to seeking information, which leads to study and insight. Then you begin to get ideas. Before you know it, you're coming up with cool riffs and runs, or interesting chord progressions that fall outside the basic shapes. 

Try this out with simple power chords. When we play basic power chords, we use two fingers depending on your comfort - the index finger and the ring or pinky. We play power chords on two adjacent strings with our two fingers, two frets apart. 

For example, an A5 power chord can be played with your index finger on the sixth string (A note on the E string) at the fifth fret and your ring or pinky on the seventh fret of the fifth string (E note on the A string).

Move this shape over one set of strings to the fifth and fourth strings and you now have a D5 power chord. What happens when you move it again one set of strings to the fourth and third strings? 

Now you have a G5 power chord. But what if you let your creativity take hold and decide to play the open A string (fifth string) along with the G5 power chord. Now you strum the fifth, fourth and third strings together. You get a different sound and feel out of the power chord (technically, it's no longer a power chord - you're playing the A, G and D notes, which is a Gsus2 chord, but who cares - it sounds cool!).

The bottom line is, learning a little about how music works only helps you in your creativity. 

If you want to see how to move power chords around the guitar neck to create your own cool sounding chords, you can check out Easy Power Chords. I've charted out hundreds of chord positions for you to experiment with. Each chart shows you where to put your fingers, so you don't have to think about it. Just look at the chart, place your fingers and strum.

About as easy as it gets. Check Easy Power Chords right here.

Peace~

Dave