Sori _* ea Major To find the chords in a key and mode, first locate the Minor root, then count in. When you get to the center, go back to the outside and count back inwards to the root. Diminished ts Example: For Phrygian E, you count in to get E, F, G, A, and B, then go back to the outside to get C and D.The Character of Sound: Enharmonic notes are notes that have two names. C# is also called Db, for example. Enharmonic scales are scales that have the same notes, but different names. C Major has all the same notes as A minor, for example. Keys and modes are called relative keys (or relative modes), if they have the same notes in their scales and chords. C Major, E Phrygian, and A minor all have the same notes and chords, so they are relative modes. Look at the C Major (Ionian) and A minor (Aeolian) scales. They have the exact same notes. C Major sounds brighter, though, and A minor sounds darker. Why? It can't be because that's what the individual tones do. It's the exact same tones. The difference between C Major and A minor are the intervals. Intervals are the sonic distance between notes. Intervals are measured in semitones. Two semitones make one whole tone. More on that later. What's important here is that the major (ionian) intervals sound bright. and the minor (aeolian) intervals sound dark. In other words... WWSWWWS == Bright WSWWS WW == Dark (= Whole Tone, S$ = Semitone) So the character of a sound is largely defined by the sound that preceeded it. Music is not really about individual notes. It's about the negative space between the notes. We call this negative space intervals. This is why interval training your ear is important. When you practice scales, you are not just learning how to play a series of notes. You are training your ear to recognize the intervals between notes. Try to consciously pay attention to the way semitones feel when you play a scale. It's the semitones that give scales, chords, keys, and modes, their distinct character Chord Progressions: Guitar songs are usually composed of chord progressions. One way to understand what chords sound good together is by studying keys and modes. If you know the keys and what chords are in what keys, and what order those chords go in, that will help you know what chords to use in a song To get keys into your head, practice playing all the chords in a particular key, just like you do with your scales practice, until you get a feel for the key, so you can recognize it when you want to try to transcribe a song that you heard. Or better yet, transcribe a song that you invented in your head.Semitones and Whole Tones: Sound is air vibrating. Music is made when we pick out certain air vibration frequencies, and play them in a musical way (more like a ritual, really). If one note vibrates twice as fast as the note below it, we say it has a frequency ratio of 2:1. If the frequency ratio of two notes is 2:1, we say that the notes are one octave apart. We can generate this by plucking a string, then plucking another string exactly half the length of the first string So if we pluck a string and it vibrates at 440 hz, we call that note concert A. If we pluck a string half it's length, it will vibrate at 880 hz, which is twice as fast as concert A. This will give us the A one octave above concert A. From here, things get a bit more complicated. We all generally know what an octave is. Names for other two note sets of intervals are perfect fourths, perfect fifths, major thirds, minor thirds, whole tones, and semitones. They will be fully explored later, but for now just picture short and long strings vibrating, to get a feel for what these terms mean. Long String Short String Frequency Ratio _Interval Name T yard 1/2 yard 2:1 Octave 1 yard 2/3 yard 3:2 Perfect Sth 1 yard 3/4 yard 4:3 Perfect 4th 1 yard 4/5 yard 5:4 Major 3rd 1 yard 5/6 yard 6:5 Minor 3rd 1 yard 8/9 yard 9:8 Whole Tone 1 yard 15/16 yard 16:15 Semitone The semitone is the smallest interval we deal with in most of western music. All chords and scales discussed here are derived from intervals that are measured in semitones. Our instruments are built to play notes based on this system (if you want to explore smaller intervals, look up microtones). On a piano, a semitone is the frequency difference between two adjacent keys, so B is one semitone below C, and C# is one semitone above C. On a guitar, every fret is one semitone away from the frets above and below it. In other words, if we fret the A string at fret 3, and pluck it, we are playing C. If we fret the A string at fret 2, we are fretting B, and if we fret the A string at fret 4, we are fretting C#. See the key sheets to see how this works across the whole fretboard. Iwo semitones make a whole tone. C is one whole tone away from D. On a guitar, we would fret the 3rd fret on the A string to get C. To get D, we fret the 5th fret the A string. To get E, we fret the 7th fret on the A string. These notes are all one whole tone apartChord Structure: Chords are defined by the intervals between their notes. To understand how this works, we start out with a table of the chromatic scale, which shows every note in an octave. We will use this table to count semitones to build some basic 3 note chords. Chromatic scale A A¥ BC CH D DRE F FR G GH Intervals ol este Stes ShS asi se ce st esl 25) Chromatic Seale (S = Semitone): Interval Names: Root: The root is the lowest note in a chord. We name the chords after the root, and pick the notes above it as follows... jor Third 3 Semitones C to Eb is a minor third, because Eb is 3 semitones above C. Major Third ‘4 Semitones C to E is a major third, because E is 4 semitones above C. Fourth: Perfec ‘5 Semitones C to F is a perfect fourth, because F is 5 semitones above C. Diminished Fifth: G Semitones C to Gb is a diminished fifth, because Gb is 6 semitones above C Two minor thirds stacked on top of each other is always a diminished Sth. Perfect Fifth 7 Semitones C to G is a perfect fifth, because G is 7 semitones above C A Major 3rd stacked on top of a minor 3rd is always a perfect 5th. Chord Names: lajor Chord A major chord is a root, combined with a major third over it, combined with a minor third over that. Example: C (C Major) is C, E, G C and — are 4 semitones apart (Major 3rd) E and G are 3 semitones apart (minor 3rd) C and G are 7 semitones apart (Perfect Sth) Minor Chord: A minor chord is a root, combined with a minor third over it, combined with a major third over that. Example: Cm (C minor) is C, Eb, G and Eb are 3 semitones apart (minor 3rd) Eb and G are 4 semitones apart (Major 3rd) C and G are 7 semitones apart (Perfect Sth) Diminished Chord: A diminished chord is a root, combined with a minor third over it, combined with a minor third over that. Example: C° (C diminished) is C, Eb, Gb. C and Eb are 3 semitones apart (minor 3rd) Eb and Gb are 3 semitones apart (minor 3rd) C and Gb are 6 semitones apart (diminished 5th)Integer Notation Integer notation is a way to describe pitch intervals. I like it because it makes it clear how many semitones are between two notes, which is useful for chord formulas. In an octave, here is how that works with C as the root (S = Semitone): Chromati A At B Cc c# D DH E F FH G G# Intervals: S$ S$ S S S S S S$ S$ S$ S 5 Integers: 9 10 11 @ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Integer notation is zero indexed, with modulo 12 counting, so after 11 it loops back to @. C is @ when it is the root, and the C one octave above the root is @ again. The root in any chord is the first note played, so if we made E the root, for example, then C becomes 8, like so Chromatic A A# B C C# D D# E F FH G Gt Intervals S S S S S S S S S S S S$ ntesenss: 0) 86: 7a. 601 1c) Oe 1) 2 3 4 When used to describe a chord, set notation is used: {x, y, z} Examples: Chord Notes Integer Notation C Major: c, Ey G {0, 4, 7} E Major: E, G#, B {@, 4, 7} The integer notation is the same for all the Major chords. It's also the same for all minor chords, diminished chords, augmented chords, etc. Just make the root zero and count from there to build the chord. C Major: Cc, EG {0, 4, 7} Cm (minor): C, Eb, G {0, 3, 7} C° (Diminished) : Cc, Eb, Gb {2, 3, 6} C+ (Augmented): Cc, E, Gt {@, 4, 8} Csus4: Cc, F, G {0, 5, 7} Csus2: Cc, D, G {0, 2, 7} Cmaj7: c, E, G, B {0, 4, 7, 11} C7 (dominant 7th): Cc, E, G, Bb {0, 4, 7, 10} Cm7 (minor 7th): C, Eb, G, Bb {0, 3, 7, 10} C°7 (diminished 7th): C, Eb, Gb, A {@, 3, 6, 9} Octave doubling is when you play a note on top of the same note, one octave higher. Like in power chords, for example. I don't think there is a standard way to notate this, so I'm just going to use +12 to denote it, like this: C with C one octave up: cc {0,0+12} Cadd9: C, E,G,D {0, 4, 7, 2412} C5 (power): es GG) {0, 7, 7+12}Scales & Chords: S means semitone, W means whole tone Chromatic A A# BC C# D D# E Intervals S S S$ S$ S S$ S S$ wn w w wv Heptatonic Scales (7 notes per octave): By defnition, each scale is made up of 7 notes, picked out from the 12 note system above, in such a way that the 7 notes have exactly two semitone intervals, and those two semitone intervals are seperated by exactly two whole tones. There are only 7 ways to do this with 12 notes Ionian (Major) Intervals WoW S WWW S Tonian C Cc D E F G AB Ionian Chord Forms I ii iii IV V vi vii? Ionian C Chords C pm _Em FG Am _B° Dorian Intervals WS We We Wo W Dorian C Cc D Eb F G A_ Bb Same notes and chords as Bb Major and G minor keys Dorian Chord Forms i ii IIT IV v vie vIT Dorian C Chords Cm Dm Eb F Gm_A° Bb Phrygian Intervals SW W W S W W Phrygian C C Db Eb F G Ab Bb Same notes and chords as Ab Major and F minor keys Phrygian Chord Forms cl Gy tang oshy. Wp "ae (pel Phrygian C Chords Cm_Db_Eb_ Fm _G° Ab Bbm Lydian Intervals WoW W S WoW Ss Lydian C c D CE F# G A B Same notes and chords as G Major and E minor keys Lydian Chord Forms I II iii iv? Vv vi vii Lydian C Chords (CEs D eee Meth set Gee AIneebm Mixolydian Intervals WoW Ss WoW Ss W Mixolydian C c D ECE FG A Bb Same notes and chords as F Major and D minor keys Mixolydian Chord Forms I ii iii® IV v_ vi VII Mixolydian C Chords C Dm _E° F Gm_Am_ Bb Aeolian (minor) Intervals wWoS W W S WW Aeolian C C D Eb F G Ab Bb Same notes and chords as Eb Major and C minor keys Aeolian Chord Forms i ii° IIT iv v VI VIT Aeolian C Chords Cm D° Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb Locrian Intervals S Ww W S W W W Locrian C Cc Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb Same notes and chords as Db Major and Bb minor keys Locrian Chord Forms Ayal da dV Vee Vin vid, Locrian C Chords C°__Db__Ebm Fm_ Gb Ab BbmBuilding Chords in a Key The chords in a key that are defined by the circle of Sths are all triads. Triads are 3 note chords. To find the simple triad chords in a key, you take each note in the key's scale, and add the note 2 notes above it to get the 2nd note, then add the note 4 notes above it to get the 3rd note. C Major has the following notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B To make the C chord, we combine C, E, and G To make the D chord, we combine D, F, and A To make the E chord, we combine E, G, and B At this point, we loop around to the beginning when counting which means C is 4 notes from F (count G, A, B, then loop back to C). Continue counting this way until you have chords for every note in the C Major scale: To make the F chord, we combine F, A, and C To make the G chord, we combine G, B, and D To make the A chord, we combine A, C, and E To make the B chord, we combine B, D, and F Major and nished To know if a chord is major, minor, or diminished, you need to look at the intervals in it. These chords may be equally spaced out in the scale, but the scale is not equally spaced, interval-wise The C chord we just calculated is C, E, and G. In interval notation, that is {6, 4, 7} {@, 4, 7} is the integer notation for a major chord, so this chord is C Major The D Chord is D, F, A, or {@, 3, 7}. {@, 3, 7} is the notation for a minor chord, so this chord is D minor The B chord is B, D, F, or {@, 3, 6}. {0, 3, 6} is the notation for a diminished chord, so this chord is B° We repeat this process for every chord in the Key of C, to discover that the chords in the key of C are as follows: Cc Major D minor E minor F Major G Major A minor B diminished This process can be used on all scales, in any mode, to derive the chords in that key.Roman Numeral Notation: When writing about chords, degree refers to whether the chord is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Sth, 6th, or 7th chord in the key. For example, the degrees in the key of C Major are as follows... Chord: Cc Dm Em F G Am B' Chord Degree: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Roman numerals are used to indicate the scale degree, and the case of the roman numeral indicates the chord type. The degree symbol denotes diminished chords. The following notation is used to describe chord types: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIT: Major chords i, ii, iii, iv, v) vi, v minor chords i°, ii®, iii°, iv°, v°, vi®, vii: Diminished chords Roman Numerals in the Modes: The 7 modes contain the following chord types, in the following order: (I) Ionian (Major) I ii iif IV V_ vi vii? (II) Dorian eee Teese ee vie a yr (III) Phrygian i II QI iv v° VI vii (IV) Lydian IIl iii iv? Vo vi vii (V) Mixolydian Iii i Vv. vi VII (VI) Aeolian (minor) i ii III iv v VI VII (VII) Locrian i? Il iii iv Vo VI vii Relative Modes: Modes can have the same notes and chords as other major and minor keys. For example, C Dorian has the same notes and chords as Bb Major and G minor. The difference between these modes is the order in which the chords are played. For example... In C Dorian, Cm is the i chord. In 8b Major (or Bb Ionian), Cm is the ii chord. In G minor (or G Aeolian), Cm is the iv chord. See the Circle of 5ths diagram for a full list of relative modes.Chord Progressions: Chord progressions are commonly used sequences of chords. Sometimes this is referred to as diatonic harmony. Here is a general guideline for writing a song in a major key. Start with 1, then pick any other chord to go to next and follow the rules listed here after you play that second chord. (7 indicates a seventh chord) 1 to any 2 to 57 3 to 4 4 to 1 or 57 57 tol 6 to 2 I am using arabic numerals instead of roman numerals to indicate that the scale degree in any mode, or major or minor scale (this space left blank to write in your own progressions)C Ma jor G Ma jor Relative minor: A minor Relative minor: E minor C D E F G A BiG A B c oD E Fe 1 2 3 4 5 6 7\1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cc Dm Em F G Am B°|}G Am Bm C D_— Em F#° D Major A _ Major Relative minor: B minor Relative minor: F# minor D E F# GA B C#\A B c# DE FH G# lt 2 3 4 5 6 7 \1 2 3 4 5 6 7 D Em F#mG A Bm C#°}A Bm C#m D E F#m G#° E Major B/Cb Major Relative minor: C# minor Relative minor: G# minor E Fe G# A B C# D#|B C# D# E Fa G# At 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 {i 2 3 4 5 6 7 E F#m Gem A B C#m D#°|B C#m D#m E F# G#m A#° F#/Gb Major Db/C# Major Relative minor: D# minor Relative minor: B> minor Fe G# A# B Cee Dieke | DbEsEbEar Gb_Ab_ Bb C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 }]1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fe G#m A#m B C# D#m F°|Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab Bbm C° Ab Major Eb Major Relative minor: F minor Relative minor: C minor Ab_ Bb C Db Eb F G|Eb F G Ab_ Bb C D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7\1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ab Bbm Cm Db Eb Fm G°/Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb Cm D° Bb Major F Major Relative minor: G minor Relative minor: D minor Bb C D Eb_F G A\E G A Bb C D E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7\1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bb Cm Dm Eb F Gm A°/}F Gm Am Bb C_ Dm E°C_minor G minor Relative Major: Eb Major Relative Major: Bb Major C D Eb_F Gi ADEBO) || Gir Awe DDE. G D Eb F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 /1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cm D° Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb/Gm A° Bb Cm Dm Eb F D_minor A_minor Relative Major: F Major Relative Major: C Major D E F GA Bb CJA Bc OD E F G lt 2 3 4 5 6 a \ el 2 3 4 5 6 i Dm E° F Gm Am Bb C/Am B° C Dm Em F G E minor B_ minor Relative Major: G Major Relative Major: D Major E F# G A BC D|jB Cc# D E F# G A al 2 3 4 5 6 a \al 2 3 4 > 6 Ts Em F#° G Am Bm C D|Bm C#° D Em F#mG A F# minor C# minor Relative Major: A Major Relative Major: E Major Ft G# AB Cc# D E;}c# D# E F# G# AB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7/1 2 3. 4 5 6 7 F#m G#° A Bm C#m D E| C#m D#° E F#m Gem A B G#/Ab_ minor Eb/D# minor Relative Major: B Major Relative Major: Gb Major Gt At B C# D# E F#/Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db 1. 2°53 4 ~=5 6 7/1 2 +3 +4 «5 67 G#m A#° B C#m D#m E F#]Ebm F° Gb Abm Bbm B Db Bb/A# minor F_ minor Relative Major: Db Major Relative Major: Ab Major Bb C Db_ Eb F Gb Ab|]F_ G__Ab_ Bb C Db Eb 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 }]1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bbm C° Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab|Fm G° Ab Bbm Cm Db EbF Major Relative minor: D minor FG A BbC DE 1203 4 5 6 7 F Gm Am Bb C Dm E°C Major Relative minor: A minor c DE F GAB ey ee ee Cc Dm Em F G Am B°G Major Relative minor: E minor GAB C DE F# 1203 4 5 6 7 G Am Bm C D_ Em F#°D Major Relative minor: B minor DE FH GA B C# 12.3 45 6 7 D Em F#m G A Bm C#°A _ Major Relative minor: F# minor A_B C# D_E F# G# 1.2E Major Relative minor: C# minor E FH G# AB C# D# 12 3 456 7 E F#m G#m A B C#m D#°B/Cb Major Relative minor: G* minor BCH D# E Fi G# At 12 3 4 5 6 7 B C#m D#m E F# G#m A#° E 0F#/Gb Major Relative minor: D# minor FH GH A# B C# D# F 1.2 3 4° 5 6 7 F# G#m A#m B C# D#m F°Db/c# Major Relative minor: Bb minor Db Eb_F_Gb Ab Bb C 12 3.4 5 6 7 Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab Bbm C° (F) A® F Ae Ce OFAb Major Relative minor: F minor Ab Bb C Db EbF G 1.2 3.4 5 6 7 Ab Bbm Cm Db Eb Fm G° B’m/A*m (ii) At -C#-F DG A G aRelative minor: C minor Eb F_G Ab BbC D oy ee ee Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb Cm D®° Eb Major E*/D* Major (1) D#-A#-G Rat Go) B’/A* Major (V) EBb Major Relative minor: G minor Bbc D EbF GA 1203 4 5 6 7 Bb Cm Dm Eb F_ Gm A°D minor Relative Major: F Major DE F G A Bb C 1203 4 5 6 7 Dm E° F Gm Am Bb C En ae) B’/A* Major (VI Cc Major (vil) A, feDe 2 2 is Doe A SerenA minor Relative Major: C Major AB C DE FG 123 4 5 6 7 Am B° C Dm Em F G En ae) oo on ow omE minor Relative Major: G Major E FH G A BC D 1273 4 5 67 Em F#° G Am Bm C D OD OU Oa ow om E 0 a a a a a F*°/G"° (ii°) E FR-A-C D AB minor Relative Major: D Major Bo Cc# DE FH GA 1.2 3.4 °5 6 7 Bm C#° D Em F#m G AF# minor Relative Major: A Major FH G# A B C# D_ CE 1 2 3.4 °5 6 7 F#m G#° A Bm C#m D €EC# minor Relative Major: E Major C# D# E FH G# A B 1 2 34 5 6 7 C#m D#° E F#m G#m A BG#/Ab minor Relative Major: B Major GH _A# BCH D# E F# 2734 5 6 7 Gam A#° B C#m D#m © F# —E A D G B E 6 xX xX xX 0.6 aeetee | 4Q1761%1 FASB E, c F 625922 | “o2"o2 eons “is 4-H 9 E a My OG B E D*m/E’m (v) D# - F# At Nee Ge 0 02, |_| 3 4, TT de oe pe F*/G" Major (VII) FH -A#-C# D G EA BoEEb/D# minor Relative Major: Gb Major Eb_F Gb Ab_Bb_B Db 123-4 5 67 Ebm F° Gb Abm Bbm B Db Rite {2 D°/C* Major (VII GF E A G B E x = lo . 3he 4 $ - CG F Gt CGFBb/A# minor Relative Major: Db Major Bb_C Db Eb F Gb Ab 123 4 5 6 7 Bbm C° Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab A°/G* Major (VII) # Gt DF minor Relative Major: Ab Major FE G Ab Bb_C_ Db Eb 1 2.3 4 5 6 7 Fm G° Ab Bbm Cm Db EbC minor Relative Major: Eb Major Cc D_EbF G Ab Bb 1203 4 5 6 7 Cm D° Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb —E A DG BE xX X 0 0 X X a DF G E*/D* Major (III D#-A#-G a oe ec A’/G* Major (VI) —_B®/A* Major (VII) -C- D# A#-D-F 6G minor Relative Major: Bb Major G A BbC D _ EbF 1203 4 5 67 Gm A° Bb Cm Dm Eb F E B’/A* Major (Ill) A®-D-F a “DG a ec