Finding the chords

[mojobone]

C, B, E doesn't seem 'logical' to me; I flipped out the first time I heard John Fogerty do it. I'm pretty sure that's where Lennon got it, but it could have been the other way 'round. (Em makes more sense, to my ears) Any case, I think Fogerty got it from Johnny Cash, possibly by way of Buck Owens; Fogerty and Lennon were both big fans of Buck as well as Carl Perkins, who played in Johnny's band after his cousin Luther passed. The technique Ern described, of harmonizing the melody is called voice leading. (the lead or melody note doesn't always have to be the top or bottom note of the chord) On guitar, the style is known as Chord Melody; check out Joe Pass' solo guitar work for some great examples. George Van Eps is also a master at this.

[mazz]

As mysterious as the C to B chord progression might seem, it's actually just going to E minor by way of the V. That's called a secondary dominant (the B chord) and it's very common in songs of the 20s, 30s and 40s, which were a big influence on the Beatles, at least Lennon and McCartney.

Without getting too technical, thinking about chords in a vertical movement sense (chord to chord) , leaves out the horizontal or "modal" way of looking at harmony. In other words, a chord progression of C major, F# minor 7 b5, B7, E minor could actually be looked at as moving from the mode of C major to E minor the second the chord changed to F# minor b5. It basically boils the harmony down to two modal centers rather than 4 distinct chords. It's the exact same move as jumping directly to E minor from C but it just delays the inevitable (E minor) by using chords from the E minor scale without explicitly stating the E minor until somewhat later.

"Rhythm section" players like piano and guitar players tend to, in my experience, get stuck in a vertical way of perceiving harmony, which can limit their writing when it comes time to write beyond standard progressions. The common tone and modal approaches tend to broaden the harmonic possibilities beyond the "chord to chord" approach.

Just another way of looking at harmony.

[mazz]

Another practitioner or chord melody, this time on piano, was George Shearing. His style was also called "locked hand" style. It's basically harmonizing a melody by using diatonic chords (as Casey mentioned) and other substitute chords (borrowing from minor, etc.) to harmonize a melody. The chords typically move in parallel motion and the melody is doubled by the thumb of the left hand. Another good example of this is sax section writing for big band music. It's often 5 part harmony and moves in parallel motion although lots of common tone voice leading is used as well.

[mojobone]

Great pair of posts, Mazz. By 'secondary dominant', don't you mean that the dominant fifth is a 'temporary' one, or tonic?


I love George Shearing, you couldn't have Paul Shaffer without him, but I always thought of him as a great producer more than as a player; (a giant, there too, though) especially, when you consider the talent he discovered.

I'm devastated I can't make the Rally; we have to start saving for four months worth of mortgage/bills, so Lynne can have hip surgery/rehab, and it'll probably require a good six months worth of discipline/denial. (and that's for one hip, Dr. says she'll need both done, eventually) Sometimes I ache to be with my Taxi tribe, no matter how beautiful the wilderness. I'll be with you in spirit, nevertheless.

[mazz]

Mojo, sorry to hear you can't come but I totally understand the reasons! You gotta do what you gotta do!

Secondary dominants are basically a dominant 7th chord that isn't diatonic to the key you are in but functions as the dominant of some chord usually within the key. A good example in the key of C would be A7 which is the V of ii (D m). Check out Sweet Georgia Brown with this in mind.

I look forward to the day we can meet in person.

Mazz

[mojobone]

Speed the day; hope you know how much I admire you.

[suzdoyle]

Here are a few handouts that show basic chords in each key. Notice that the 1, 4, 5 chords are major, the 2, 3, 6 chords are minor, and the 7 is diminished. In songs written in major keys, the 1, 4, 5 chords are the "bones" of the song (1 chord = home chord, 4 chord = moving "forward", and the 5 = last chord before returning home). This is a bit simplified, but it can be a good start for playing with chords.

Enjoy!
Suz

OOPS: the file upload function didn't seem to work. You can find the documents here:

1. Chart of the 7 chords built on the 7 notes of a scale in every key (transposing chord chart):
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8646709/Trans ... ance-Chart
(Press the "download" button to the right of the document to download it)

2. Music Factsheets by Suz - basic intro to thinking in chords:
http://suzdoyle.com/teaches-music/ (free music musing factsheets)

[Casey H]

Good stuff Suz (and everyone)... I tried to keep it really simple because I don't know how much theory the OP is familiar with. There are a great many guitar strummer songwriters who don't know the numbers notation, wouldn't know a tonic & diatonic from a drink at the bar, etc. Not that it's not good to learn. So for those theory challenged folks (I'm 1/2 challenged there), charts like Suz posted, simply the standard chords of a key, is a good start.

I left out the 7th in the key of C chords posted because most beginners, especially in rock, folk, and pop will rarely use the dim chord. In popular genres, you more often see a Bm or B7 chord thrown in when playing in the key of C.

Casey

[cardell]

Hi
When I compose songs , I have a problem : Let s say I play a C chord and I sing a piece of melody.Then I want to make a new chord according to what I have in my mind which would fit as a nice continuation of the previous chord (quite hard to explain, I am not even sure what s going on in my head)
But when I want to make the next chord , it takes me many tries to get to the chord I want.

Is there a way to get the chord directly, without trying many chords ?

Daniel

Hi Daniel,

I know what you are talking about here. I used to experience that situation before I learned how to play an instrument.

The simplest solution is to collaborate with a guitarist or keyboard player and write the songs together.

Speed the day; hope you know how much [edit: we/I?] admire you.

+1

Stuart

[mojobone]

Diatonic= short for gin and diet tonic?