Most frequent are the variations to the dominant chord, i.e. (1) All chords, basically, go back to the three fundamental chords in a key (in C: C, G and F) and their minor relatives (Am, Em, Dm). Still, the beginner may run into problems, with strange chord names, barre chords etc. On the one hand Dylan is an ideal artist for a beginner, since he always uses quite simple and logical chord shapes, and licks and tricks that let him get maximum effect from minimum effort. The same distinction can be drawn on the second, sixth, and seventh steps, whereas the prime, the fifth, and the fourth can only be (violently!) augmented or diminished.įor “losers, cheaters, six-string abusers” (ain’t we all…). The tabs present what is being played, by trained and proficient musicians (yes, I’m counting in Dylan). C-e-g is a C major chord, c-e flat-g is C minor. The third is the interval which decides the most fundamental character of a chord: whether it is major or minor.
Both c-e and c-e flat are thirds, but one is major, the other minor. The most significant difference between the fifth and the third, though, is that, whereas there is only one fifth, there are two possible places for the third. This is not really a problem, but an opportunity: tension is the mother of all development, and the third is as tense as it gets. Furthermore, it exhibits a peculiarity of the tonal system which has plagued theoreticians since the days of Pythagoras: if one stacks four fifths on top of each other – c-g, g-d, d-a and a-e – one might think that one gets to the same e as when one divides a string in five, but one doesn’t – one gets to a tone that lies considerably higher ( c. a quarter of a semi-tone, which is quite a lot).
#1975 guitar chord dictionary series#
It lies two divisions above the fifth in the series of overtones (on the fourth fret, with the string divided in five) and therefore sounds less strongly than the fifth. It can not be defined as easily as the fifth. It is unstable, at times nervously shimmering, other times over-earthly sonorous. Where the fifth gives support and reenforcement, the third adds character.
#1975 guitar chord dictionary full#
Then play the open string, and you should be able to hear the fifth in the full tone of the open string.) Thus, If you play a c, you will also hear a g. (Exercise: strike a bass string while touching it at the seventh fret, but without pressing it down. But the division in three, at the seventh fret, will produce the fifth. with a tone of the same pitch class, which will strengthen the basic tone further. The division of the string in two (at the twelfth fret) will sound an octave higher, i.e. The difference in sound between different instruments is caused by different constellations of overtones – which are strong and which are not. But all the possible equal divisions of the string will also swing, and produce overtones. The whole string will swing and produce the loudest tone. When you strike a string, it will vibrate in many different ways. This is true for the art-music tradition until the late nineteenth century and until this day in popular music.Īs I said, the fifth is always there.
In fact, one might consider all music within the western musical tradition as nothing more than a play with the balance between these two scale steps. The fifth is stable, a loyal companion to the prime, always there, not without its conflicts, but they are always resolved, and always in favour of the prime – somewhat like a good old (or bad old, depending on the perspective) patriarchal marriage.
I mention the fifth before the third, but they are important in different ways. Then follow the remaining tones in the main scale ( d, f, a, and b), and lastly the tones that are extraneous to the scale: the semi-tones ( f sharp, e flat, etc.) The most weighty tones in the scale are the prime (or unison), the fifth, and the third (in C major: c, g and e).
Prime second third fourth fifth sixth seventh octave Thus, the tones in a C major scale would be called: The keynote is called “prime”, the tone above it “second”, the next “third”, etc. It is customary to arrange the available tones in a scale, a “ladder”, and to refer to them according to their position in the scale. In C major, the tone c is more central than a, which again is more central than f sharp. It gets its special character to a large extent thanks to the place the tones have in the tonal system, which, slightly simplified, means the hierachical system of relationships between the relevant tones of a song or a style in general. Chords and scales - a little theory and some terms. A chord is a selection of tones which are perceived as a unity and not just as several notes sounding at the same time.