Learning the New Chord's Names

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Jon_Spokane

Guest
Great post by JohnC.  Good stuff.

A couple ideas for you guys:

~ Chords and chord shapes.  JohnC is correct that it is the shape and muscle memory of it that is most important.  But connecting the theory can help dramatically with remembering them.  This is kind of old-school, but I make flash cards for each new chord or chord shape (same with scales).  You do this at a time of the day when the guitar is not slung around your neck.  Or I write out the chord in a chord chart, then again with the note names, then again with the intervals.  Knowing the intervals will come in handy later in many ways, I assume.  Write them out each day before you start practicing them.  Memorized completely within a week.  It only takes a few minutes to write them out.  With the flash cards, I actually use scissors and a glue stick.

~ I also write out the pentatonic scales.  Right now, I am practicing the first pattern, and connecting it to the second pattern and also in the other direction to the fifth pattern.  So I write out (draw circles around the sting/fret, and fill in note or interval) the three patterns on a blank fretboard diagram.  This is super important, as knowing where the roots and blue notes in the patterns in key.  But more than that, in the scale you can bend any note that is not the root or the 5th.  Thus, I also draw the scales with the notes that I can bend shaded in, and all the roots and fifth intervals identified.  Then, when I jam, I can look at the drawing and focus on landing on the root, bending the 4th, etc.  Better to know it like this than to learn a million licks and eventually kind of figure out what notes you can play.
 
J

Jon_Spokane

Guest
Quick theory lesson (correct this if I am wrong!!):


A  A#  B  C  C#  D  D#  E  F  F#  G  G#    the 12 chromatic notes.  the musical alphabet.  each is one fret apart from the next.

Major scale uses 7 of the 12 chromatic notes, following a formula of whole and half steps.

A Major Scale:

A   B   C#   D   E   F#   G#   A       Notes

R   2    3     4    5   6     7     R       Numbering system.  Number of notes away from Root.  Also, Interval names as well, I think.

- W - W - H - W - W - W -  H -        Distance between notes in scale.  Whole and Half steps, which are two frets and one fret



To go to the minor pentatonic scale from here, drop the 2 and the 6 out, and flatten the 3 and the 7 (which means drop by one fret).

Am Pentatonic:

A      C   D   E      G   A                 Notes

R      b3  4   5      b7  R                 Intervals and numbering system.

The blue note is inserted in the fret between the 4 and 5 intervals.  In this case, the key of A, it would be D#.

You can bend the b3, the 4 and the b7.  The 4 is the most popular note to bend.  You always bend up to the next note in the scale.


When you are studying the pentatonic scales, you can make it as simple as just memorizing which notes are the root, as well as the 5th.  All other notes can be bent.  Just don't bend the root or the 5th, easy as that.

By the way, when it comes to memorizing something, doing it in multiple formats is best.  Play it. Visualize it.  Write it down.  Say it out loud.  Sing it in tune.  Etc.   For me, writing it down is the key one.
 
J

Jon_Spokane

Guest
By the way, the 7th chords we are learning (and the 9th) contain the b7 interval from the minor pentatonic scale.

It is the b7 that makes the chord "dominant" and gives it that sound.  

Oddly, unlike the minor pentatonic scale, the 7th chord contains a 3 and not a b3.  This is probably why both the minor and major pentatonic scales sound good in blues, in that blues typically use dominant chords.

A7 would contain the following:

A      C#      E      G      Notes

R      3         5      b7    Intervals


If anybody knows more useful theory than the sum of my knowledge above, please elaborate!
 
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ihop

Guest
Ok, I am starting lesson one, I know it's about time, I've had a real hard time with bar cords, short fat fingers. I can play a c7 d7 g7 no problem as shown on a cords chart, they aren't bar cords. QUESTION are these the same in sound? For instance, the D7 is first fret C second fret, A, F#. open D open A, Thanks
 

johnc

systematic
Ok, I am starting lesson one, I know it's about time, I've had a real hard time with bar cords, short fat fingers. I can play a c7 d7 g7 no problem as shown on a cords chart, they aren't bar cords. QUESTION are these the same in sound? For instance, the D7 is first fret C second fret, A, F#. open D open A, Thanks


ihop, don't worry about short fat fingers, there are plenty of us with those.  Long boney fingers are probably worse for bar chords.

Any chord by any name played correctly has exactly the same notes, no matter where you play it.  So there are several fingerings for D7 as there are any other chord.

D7 has 4 notes, the most important are the 3rd (F#) and the b7 (C).  (It is possible to drop the 1st (D) or the 5th (A) in some cases)

By playing a chord, say a D7 in different fingerings, bar chords or just any movable shape it is still the same notes but because you are applying a different combination of notes at different octaves you will change the voice of the chord and it is always great to have a few ways up your sleeve to get the desired sound.

I personally hardly ever use the open D7 or the open G7 fingerings, because I just don't like the sound of them, but I love using most open chords for their big sound.

Persist with the barre chords, I know they are hard but you will have to trust me that after a while you will wonder why they were a problem.
 
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ihop

Guest
I see what you mean, they do sound slightly different. Getting the bar cords down would be a great thing because one position covers so many cords when moved, I will keep practicing on those, maybe these fingers will get stretched a little. I like to get good clean cords, with all the notes ringing out, with a bar cord it seems it's the bar itself where I get the dead notes, not enough pressure in a certian area. Where fingered cords I seem to have alot better controll. I'll keep stretching and trying. Thanks John
 

560sdl

Blues Newbie
Ihop,

Everyone, I mean everyone has that trouble at first and there is no shortcut to it.  I just takes time.  One thing I did when learning (as I still am) is just go up and down the fretboard with the index finger only barred.  Practice just that many times a day until that gets really clean with no buzzing notes.  The danger in that is that you will probably use the flat part of the bottom of your finger unless you understand that you have to rotate it between and 1/8th and 1/4 turn when playing most barre chords.  Try to mimic that position when practicing the single finger.
 

Tim

Blues Newbie
Just joined!! I hope this helps. Learn the CAGED system. All of these letters in the c,a,g,e,d system have a corresponding shape. They can be moved all over the fretboard. First thing is to be familiar with the open string shape. Write out the chord shape (use chord diagrams) on a 3x5 card with the name on the back (flash cards) . Look at the shape say the name and turn over, check your work. You can also look at the name and visualize the shape and then turn over and check your visualization.

I visualize these shapes as such; C = diagonal line, A = vertical line, G = flag shape, E = L shape, D = triangle shape. This worked for me when I was learning them. Now they are in the vault and locked in long term memory.

The challenge of being an adult learner is we become frustrated and think there is something wrong with us when we do not understand something or remember it quickly.  We have to remember when we were kids everything was new so we thought nothing of it. We just did what we had to do to learn; flash cards, repeating something 1000 of times (ie. multiplication tables).

The funny thing is about learning guitar or any instrument is the hard work that is necessary. I have played a classical song over 1000 times before I could play it without sheet music in front of me. People who do not play do not realize this. Obsessive/compulsives make excellent guitar players!! Keep working at it and soon you will not even remember when you learned these shapes, you will just know them.  I hope this helped.


Tim Halleran
 

Bluewater

Blues Newbie
Tim - Welcome! Your inputs are valued! There has been some CAGED discussion here on the forum. I think CAGED something I figured out many years ago but I didn't know it had a name. I guess I need look into it a little further to be sure.

Dave
 

johnc

systematic
Thanks Tim well stated,
I use these 5 shapes and their variations all over the fretboard to play hundreds of chords and after awhile I only see 3 shapes , because you will realise that the basis for C and D are the same as are A and G.
A very powerful tool indeed once you get a grasp of it.
 
L

Lame_Pinky

Guest
A chord by any other name still smells as sweet as...err, wait a minute here ahhh ... well, hmmm ...I'll get back to you on this.  :eek:

LP
 
D

davemoss

Guest
Gpower, I just took a look at your chart :-/ Isn't that the Enigma code-breaker keyboard which the Germans used in WWII ;)

If you know the shape + root you are well on your way if you know the fretboard.

If anybody still needs to learn all the notes on the fretboard there's a free game called FRETPRO which makes it fun. You can download it at:-

http://www.tabguitarlessons.com/free-downloads.htm
 
L

Lame_Pinky

Guest
Gpower, I just took a look at your chart :-/ Isn't that the Enigma code-breaker keyboard which the Germans used in WWII ;)

If you know the shape + root you are well on your way if you know the fretboard.

If anybody still needs to learn all the notes on the fretboard there's a free game called FRETPRO which makes it fun. You can download it at:-

http://www.tabguitarlessons.com/free-downloads.htm

FRETPRO thought I recognised that name - so I checked its on my desktop, think I got it with the Riffmaster Pro - don't know so much about the game though you can pick up your guitar & do the same thing one note at a time.

LP
 
D

davemoss

Guest
FRETPRO is a free computer game where you have to identify random notes as they pop up on a virtual fretboard. At the end you get a score and a time so, apart from it being a bit of fun, you can see your improvement. It also lets you isolate specific string combinations so, for example, you can just play on the 5th and 6th strings to learn the key root notes.
 
C

CyberSchnook

Guest
Yeow! This thread, while having 2-3 sticky-worthy posts, is driving from the forum back to BBG DVD 1.

Otherwise, I'm gonna hurt myself in the head from thinking too much.
 
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