Transcript Slide 1

Major Scale Notes & Intervals
Note number
A half step (H) is the “distance” between frets or
between any two adjacent keys on a piano.
A whole step (W) is the “distance” between two frets.
Major & Chromatic Scale Notes
Note: A C Major scale has no sharps (#) or flats (b).
Chromatic Scale Notes & Intervals
Chromatic Scale Notes & Intervals
Note number
Intervals
(octave) 8th
7th
6th
5th
4th
3rd
2nd
Building a Major Chord
Any major chord is built from the 1, 3, & 5 relative to the
root of the chord.
(octave) 8th
7th
6th
5th
4th
3rd
2nd
C
E
G
1st
It can include the 8th, and in jazz includes the 7.
Building a Minor Chord
Any major chord is built from the 1, b3, & 5
relative to the root of the chord.
A b3rd is also called a minor 3rd.
(octave) 8th
b7th
6th
5th
4th
b3rd
2nd
C
Eb
G
Bb
1st
It can include the 8th, and in jazz includes the b7.
Within a key, Major chords are assigned
UPPERCASE Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc),
while minor chords are assigned
lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc)
If we start counting at C, Major chords would be
C
D
E
F G A
B
C
I
II III IV V VI VII I,
but not all of these Major chords sound good in progression.
If we start counting at C, minor chords would be
Cm Dm Em Fm Gm Am
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
Bm
Cm
vii
I,
but not all of these minor chords sound good in progression.
A chord progression is chords played in sequence such
as I V I. In the key of C major, the chords would be
C
G
C,
which is the simplest chord progression.
The next simplest chord progression in any key is
I
C
IV V I. In the key of C major, the chords would be
F G C.
Why do these progressions sound so natural to us? It’s
because the chords C F G C all contain only notes
from the C major scale:
C Major chord = C, E, G
= 1, 3, 5 in key of C
F Major chord = F, A, C
= 4, 6, 1 in key of C, but can also be thought of as
= 1, 3, 5 in key of F
G Major chord = G, B, D
= 5, 7, 2 in key of C, but can also be thought of as
= 1, 3, 5 in key of G
F Major chord notes
(octave) 8th
7th
6th
5th
4th
3rd
2nd
Major scale notes
F
G
A
A Bb
C D
E
F
1st
G Major chord notes
(octave) 8th
7th
6th
5th
4th
3rd
2nd
Major scale notes
G
1st
A
BB C
D
D E
F# G
When we add minor chords to a tune that’s in a major key,
there are two chords that are most likely to sound natural,
because those two chords (the ii and vi chords) also contain
only notes from the I major scale (C major in example below).
A typical such progression would be
C
= I
Dm
ii
F Am G C
IV vi
V
I.
The C and Am chords only differ by one note, and
the F and Dm chords only differ by one note.
The vi chord is given a special name: the relative minor,
because the key signature (number of sharps & flats) is
the same for the keys of C and Am (in the key of C,
these are the
I and vi chords).
“7th” chords
When you see a chord chart with symbols like G7 or D7,
these symbols are for a “dominant” 7th (= b7th), not a
major 7th chord, which has a 7th.
A Gma7 chord has the notes G E D F#
1 3 5 7, whereas
a Gdom7 = G7 = G b7 chord has G E D F
1 3 5 b7.
Why? G7 is the V chord for the key of C, which has no
F#, but rather has an F, which is the b7th to G
Building a minor Dominant 7th Chord
When you see a chord chart with symbols like Am7 or
Dm7, these symbols are for a “dominant” 7th (= b7th).
Any minor dominant chord is built with a b3 and b7 (relative
to the root of the chord). An Am7 chord “fits” the key of C
because every note in Am7 (the vi7 if C is the I) is in the
key of C:
th
(octave) 8
b7th
6th
5th
4th
b3rd
2nd
C = Am scale notes starting on A
1st A
B
W
C
H W
D
W
E
F
G A
H W
W
What would the ii7 chord be in the key of C? Dm7
Why should a bass player care?
How many bluegrass bass players does it take to
change a lightbulb?
I V
I
V
I …………
Which can get pretty old after a while.
The main “job” of the bass player is to (almost always)
play the root on the downbeat, then some other note(s).
The bass can also help define whether the chord is a:
• major (by playing a major 3rd)
• minor (by playing a minor or flat 3rd)
• dominant (by playing a dominant or flat 7th)
You don’t want every bass player in the audience saying,
“Horrors. He just played a major 3rd over that minor chord!”
Why should any of you care about theory?
Knowing just a little theory can help you understand tunes
and learn by ear much faster. It will help you make sense
out of chord progressions by making better guesses as to
what the “off chord” is.
If you keep at it, you will start to say things like “Oh, this
part of the tune is just like the progression in that other
tune……”
You’ll also be able to read chord charts.