Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Music Theory Chords

to play in Gm you would build the chord for the Gm scale: G A Bb C D Eb F (there are different minor scales…this one is Gm natural)

You can find further explanation from the link below

Chords in the key of G minor natural

What if it was Key of G (sharp key)? or Bb (flat key)?

That’s a good question. It has to do with the fingering of the chord itself. Check out this graphic of the F major chord:

So, if we take all 3 notes in the F major scale and walk them up the scale the same number of notes, we get:

F = F -> G -> A -> Bb -> C -> D
A = A -> Bb -> C -> D -> E -> F
C = C -> D -> E -> F -> G -> A

Now you have your D minor.

So when you move each note of a chord the same number of note in the major scale, you end up with Major / minor / minor / Major / Major / minor / diminished.

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It’s still the same. For any Major key, natural, sharp, or flat, it will always be WWHWWWH and it will also always be MmmMMmD. The first chart I posted above actually spells out what that looks like for every key.

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key C
scale of C = C, D, E. ,F, G, A, B

F chord triad built from C major scale = F, A, C

The A is 3 half-steps above the F and is the “3rd” of the chord

This makes it a “flatted third” because in a regular F major scale the 3rd tone es Bb.

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Oh ok. I think it’s starting to make sense. Thanks

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So the chords are always in the MmmMMmD order no matter what?

no, not always

I suggest reading this for a simple understanding of what happens in harmonic and melodic minor scales.

Learn About the Types of Minor Scales | Deciphering Music Theory.com

There are three types of minor scales: The Natural Minor scale The Harmonic Minor scale The Melodic Minor scale

No. The only rule in music is that there are no rules. :slight_smile:

For example, when playing in G, the 2 is Am. However, you’ll often hear an A Major played as a transition chord to the D. The reason it works so well is that the D is the 5th of G in the G major scale, and the A is the 5th of D in the D Major scale. So your using the 5th of the 5th as the transition chord. You can continue stacking those 5ths to come up with some really wild, but nice sounding chord progressions.

Is this how you write that in the Nashville Number System?

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Oh, nicely put Dave. That helps me out too.

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Spot on Rance

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I think Rance missed a chord…:sunglasses:

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I used this in my piano lessons and my instructor said not to cuz it boxes you into a “country” sound. I was like, “Exactly!”

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LOL! Not the country sound!

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I guess all these ‘tricks’ are meant to help if you don’t know scales and intervals but it seems to me they complicate things more than anything,

A major chord is the root, major third and perfect fifth. The intervals of the third and fifth are found by counting the number of semitones from the root to the note. Once you know your intervals and scales, then it’s easy.

A major chord is always a root, a major third and a perfect fifth. A minor chord is always a root, minor third and perfect fifth. Always. This is the definition of these particular chords.

So you just need to look at the notes in the scale of the key and match them up to your chord and you see what you get. In the scale of F, the F is natural. So the third in the D chord is (D-E-F) is F natural. If you count the interval, you find that is a minor third (three semitones from the root). The fifth (D-E-F-G-A) in the F scale is a A natural, a perfect fith (seven semitones from the root). So you have root-minor third-perfect fifth, a minor chord.

But in the A scale, the third interval (D-E-F) is an F#. This is four semitones from the D and therefore a major third. The fifth interval (D-E-F-G-A) is a A natural and so, like in the F scale, that’s a perfect fifth. So you have root-major third-perfect fifth, a major chord.

Learning intervals and scales is not that difficult and you can make it easy on yourself and just start with the stuff you use, major and minor chords and simpler scales (I mean, when was the last time you played in F#?)

Sorry for the ramble but…
In fact, it can be even simpler. If you just know your scales and you know your chords and understand how chords are made, then you can just use the notes of the scale to make the chord and then look what you have.

So in F, a D and an F natural and an A make a D min. In A, a D and an F# and an A make a D maj.

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So a major chord has three intervals? Sorry if I’m sounding kind of like an idiot but I’m having a lot of trouble with this.

Don’t sweat it. Most of us have been there and still are there. Even if it doesn’t make sense today, it’ll get clearer by and by. Just don’t let it get you down in the mean time. I promise you can make Cripple Creek sound superb before all of this makes total sense.

I was talking with @Mark_Rocka this morning and finally had a light bulb moment on something that had confused me for 6 years.

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The root plus two intervals.
A major chord is made up of three notes, a root a third and a fifth. There can be more notes but they will be repeats so, taking a C major chord, you basically have C, E and G. If you play a cowboy C major on the guitar, there are six notes but you will see all the notes are either Cs, Es or Gs).

Majors and Minors, the most common chords you use have only three different notes.

The only common chord (I think) you might see with more notes is the 7th (as in C7 which is more properly called a dominant 7th chord). But don’t worry so much about this as it messes things up some.

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Can you tell if the chord is major or minor without looking at sheet music? That’s what I’m having so much trouble with.