Unit 16: More minor chords

In this lesson we study two new minor chords- A minor and D minor. As discussed in class and in previous lessons, minor chords should be thought of as their major chord counterparts, but with a lowered third scale degree. Here are the two new chords you need to know alongside their parallel major chords:
A Am
----------
--2----1-- (third scale degree lowered one half step)
--2----2-- (Root, no change)
--2----2-- (Fifth, no change)
--0----0-- (Root, no change)
----------


D Dm
--2----1--(third scale degree lowered one half step)
--3----3--(Root, no change)
--2----2--(Fifth, no change)
--0----0--(Root, no change)
-----------

The song we will use to practice these chords is Mr. Jones by Counting Crows. Here's the progression to the verse ( Each chord gets 4 beats) : Am, F, Dm, G, Am, F, G, G

The chorus (The part where they sing "Mr. Jones and me") uses the relative major of Am, which is C, making this a I, IV, V progression.
C,F,G,G (play 4 times, then back to the verse)

The interlude is a lot like the verse, only it goes back to the am chord after each new chord, and the time is stretched out. Am,Am,F,F,Am,Am,G,G, Here's an example:

Your assignment is to learn all three sections of this piece for class and be able to diagram and spell all the new chords. You will also need to be able to find the relative minor of any major chord. Remember the trick from class- put your pinky on the root of the major chord. When you establish one finger per fret, your first finger will be on the relative minor.

Unit 15: Slash Chords

No, it's not about the guitarist from "Guns & Roses". It's about an alternative bass note to a chord you already know. Changing the bass note of a chord can significantly change it's function in a piece, or improve the voice leading to a standard chord progression. Alternate bass notes do not even have to be in the key of the original chord. Here's how one looks:
D/F#
This is pronounced "D with F# in the bass". It's played like this:
---2--
---3--
---2--
---0--
-------
---2-- (Thumb)


This is the D chord you already know, with the thumb coming up over the back of the guitar neck to grab the F# bass note.
Here's another useful chord- C with G in the bass:
C/G
--------
----1---
----0--
----2--
----3---(pinky)
----3---(third finger)


You can see the possibilities. Try coming up with some of your own.

Here's a classic tune that uses a slash chord "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton. It's a basic I,V,I,IV progression, but the V chord gets the slash treatment. Here's the progression for the verse Each chord gets 4 beats:
G; D/F#; C; D


Here's the progression for the chorus. Start with single notes on the A string (A,B) and then arpeggiate the chords. C; D; F; G; D/F#; Em; C; D; Then back to the verse.
-----------------------2----------------------------------------------2--
----------1----------3-------------0-------3----------0------1-------3----
---------0---------2-------------0--------2----------0------0-------2-----
--------2--------0-------------0---------0----------2------2------0-------
--0-2-3--------------------------------------------2------3---------------
---------------------------3-----------2----------0------------------------

Your assignment is to play the progression for both sections in time with the recording.
Good Luck!

Unit 13: Relative Minor

We have used only major chords up until this point, and it's time to start using minor chords. In notation, you'll see a small "m" after the root of the chord indicating it's minor tonality like this: Em

Sometimes, you'll see the abbreviation for minor like this:

Emin

Or if you're reading jazz notation, you'll see a dash like this:

E-



What makes a chord minor? A lowered 3rd scale degree. E major (1,3,5) is spelled E, G#, B. E minor (1,b3,5) is spelled E, G, B. If you've been paying attention to where these scale degrees are in the chords you already know, forming minor chords will be very easy. All you have to do is locate the third in any major voicing you know and drop it down a half step. Let's use E to start. Here's E Major with the names of the sounding pitches written in on each string:

---0---E

---0---E

---1---G#

---2---E

---2---B

---0---E



To make this chord minor, we lower the third. In E, the third is G#, so we'll make it G natural. To do this, we'll use the open G string.

---0---E
---0---E
---0---G
---2---E
---2---B
---0---E

Viola! There's E minor.
Here's and E major chord followed by an E minor chord. See if you can hear the difference:


Your written assignment is to do this to 3 other chord forms that we have learned thus far- A, D, and F. Write them out in diagram form in your notes.

The second part of this unit is the relative minor rule. It goes like this:

The vi chord (minor) can extend or replace the I chord (major) in any key. That means in the Key of G major, the vi chord is Eminor and they can be used interchangeably because they share many of the same notes. G major is spelled G,B,D and E minor is spelled E,G,B. This gives us the common I, vi, IV, V progresson that's common in 1950's tunes like "Earth Angel". It's also used in the chorus of one of my favorite Van Morrison tunes "Brown Eyed Girl". Here's the chord progression to the intro and the verse: I, IV, I, V (G,C,G,D).

The chorus uses the relative minor over the lyrics "You my, Brown Eyed Girl" C, D, G, Em.

Your assignment is to play the chord progession in the open position if you are a beginner, and in the 7th position if you are advanced.

Unit 12: Riff based songs

Down on the Corner is a classic rock song by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It's an excellent example of a riff based tune, and its in the guitar-friendy key of C. The progression is :/I /V I/: This part makes up the riff over those chords, and it's played twice making up the A section.
--C----------------G----------C ---

------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
--3--0-----3--3--0-------2--3--3-
--------3----------3--3------------

The next part of the tune - the B section - is transposed up a fourth to the IV chord. In this key, it's F. The riff has a different ending note than the A section, however. The B section is played once.
--F----------------C---------G ----

------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------0--0-
--3--0-----3--3--0-------2--------
--------3----------3--3------------
------------------------------------


The form is rounded out by playing the A section again, so the complete form for the verses in this song is AABA. Now let's look at the chorus:

The chorus is a IV,I,V,I progression in the key of C. Note that all of the root notes are in the 3rd fret. Cool eh?

"(F)Down on the (C)corner (G)out in the (C)street..."

Your quiz content will be to play the riff in AABA form and to play the chords to the chorus.

Good Luck!