Sit down…here it comes, the “stupid question”.
Trying to get better at theory and my chords. Watching Ben’s vid, for the major scale it whole whole 1/2 whole whole whole 1/2. Which you end up with an F# on the eleventh fret. I get that and it just sounds right. But…here it is.
If I go to play a F bar chord, am I fretting it on the 10th fret? It’s just not sounding like it should be there.
Flame away at me buds…lol
I’m not really understanding what you are doing here.
The F major scale is F, G, A, B flat, C, D, E and F. The half steps are between A and B flat and E and F.
If you start your scale on the 3rd fret, 4th string, the octave is 10th fret, 3rd string. I don’t know where the 11th fret comes into it.
However, F sharp IS part of the G major scale (maybe you’re trying to play that scale). It is not part of the G major chord triad though, which is G B and D.
— Begin quote from "ez2cy"
If I go to play a F bar chord, am I fretting it on the 10th fret? It’s just not sounding like it should be there.
— End quote
You nailed it! An F bar chord is made by barring the 10th frets.
Do you use an apple or android device?
— Begin quote from "bluenote23"
I’m not really understanding what you are doing here.
The F major scale is F, G, A, B flat, C, D, E and F. The half steps are between A and B flat and E and F.
If you start your scale on the 3rd fret, 4th string, the octave is 10th fret, 3rd string. I don’t know where the 11th fret comes into it.
However, F sharp IS part of the G major scale (maybe you’re trying to play that scale). It is not part of the G major chord triad though, which is G B and D.
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Sorry if I was not clear. In the G scale, there is the F#, 11th fret. So a barred F should be the 10th. Theroy makes no sense to me.
— Begin quote from "beardedbanjo"
— Begin quote from "ez2cy"
If I go to play a F bar chord, am I fretting it on the 10th fret? It’s just not sounding like it should be there.
— End quote
You nailed it! An F bar chord is made by barring the 10th frets.
Do you use an apple or android device?
— End quote
I think my phone is an Android. Sorry I’m phone stupid. I only have a txt plan and call after 7. I’m old fashion when it comes to phones…I’m the “hello, nice to talk to you…bye” types…not the phone even makes coffee sort…lol
Hmmm. I don’t understand what doesn’t make sense.
If F sharp is on the 11th fret (of the third string), then one half step down (or one fret down) would be an F. So the root of the F chord is on the 10th fret of the third string. So at least part of an F chord has to be played (in that position, higher up the neck) on the 10th fret of the 3rd string.
— Begin quote from "bluenote23"
Hmmm. I don’t understand what doesn’t make sense.
— End quote
To some people it doesn’t make sense at first. It took me a while to understand things like this.
Just because your brain “gets it” doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone else. It’s irrelevant if you don’t understand why it doesn’t make sense, the only relevant thing is that it doesn’t make sense here, and we’re here to try to help him make sense of it.
Being able to ask the “stupid question” on here - and receive instruction with encouragement - is what has made this forum am invaluable resource for me.
— Begin quote from "ez2cy"
I think my phone is an Android. Sorry I’m phone stupid. I only have a txt plan and call after 7. I’m old fashion when it comes to phones…I’m the “hello, nice to talk to you…bye” types…not the phone even makes coffee sort…lol
— End quote
I’m right there with you. I practically have to demand that Verizon sell me a flip phone because they think no 29 year old can possibly live without a smart phone.
However, if you had an iPad or Android tablet then I was going to reference a couple of apps that have really helped me learn chord locations on my banjo.
— Begin quote from "beardedbanjo"
— Begin quote from "bluenote23"
Hmmm. I don’t understand what doesn’t make sense.
— End quote
To some people it doesn’t make sense at first. It took me a while to understand things like this.
Just because your brain “gets it” doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone else. It’s irrelevant if you don’t understand why it doesn’t make sense, the only relevant thing is that it doesn’t make sense here, and we’re here to try to help him make sense of it.
Being able to ask the “stupid question” on here - and receive instruction with encouragement - is what has made this forum am invaluable resource for me.
— End quote
I was not trying to be condescending here. It is really that I do not understand; what is the issue, what is the question?
Is that F sharp should be part of the F chord? Or is that the F chord should be part of the G scale? Or that the F chord should be in the key of G?
Simple music theory is not difficult as long as you have the information right. So for example, the questions above are all based on mistaken information.
I just don’t get what the OPs question was. Maybe it was as simple as ‘Is a barre at the 10th fret an F chord?’ but I don’t think that was the question. There is something about F sharp in there, I just don’t see where it fits in.
I don’t think there is such a thing as a stupid question, especially when referencing something like music theory but this ‘question’ confused me.
Easy guys.
My thinking, although wrong, would be that if the note in the G scale, just before the high G (going up the neck) would have to also be the F chord, which didn’t make sense as it’s a F#.
I’m finding with some theory, what is for one thing is not for the other, as above. Why I thought that? I don’t know I just did. I’m slowly learning that a scale and chords aren’t always the same. If that made any sense.
Thanks for the help
— Begin quote from "beardedbanjo"
— Begin quote from "ez2cy"
I think my phone is an Android. Sorry I’m phone stupid. I only have a txt plan and call after 7. I’m old fashion when it comes to phones…I’m the “hello, nice to talk to you…bye” types…not the phone even makes coffee sort…lol
— End quote
I’m right there with you. I practically have to demand that Verizon sell me a flip phone because they think no 29 year old can possibly live without a smart phone.
However, if you had an iPad or Android tablet then I was going to reference a couple of apps that have really helped me learn chord locations on my banjo.
— End quote
Asked the neighbor kid. Yes it’s an Android. I get wifi (or whatever) here in the house but not outside. If you have a suggestion for the App. I’m all ears (and thumbs)
— Begin quote from "bluenote23"
— Begin quote from "beardedbanjo"
— Begin quote from "bluenote23"
Hmmm. I don’t understand what doesn’t make sense.
— End quote
— End quote
To some people it doesn’t make sense at first. It took me a while to understand things like this.
Just because your brain “gets it” doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone else. It’s irrelevant if you don’t understand why it doesn’t make sense, the only relevant thing is that it doesn’t make sense here, and we’re here to try to help him make sense of it.
Being able to ask the “stupid question” on here - and receive instruction with encouragement - is what has made this forum am invaluable resource for me.
— End quote
I was not trying to be condescending here. It is really that I do not understand; what is the issue, what is the question?
Is that F sharp should be part of the F chord? Or is that the F chord should be part of the G scale? Or that the F chord should be in the key of G?
Think I thought of a way to explain my question.
If I am playing the G scale all the way up the neck. at the same fret is each barre chord, (on the G 3rd string), same as the scale, except the F. that’s where I was going wrong. It just seemed to me it would all be the same.
sorry again for the confusion. I also did not take offence to your reply bluenote.
I think your confusion lies in the fact that we so often play G/F/C chord patterns in songs so it is kind of natural to think that if you’re playing in G that there ought to be an F chord around.
Though this is a difference between playing a scale and playing in a key. A song is in a key, that is, in written music, there is an indication of what scale the song is going to based around. So most of the main melody notes and chords are going to fall in that scale.
When you play a C/F/G pattern in a song, you are actually playing in C. If you check the chords, you will see that the notes of each chord are also part of the C scale. The key only gives the context in which you play the chords, it does not define the chords themselves (the chords are really constructed from the scale but you don’t need to be playing in that key to play the chord. So just because a G chord is based on the G scale, you can also play the chord (without unpleasant dissonance) in other keys).
To get back to F sharp; if you play in the KEY of G, then your common chord pattern will be G/C and D. So again, if you look at these chords, all their notes are contained in the G scale (a D is D F sharp and A).
Early on in your studies, I don’t know how useful it is to worry about keys anyway. More essential is to know how to build chords from the notes in the scale.
In order to understand chords you have to know which notes are in it. For major chords you take the 1st , 3rd and 5th note of the major scale, which for F is thus F A and C. Anywhere on the neck where you can play these three notes together it will be an F-chord.
If you are familiar with the three standard chord shapes for banjo, you can see that this is true for Y-shape, the X-shape and also the bar shape. As you were asking about the latter, you can find that when fretting at the 10th fret, you will play a C on the 1st and 4th string, an F on the 3rd string and the A note is on the 2nd string.
For minor chords, you actually do the same, combining note 1 3 and 5 of the minor scale, and because the 3rd note is a half step lower compared to the major scale, the sound will be different (so Fmin will consist of F, G# and C)
If you want to find the notes of chords quickly, just google for “chord triads” or “chord notes” and search for visuals. You will easily find tables with the required notes of each chord.
Hope this helped.
— Begin quote from "ez2cy"
…
Think I thought of a way to explain my question.
If I am playing the G scale all the way up the neck. at the same fret is each barre chord, (on the G 3rd string), same as the scale, except the F. that’s where I was going wrong. It just seemed to me it would all be the same.
sorry again for the confusion. I also did not take offence to your reply bluenote.
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Okay, I think what you are saying is that if you barre each note of the scale, then you make the corresponding chord for that note in the scale. So open is a G chord and open at the third fret is the G note. Second fret third string is the second note of the G scale and if you barre at the second fret, you make an A chord.
So here’s where you went wrong. F sharp is part of the G scale but F natural is not. So you see, it does all work. And even if the note is not part of the G scale, your ‘formula’ still works, that is the note you play at the third fret (for instance) is the root note, or name note of the major chord you make when you barre at the third fret.
Does that make more sense?
Yep, I got it now…sort of. I’m really trying to get a base so I’m just not playing along with tabs, but understand what is going on ie chord construction, what note will go with another etc
All good info guys, Thank you so much
This is a good thing to do I believe. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. Like I said, it’s not that difficult as long as you have the right information but if you are misinformed, things will become downright confounding.
— Begin quote from "bluenote23"
I was not trying to be condescending here …
— End quote
My apologies.
— Begin quote from "ez2cy"
Asked the neighbor kid. Yes it’s an Android. I get wifi (or whatever) here in the house but not outside. If you have a suggestion for the App. I’m all ears (and thumbs)
— End quote
I use an app called Basichords
oK…3 year old here…lol
I take my Android and go to App store? or Google it? God I’m a phone reject…LOL