Subject: Making Minor Chords
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, We've covered a lot of ground over the past few weeks. We've talked about major chord shapes, inversions, progressions and all sorts of little details that come into play. This week, let's take the next step and get a handle on how minor chords are made from the major chords we know and love.Before I get to that, I just wanted to give you the heads-up. The Learn To Play Rock Guitar website is undergoing a major face lift. It's been a long time coming, and I finally got that kick in the butt to do it when Google decided to change their search algorithm with regards to mobile viewing. It's going to take me some time to get all the pages converted over, but the design is in place and I'm working to load the site with more great content for you. What's nice about this new layout is, no matter what device you decide to view the site with, you should have no problem reading pages and getting around. OK, administrative stuff... Done! On to the goodies... Major Chord Review Major chords. Let's review how we make them. First, what is the name of the chord? Is it a C major? Well then, we will use the C major scale to determine which notes are used to construct a C major chord. Once you've determined the scale to use, pick out the first, third and fifth notes from that scale. These are the notes used to make this major chord. In the case of a C major chord, we have the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C in the major scale. A C major chord is made by combining the C, E and G notes, or the 1 (tonic), three (major third) and 5 (perfect fifth) notes (the intervals are in parentheses). Play a C major chord on your guitar. Notice that your third finger is on the third fret of the fifth string, which is the C note (the root), your middle finger is on the second fret of the fourth string, which is the E note (the third) and the open G string supplies the fifth note of the chord. We tend to add our index finger on the first fret of the second string to repeat the C root note - it just fills the chord out nicely. So there it is - the 1, 3, 5 notes that make up the major chord. Want a different major chord? Use the same process. Take the name of the chord and use that to tell you which major scale to use. Then take the 1, 3 and 5 notes from that scale and the result is the major chord. Now major scales other than C can be a little tricky because notes can be sharp or flat in the respective scale. But as long as you select the correct notes from the scale you're using, this technique works. Here's another example to help clarify - let's create an A major chord. The A major scale is A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G# and A. To make the A major chord, use the 1, 3 and 5 notes, which are A, C# and E. Remember that we use the major scale pattern (whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step) to figure out what the proper intervals (spaces, or frets) are between each note. That way no matter which key we're working with, we always have the pattern to guide us to the proper notes. t's a lot simpler to just learn the various chord shapes and memorize where to put them on the fingerboard for each chord. The benefit of knowing how to construct chords is you can then come up with interesting variations of these chords using the different voicings (different ways to play a chord) anywhere on the guitar neck. This is particularly helpful when you're trying to stay in one section of the neck without having to jump up and down the fingerboard. Recap:
Making Minor Chords The formula for minor chords is very similar to major chords. Use the same steps to pick out the chord notes. For minor chords, we're still going to use the 1, 3 and 5 notes with a little twist. The twist is we will change one of the notes in the chord from a major interval to a minor one. To make the major chord minor, we need to take the third note of the scale and drop it lower by one fret. This makes the note a 'minor third' rather than a major third. Example time. Take our C major chord with the notes of C, E and G. Following the guide above, let's drop the E note (which is the third note from the C major scale) down one fret to Eb (E flat). Now play the fifth, fourth and third strings. The chord notes are now C, Eb and G. As you'll hear, lowering the third note changes the overall feel of the chord from happy to sad. Let me clarify something. There are all sorts of chords that can be made from the basic notes of a major chord (the one, three and five notes of the major scale). Whenever the third or fifth note (or both) of a chord changes in the structure, that modification alters the sound of the chord. By changing that sound, you effectively transform the feel of the chord, which then shifts how your listener is affected. You can also add other notes from the scale to the chord. This will keep the general sound of the chord but give it a different vibe. We'll come back to this idea later, as it's a bit more advanced. Geeking Out on Chords What you've just learned should be a real eye-opener for you. If you think about it, chords are a relatively simple concept. Place your fingers on the fingerboard in a particular shape and the result is one sound. Make a minor adjustment and you've altered its DNA enough to make a drastic change in the sound of the chord, so much that it affects the entire emotion of the chord. With this understanding, you can begin experimenting, making little changes to the chord structure and hearing how those changes affect the sound. Take a chord you love and start moving your fingers into different positions (one at a time) to hear what that does to the chord. You'll be surprised at some of the crazy-good sounds you find. It's kind of like being a mad scientist! I really enjoy this aspect of playing guitar... that I can sit down with my guitar, place my fingers anywhere on the neck and start creating. I simply start with a basic fingering shape and start messing around, moving a finger at a time until I something grabs my attention. Before I know it, I've found some cool little chord or progression. This is when guitar really starts to get fun. Okay, I promised dominant 7 chords, but as usual, I yapped for too long and ran out of time... Next week, Cats and Kittens! Peace~ Dave P.S. Check out the new design for Learn To Play Rock Guitar and let me know what you think! Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes. He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
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