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Topic: Understanding Chords and Chord Scales

To understand how songs are made or indeed, how chord progressions are made we need to understand their relationship to keys.

We have all heard of musical keys  - some songs stay within a key, others move from it.

First we need to understand how a key is made up.

Here is the major scale

C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C

Nice and easy as we have no sharps or flats.

now to make a major chord we take the first, third and fifth note from the major scale to get the major chord. So to get a C major chord we take the first note (C) the third (E) and fifth (G)

We can actually do this with each note of the major scale.  This is also known as harmonising the major scale.

Here is where you need to know all your keys - If we take the second degree of the C major scale - the D. Lets take the first, the third and the fifth note of the C major scale but starting at the note D. This gives us D - F and A.

Now if we know our keys we will know that in the Key of D there are 2 sharps - F# and C#

This means that if the above chord was a D major chord we would not have an F but an F#. Again - using our theory knowledge we know that to create a minor chord we take the first, flattened third and the fifth or a major scale. This would be D - F - A. This means that building a chord off of the second degree of a major scale will result in a minor chord.

If we continue doing this with each note you will find that the chords work out like this -

Major - Minor - Minor - Major - Major - Minor - Diminished

If you play through the chords this way it will sound like you are playing the major scale but in chords.

Play these chords and check it out.

C - Dm - Em - F - G - Am - Bdim - C

If a song was written purely in the key of C then it would only use the above chords. Of course this can be extended to 7th chords which we will do another time.

Whichever key you choose the formula will remain the same so get into your head :

Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor Diminished.

We label these chords with roman numerals so they can be transposed into any key you like very easily.

I - II - III - IV - V - VI - V11 - I

so if someone said to you to play the I - IV - V progression in the key of C then you would play C - F - G

I hope this makes sense - there is plenty more to learn regarding this which I will go into -

Any questions?

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Re: Understanding Chords and Chord Scales

A good explanation, olly. I did see something though that I thought wasn't right:

"I - II - III - IV - V - VI - V11 - I" (this is what olly put in the post)

is usually:
I ii iii IV V vi viiº I

The caps are for major chords, the small letters for minor chords (dim is considered a to be a minor chord, so "vii" small letters).

Somtimes you see: "IIm" instead of "ii" or iim or also "ii-" for minor chord notation.

The vii needs that little circle too: viiº, or vii dim if you can't find it on the keyboard, or don't wnat to waste time finding it.

As you said, there is plenty more ...

See yous

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Re: Understanding Chords and Chord Scales

It is true what you say. This is how they really should be written. Small case for the Minor chords and upper for the Major

Cheers

Re: Understanding Chords and Chord Scales

Hi, Newbie Labaggos here. On the same topic I understand what you've already said regarding building up chord scales etc but what I come accross today which didn't really conform  was that I was teaching someone 'learning to fly' by the foo fighters but i was struggling to explain or get my head round the key of the song.The main riff  evolves aorund B, f#m and E.  The sheet music was written in B major but how would I explain the F#m? I thought of E but then I'm stuck with  a Bm ! Thought of G  it,s still wanting to resolve to B. Then to confuse me more the bridge uses G and D nether belong to B. Please can someone explain? Cheers Labaggos

Re: Understanding Chords and Chord Scales

Hi Labaggos and welcome.

Not sure I follow you - F# and E are both in the major scale of B . . .

Imagine a similar riff in the key of A - A, Em, D (pretty common)- then move these up two semitones - B, F#m, E

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Re: Understanding Chords and Chord Scales

B E and #Fm.
The #Fm is the V (fifth chord) of B. It should be a #F (seven or major).
What you have here is a v (minor fifth) which is just telling you that you are in B mixolydian. Not to worry, just use the B mixolydian scale over the whole song.
Why B mixo?
Because the third note of the #f minor is A, and A is not a B major scale note. In fact, it is the only note of the scale of B that does not appear in B, E and #f minor. It is the third of #f minor, and it is the FLAT SEVEN OF B, and because it is the third of such an impartant chord (the dominant no less) it must be played.
There are a lot of things that are too long-winded to explain why this is so. But, just accpet that it is mixo of B for now, and ask lots of related questions and eventually you will understand the why and how.

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