This is a compiled listing of the lessons that appeared in COWPIE News
during spring and summer of '94.
LESSON
------
I. Basic theory
A. Major scale and Intervals
*Disclaimer*
The material included in this series of lessons is not guaranteed
to be correct. It should be considered guidelines used in Western
music (Western as in Western Hemisphere, rather than songs of the
American West). The "rules" given here were much more strictly
adhered to in the period of classical music, however they still
serve as useful "rules of thumb" in 20th century music. They are
probably true 90% to 95% of the time in Country styles. Questions
and corrections are always welcome.
As you all probably know, music is based on scales. Scales are based
on patterns of notes called intervals. Chords are built by playing a
combination of notes from a scale. The smallest unit of "distance"
between notes is the half-step, By "distance" I mean difference in
frequency between notes which relates to a true distance on the
fretboard on a guitar. The distance between any two adjacent frets
is a half-step. Each note is represented by a letter from A to G.
The distance between any two consecutive letters is a whole step (or
two half-steps) EXCEPT for the distance between B & C and E & F which
are half-steps. A sharp sign (#) means to play the note one half-step
higher than usual and a flat sign (b) means to play the note one half-
step lower than usual.
The major scale consists of 8 notes (7 if you don't count the root note
at the top of the scale) separated by the following pattern:
whole - whole - half - whole - whole - whole - half
Lets start by building a major scale starting with a C. This makes it
a C major scale, with C known as the root note, or root of the scale.
C-whole-D-whole-E-half-F (the distance between E & F is alread a half)
-whole-G-whole-A-whole-B-half-C
The distance between B & C is already a half-step. C brings us back to
the root note, and ends the scale. In summary
C Major: C D E F G A B C
I started with C because it is the easiest. Lets try one a little
harder. We'll build a G major scale.
G-whole-A-whole-B-half-C (distance between B & C is alread a half)
-whole-D-whole-E-whole-
The distance between E & F is a half-step, so we have to add a sharp
G-whole-A-whole-B-half-C-whole-D-whole-E-whole-F#-half-G
Since the distance between F & G is a whole step, the distance between
F# & G is a half step. In summary
G Major: G A B C D E F# G
Here's a couple of others for you to test yourself on:
E Major: E F# G A B C# D# E
F Major: F G A Bb C D E F
Ab Major: Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab
Some scales can require double sharps and double flats, but you don't
really have to worry about them in Country music. Some of the most
common "keys" (another name for the scale a song is built upon) in
Country are G, E, A, D, and C, and they don't require double flats or
sharps.
Now lets talk about intervals. An interval is the distance between
ANY two notes, non-adjacent notes and flats and sharps included.
Intervals are summarized in the following table:
Name Distance Example
----------------------------------------------
Unison 0 half steps C to C
Minor Second 1 half step C to Db
Major Second 2 half steps C to D
Minor Third 3 half steps C to Eb
Major Third 4 half steps C to E
Perfect Fourth 5 half steps C to F
Augmented Fourth or
Diminished Fifth 6 half steps C to F#
Perfect Fifth 7 half steps C to G
Augmented Fifth or
Minor Sixth 8 half steps C to G#
Major Sixth or
Diminished Seventh 9 half steps C to A
Minor Seventh 10 half steps C to Bb
Major Seventh 11 half steps C to B
Octave 12 half steps C to C
Note that the major scale consists of the following intervals above
the root:
root major major perfect perfect major major root
2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
C D E F G A B C
G A B C D E F# G
A B C# D E F# G# A
D E F# G A B C# D
You can also exactly specify the interval between two notes with
generic intervals (e.g. 2nd, 4th, 7th) as long as you specify the
key. For example, a 3rd above note X in scale Y. This will specify
if it is a major or minor third. This method is a little more
cumbersome, but it will be useful when we start building chords.
Next time, Minor scales and Chords.
*****
LESSON
------
I. Basic theory
B. Minor Scale(s), Circle of Fifths
*Correction*
Last issue I gave the E major scale incorrectly. It should be:
E Major: E F# G# A B C# D# E
It was missing the G#. Thanks go to Bo Baur for pointing this out after
diligently working out the examples as exercises. This issue will discuss
the circle of fifths which gives a shortcut method for determining the
sharps and flats in a scale.
Minor Scale(s)
There are actually 3 different minor scales, natural, harmonic, and
melodic. The Harmonic Minor scale is the one of greatest importance for
the focus of these lessons, but I will begin with the Natural Minor
because it is the easiest to understand. The Natural Minor scale follows
the following formula:
whole - half - whole - whole - half - whole - whole
This can be derived from a major scale by beginning with the 6th note of
the scale. This is called the related minor of the major scale. Let's
look at a couple of examples.
C Major: C D E F G A B C
A Minor: A B C D E F G A
E Major: E F# G# A B C# D# E
C# Minor: C# D# E F# G# A B C#
The next (and most important) minor scale to consider is the Harmonic
Minor Scale. This is derived from the Natural Minor by sharping the
7th note of the scale (double sharp if it is already sharped). The
Harmonic Minor is the scale used when building chords on a minor scale.
I will discuss this more in depth when I discuss chords. Examples
follow:
A HMinor: A B C D E F G# A
C# HMinor: C# D# E F# G# A B# C# (lots of sharps huh?)
You may be wondering why I wrote B# instead of C since they sound the
same. Well the reason is rather technical; each scale has to have
exactly one of each lettered note (A B ...) in formal theory. If that
B# were written as a C and a piece of written music called for a C, how
would the musician know whether to play the C natural or sharp?
The last minor scale is the Melodic Minor, which I will just mention
briefly for completeness. The Melodic Minor is the scale that melodies
are built around. It has a different form depending on whether the
melody is ascending or descending. In the ascending MMinor sharp the
6th and 7th notes of the Natural Minor scale, and the descending MMinor
scale is the same as the Natural Minor scale.
Note: From now on I will use the term key and scale interchangably.
Actually there is a subtle difference. Key means the notes that belong
to a scale, while scale generally implies playing the notes in order
(either ascending or descending).
Circle of Fifths
The circle of fifths is a useful tool for understanding key signatures.
Of course first I guess I should define what a key signature is. The
key signature tells you which notes are played different from their
natural state. It is either a group of flats or sharps, but never a
combination of the two. Country music deals with sharps much more often
than flats. What I will discuss here is not the full circle of fifths
as it would be taught in a music theory class, but it is complete
enough for the uses discussed here. It will be helpful for you to
memorize the following sequence of notes (the circle of fifths):
F C G D A E B
This is the order that sharps will appear in a key. If a scale contains
a sharp in the list, then it will also contain all the sharps to the
left of it in the circle of fifths. Similarly if a key contains a flat
in the list, then it will also contain all the flats to the right of it
in the circle of fifths. Thus you can completely specify a key by
specifying the number of flats or sharps it contains. The following table
lists all the keys and their key signatures.
Sharp Key #sharps notes sharped
----------------------------------------
C Maj-A min 0
G Maj-E min 1 F
D Maj-B min 2 F C
A Maj-F#min 3 F C G
E Maj-C#min 4 F C G D
B Maj-G#min 5 F C G D A
F#Maj-D#min 6 F C G D A E
C#Maj-A#min 7 F C G D A E B
Flat Key #flats notes flatted
----------------------------------------
F Maj-D min 1 B
BbMaj-G min 2 B E
EbMaj-C min 3 B E A
AbMaj-F min 4 B E A D
DbMaj-Bbmin 5 B E A D G
GbMaj-Ebmin 6 B E A D G C
CbMaj-Abmin 7 B E A D G C F
Note: Any key with over 4 flats or sharps is extremely rare. Keys such
as CbMaj (7 flats) sounds the same as B Maj (5 sharps). Keys that have
an equivalent sounding key are called enharmonic keys.
Here's how to relate the name of a major key with the key signature (for
a minor key, first find its relative major by finding the third note of
the scale). If the key does not have a flat in its name (or is F) go down
a half step from the name of the key and that is the last (farthest to
the right in the circle of fifths) sharp. For a flatted key, the name of
the key is the second to last (second farthest to the left in the circle
of fifths) flat in the key. F and C are the two exceptions to the rule.
Just remember that the key of C has no flats or sharps and the key of F
has only one flat (Bb).
As an example of the usefulness of this method, let's suppose you want
to do a bass run between two chords. Suppose you're in the key of E and
you want to run between E and A. Obviously the in between note are some
kind of F and G, but are they flatted or sharped? Since we're in the key
of E, going down a half step gives D#. Looking at the circle of fifths,
that means that E contains F#, C#, G#, D#. Therefore you play both F#
and G# in your run.
I want to apologize for not getting to chords this time as I said I
would in the last lesson. This preparatory material took longer than I
anticipated, but now we are ready to begin with chords in the next
lesson. As always corrections and questions are encouraged.
*****
LESSON
------
I. Basic Theory
C. Chords of the Major scale, and Chord Triads
Today we talk about chord triads. First let me define the term. A chord
consists of at least three notes, a root note, some type of third, and
some type of fifth. You might notice from the Usenet groups that some
people talk about "power chords". These technically aren't chords because
they only consist of two notes (technically they are an interval). These
are mostly used in heavy metal music, so they're not really applicable to
country. I just thought I'd mention them here so that you would have an
idea what someone is talking about if they come up. I've also been
mentioning triads. Triads are chords that consist of exactly three notes,
so the term chord triad is rather redundant. I'll just use the term triad
for the rest of this lesson, since we won't be talking about chords of
more than three notes until a future lesson.
There are several ways to approach the building (or spelling) of triads.
First I'll build them from a scale, and then talk about building them
individually. I've often seen them taught in the reverse order, but I
find this method to be easier to understand and more directly applicable
to playing the guitar.
First we begin with a major scale. I'll do C major, just because it is
easiest to notate. You should try this with other keys also.
C Maj: C D E F G A B
Next you start on the third note of the scale and write the scale again
above the first. This actually looks best on a musical staff, but we have
to deal with ascii here.
E F G A B C D
C Maj: C D E F G A B
This gives us the third of each chord. Next we repeat the procedure by
going up either a third from the second scale, or a fifth from the first
to get the fifth of each chord.
G A B C D E F
E F G A B C D
C Maj: C D E F G A B
This gives us the seven chords that appear in a major scale.
CEG spells a C major triad, DFA is a D minor, EGB is an E minor, FAC is an
F major, GBD is a G major, ACE, is an A minor, and BDF is a B diminished.
You're probably wondering how I decided to call which triads major or minor
or diminished. Well there's two different ways of looking at it. The easy
way is to memorize that the chords built upon the first, fourth, and fifth
notes of the scale are major, the ones built upon the second, third, and
sixth notes of the scale are minor, and the one on the seventh is diminshed.
This will be true in any major scale and is useful to memorize. But you want
more right? Well that brings me to the second way of looking at building
chords, piece by piece.
If you'll recall from the first lesson, I gave you a table of intervals.
You may have noticed that certain intervals are known as "perfect". There
is a reason for this. Perfect intervals are the most stable sounding and
pleasing to the ear. The reason for this is that the upper note of a perfect
interval is a rational fraction of the wavelength of the lower note. If you
didn't understand that last line, don't worry; it's mostly for those who are
familiar with waves and wavelike motion. The table didn't mention it, but
the unison and the octave are technically also perfect intervals. Chords
including a perfect fifth are the most common and the most pleasing to the
ear, therefore they are the ones used 90% of the time..
First we'll talk about major and minor triads, which are both built inside
of a perfect fifth. Let's look at a perfect fifth built on an A for an
example.
E
A
Next our chord needs a third. We have two choices of thirds to choose from,
a minor third up from A, or a major third up from A.
E E
C \ C# \
A - minor third A - major third
Let's look at the top half of each chord.
E - major third E - minor third
C /\ C#/\
A - minor third A - major third
The first chord is known as a minor triad, and the second is a major triad.
So the type of triad is named after the type of interval between the root
and third of the triad. You may think of a minor chord in one of two ways:
a root note, a minor third up from the root note, and a perfect fifth up
from the root; or a minor third with a major third on top of it. Similarly
you have two ways to look at a major triad: a root note, a major third up
from the root, and a perfect fifth up from the root; or a major third with
a minor third on top of it.
Now let's examine the diminished triad. I'll again use A for a root and
fit two thirds between a diminished fifth.
Eb - minor third
C /\
A - minor third
To fit two thirds between the diminished fifth we only have one choice
and that is to make them both minor. Unlike the major and minor triads
which are named based upon the type of third in the lower half, a
diminished triad is named for the type of fifth above the root. The
diminished triad is the least used chord in a key. This is because it
is built around the diminished fifth rather than the perfect fifth and
it doesn't sound as stable. When it is used it is generally only for a
beat or two as a passing chord between two other chords.
I'll briefly mention an augmented triad for completeness. This is built
upon an augmented fifth, and each of the thirds are major. This never
appears using only the notes belonging to a scale; you have to use a note
that doesn't belong in a scale normally to build an augmented triad,
therefore they are of secondary importance and are rarely used.
Now that you understand the different pieces of a triad, you can go back
and verify that the triads I gave for the example C major scale are
correct. You can also build the chords in other keys and verify the rule
that that chords built on the first, fourth, and fifth note of the scale
are major; the ones built on the second, third, and sixth note of the scale
are minor; and the one built on the seventh note is diminished.
You can also compare your knowledge of chord spelling with chords that you
know how to play. Even though many chords are played on more than three
strings, they only contain three distinct notes. The other notes are just
notes of the triad played in a different octave. This is known as doubling.
Triads that appear in a minor scale are a bit more involved since there are
three minor scales to contend with, so I'll save that until the next lesson.
I'll also introduce roman numeral notation as a shortcut to talking about
the chords of a scale without specifically talking about any scale in
particular.
*****
LESSON
------
I. Basic Theory
D. Roman Numeral Notation, and Chords of the Minor scale
I know that we talked about chords of the major scale last time, and it
would probably be logical to discuss chords of the minor scale next, but
I'm going to take a sidebar and describe Roman Numeral notation first.
That will make it easier to discuss the chords afterwards.
Roman Numeral Notation is a shorthand to discuss chords and chord
progressions without specifying any key. That way I can talk about
chords in general without giving specific examples and trying to
extrapolate to other keys.
In a nutshell, the number of the Roman numeral tells which note of the
scale the chord is built upon. Capital Roman numerals refer to major
triads and lower case Roman numerals refer to minor triads. This can be
extended to chords more complicated than triads with added symbols that
I will introduce as necessary. Roman Numeral Notation can summarize just
about everything covered in this series so far like so:
Chords of the Major Scale
I ii iii IV V vi viio
OK, I forgot to mention something. Diminished triads are symbolized by
a lower case Roman numeral with a superscripted zero (or a degree symbol),
which I can't notate in ascii, so I'll just use a lower case "o". What the
example above means is that triads built upon the first note of a major
scale is major, those built upon the second is minor, third is minor,
fourth and fifth is major, sixth is minor, and seventh is diminished.
Pretty easy, huh? You knew all of this from the last lesson; this is just
a simpler way to notate it. All you have to do is supply your favorite major
scale. And if you're rusty on Roman numerals, you only have to know them up
to 7. Now when I talk about a I chord, you can pick a scale like C major and
you'll know I'll be talking about a C major triad. And if I talk about a
vi chord, and you like the key of E, you'll know I'm talking about a C#m
triad.
Now, on to chords of the minor scale. As I mentioned last time, spelling
of chords in the minor scale is more involved because the 6th and 7th
note of the scale varies depending on which minor scale you are using.
Nonetheless, there are seven triads that appear most frequently.
Chords of the Minor Scale
i iio III iv V VI viio
All of the notes used in these chords belong to the harmonic minor scale
except for the 5th of the III chord. You can verify this as an exercise.
The chords above are the ones used probably 90% of the time. However,
using notes from the natural or melodic minor scale, you can construct the
following alternate chords.
Alternate Chords of the Minor Scale
ii III+ IV v vio VII
By the way the "+" means an augmented triad. (I told you I'd mention the
added symbols as needed.) This is usually printed as a superscript.
You might want to use the following table as a shorthand summary of the
past two lessons. If you are going to memorize something, this is it.
Chords in Major Scale Common Chords in Minor Scale
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Major I, IV, V III, V, VI
Minor ii, iii, vi i, iv
Diminished viio iio, viio
Augmented none none
Next time: 7th chords and simple chord progressions.
*****
LESSON
------
I. Basic Theory
E. Seventh chords and Chord Progressions
Seventh chords are our first chords beyond triads, and are the
next most common chords to triads. They consist of a triad plus
some type of seventh above the root. Lets examine the various
combinations possible.
Construction
Chord Symbol Triad Seventh Order
-----------------------------------------------------------------
major seventh M7 major major 3
dominant seventh 7 major minor 1
minor seventh m7 minor minor 2
half-diminished seventh o7 diminished minor 4
diminished seventh o7 diminished diminished 5
Note that the half-diminished symbol I used is the same as the
diminished symbol. In printed music it is a degree symbol (like
the diminshed symbol) with a slash through it. In Country and
Western music there is no real distinction. As a matter of fact,
what is called a diminshed seventh in chord charts is usually a
half-diminished seventh (a stack of 3 minor thirds). From now on
when I saw diminished, just use the one in your chord chart. The
Order column denotes (in my opinion) the relative usage with 1
most common and 5 least common. I would suggest that as an exercise
you pull out a chord chart and verify that the above notes do appear
in those type of chords.
The following table shows how these chords fit in a key.
7th Chords in Major Scale Common 7th Chords in Minor Scale
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dominant V7 V7
Minor iim7, iiim7, vim7 im7, ivm7
Major IM7, IVM7 IIIM7, VIM7
Diminished viio7 iio7, viio7
Now a few notes about how the seventh chords are used. The
diminished triad almost never appears by itself (in the rare case
that it does), but as a diminished seventh. It is curious in that
when you play one diminished seventh you are actually playing 4 of
them. Since all four of the notes are a minor third apart, you can
use any of them as the root. It gives an awkward feeling, and when
it is used it is usually as a passing chord between two more stabler
ones. Minor seventh chords can be used anywhere a minor triad can be
used. It gives a softer, more jazzy sound. The dominant seventh
chord only appears for the V chord, if you want to only play notes
native to a key. However, C&W music often breaks this rule and
plays any major triad as a dominant seventh for a slightly bluesy
feel. Major seventh chords can be used in place of a non-V major
triad. The major seventh chord has an unmistakably soft sound to it.
My music theory teacher called it "the Blue Room chord". It fits
perfectly in a ballad to give a romantic feel.
I introduced seventh chords before going to chord progressions mostly
because the V chord appears as a V7 more often than a plain V triad.
In my discussion of chord progressions I will drop any seventh
notations, but you'll know that the V is more commonly V7. The
following discussion is in a major key. Minor chord progressions will
be mentioned later.
The ultimate chordal goal of almost any piece of music is the tonic,
or I chord. 95% of C&W songs begin and end on the I chord. As I
mentioned in the first discussion of intervals, the fifth has a
very stable sound. So lets go backward in the circle of fifths from
a I chord. This brings the V chord. the V-I progression has a feeling
of resolution. That is the way most songs end. But don't think that
is its only use. It is often used at several points in songs (end of
each line, or end of each verse, ...). It is the most common chord
progression. Extending the circle of fifths backwards one more step
we get the following progression:
ii -> V -> I ...
Here the ellipsis (...) means that you can go anywhere from a I chord.
The ii is most often used as a lead in to the V. Many phrases (the
smallest units of a chord progression including a V-I progression)
contain only I-ii-V-I. Now, backwards two more fifths gives:
iii -> vi -> ii -> V -> I ...
The iii is not very commonly used, but when it is, it usually leads
to the vi. This is the last direct step backward in the circle of
fifths we will take. The uses rest of the chords are exceptions to
the circle of fifths rule. The next step back brings us to the viio.
While a viio-iii progression might occur, viio is usually used as a
substitute for V. Therefore the customary goal of the viio is usually
the I. Sometimes it is also the V. As my diagrams get more complicated
remember that chords can either lead to the chord beneath or to the
right of them (\|/ is supposed to be an arrow downward). So here's how
the viio fits:
(viio)
iii -> vi -> ii -> (\|/ ) -> I ...
( V )
The only chord missing is the IV. This has three general uses. It
can resolve to the I in what is called the plagal progression. This
is the "Amen" in most church hymns. More commonly IV is linked with
ii; it can substitute for ii or can lead to ii. So our chart now looks
like this:
____________
/ \
(IV ) (viio) \
iii -> vi ->(\|/) -> (\|/ )-> I ...
(ii ) ( V )
Now there's some common exceptions. I know, this is a lot to handle,
but music is complicated. Sometimes you find a V-vi progression,
which is called the deceptive progression because you just thought
you were going to resolve to I. You also might see vi-V, which
amounts to skipping the IV or ii. Finally you might see a iii-IV.
Like I said iii is rare, but it leads to IV as often as vi. I've
also noticed that C&W musicians often use a major or minor chord in
place of a diminished seven (vii or VII instead of viio). I'll
try writing all of this out in ascii, but you really should write it
out by hand so that the arrows and directions are more clear.
________ ____________
/ \ / \
/ (IV ) (viio) \
iii -> vi ->(\|/) -> (\|/ )-> I ...
\ (ii ) ( V )
\ /
<----------->
Most chords function the same way in minor as in major. However the
III is a common feature of the minor key because it represents the
relative major key. A substitute VII actually works different than
the proper viio. You often find a song kind of jumping back and
forth between the minor key and its relative major key. Here's how
the chart looks in a minor key:
________ ____________
/ \ / \
/ (iv ) (viio) \
VII -> III -> VI ->(\|/) -> (\|/ )-> i ...
\ (iio) ( V )
\ /
<----------->
Yes, I know this is a lot to digest, but play around with these
progressions and listen to how they sound. Pick out some of your
favorite songs and see how they fit into the chart. Don't hesistate
to e-mail me if you have questions.
Next time: Altered and Extended chords
*****
LESSON
------
II. Chord Theory
A. Spelling Altered and Extended Chords
*Correction*
There were some errors in last issue's discussion of diminished 7th and
half-diminished 7th chords. Thanks go to Bo Parker for bringing this to
my attention. When you see a chord labeled dim7 expect it to really be
a dim7 (stack of 3 minor thirds). A half-diminished chord consists of
minor 3rd - minor 3rd - major 3rd. Diminished 7 chords do occur more
commonly than half-dim7 (which appear in some styles such as Western
swing). If you build chords with the notes that only appear in the key,
then in a major key, the seventh chord built on the viio triad should be
half-dim7. However the 7th of the chord is usually flatted to produce a
dim7. In a minor key, the 7th chord built upon the viio triad is properly
a dim7, but the 7th chord built on the iio is a half-dim7. Sometimes
half-dim7 chords are obscured by using an enharmonic name such as m7b5
(a minor 7th with a flatted fifth). However today's lesson will help you
to recognize this.
You may have noticed that my outline-like title of the lesson has moved
on to II. That is because I feel that the first major section (I. Basic
Theory) is over. From now on, each new major topic introduced will get
a new major section title. Things may not appear in order now especially
if we are able to get guest writers for lessons. However, the title will
give you a structure to the topics of the lessons.
Today's lesson discusses altered and extended chords. First let me define
my terms. Altered chords are chords that change the root-3rd-5th structure
of the triad. Extended chords are chords that add notes above the triad
(the previously discussed 7th chords are extended chords). Note that it is
possible for a chord to be both altered AND extended. The enharmonic
spelling of the half-dim7 as given in the correction is an example. It
extends to a 7th and alters the 5th.
Altered Chords
By far the most common altered chords are the suspended2 and suspended4
or sus2 and sus4 with the sus4 occuring slightly more often. I'm not even
sure that there are others; I can't recall seeing any other altered chords.
The sus2 and sus4 are built by replacing the third of a major triad with a
major 2nd and perfect 4th respectively. Lets look at an example.
D Major: D F# A
root major3 perf5
Dsus4: D G A
root perf4 perf5
Dsus2: D E A
root major2 perf5
You can think of the building the sus4 as taking the 3rd of the major triad
up a half step, and building the sus2 as taking the 3rd of the major triad
down a whole step.
Extended Chords
Extended chords are usually built by added a series of 3rds on top of the
triad. The 6th chords are the most notable exception. A note about compound
intervals is in order. A 9th, for example, is a 2nd in the octave above the
root of the scale. As a rule of thumb subtract 7 from the compound name to
find the equivalent scale degree. Following the 3rd rule you get the
following types of chords: 7th 9th 11th 13th. Note that any of these types
of chords imply that there are also each of the types of notes to the left
of it. For example a 9th chord implies that there is also a 7th, an 11th
chord implies that there is also a 7th and a 9th. I don't believe that
there are any others of these types of chords because a 15th would be the
root note two octaves up and that would be considered doubling the root
note. It is possible to build a chord with a 9th but without a 7th. This
would be called add9. Similarly for other intervals.
In the case that you need to spell an extended chord, I would suggest that
you write out the scale of the root of the chord. Make it a minor scale if
the triad is minor, and a major scale if the triad is major. Then you add
each extended note to the triad. Diminished triads must be treated more
carefully. You'll have to build a scale that contains the proper type of
diminished 7th on the seventh note of the scale. As an example lets built
a C11.
C Major scale: C D E F G A B
C triad: C E G
Note that the 11 implies a 7th and a 9th
C7: C E G B
C9: C E G B D
C11:C E G B D F
Another example Am6
A Minor scale: A B C D E F G
Am triad: A C E
Am6 : A C E F
Altered and Extended Chords
There are almost limitless variations possible when you include both
alterations and extensions. Just take things one step at a time. I follow
these rules of thumb. First write the triad, second add the extensions,
remembering the possibility of implied notes, and finally do the
alterations of the triad.
The price you pay with all of these options, is that chords no longer have
a unique name. Chords that have the same notes, but different names are
called enharmonic. Lets look at a B half-dim7 for example. Half-dim7
chords appear on the seventh note of a major scale when you stick to notes
in the scale. So lets build a C Major scale.
C Major: C D E F G A B
B half-dim7: B D F A
Lets compare this to a Bm7. Leaving out the details, a Bm7 is spelled:
Bm7: B D F# A
The B half-dim7 is the same as the Bm7 except the 5th is one half-step
lower. This could be notated Bm7b5 which is an altered and extended chord.
Lets also look at a Dm.
Dm: D F A
All this is mising in comparison to the B half-dim7 is the B, which is
the sixth note of the D Minor scale. So you could also call a B half-dim7
a Dm6.
I'll leave it as an exercise for you to show that Em7 and G6 are
enharmonic.
These chords may seem complicated, but if you take them one step at a
time you can get through it. There's one other bit of theory that you may
need to be aware of, double flats and double sharps. These appear in
strange keys that you probably won't be playing in, but they may be the
easiest key to spell a chord in. Since each key must include one, and only
one, of each lettered note, some notes in some keys may have to be doubly
sharped or flatted to keep the proper intervals between the notes. As an
example lets look at an Fb Major (note it is enharmonic to E Major). The
easiest way to look at this scale is to flat each note of an F Major scale.
F Major scale: F G A Bb C D E
Fb Major scale: Fb Gb Ab Bbb Cb Db Eb
E Major scale: E F# G# A B C# D#
The Bbb is enharmonic to an A, but since there is already one type of A
in the scale, we can't use A again.
One practical note about playing altered and extended chords on the
guitar, is that it is impossible to play chords that have more than 6
notes. You'll have to leave out some notes. The fifth and the root are
generally the most expendable notes because you would expect a bass player
to be covering them. This makes converting a fingering to a chord name
particularly difficult, but that is the price guitar players must pay.
Once you become familiar with some altered and extended chords though,
you'll probably recognize the fingerings. This lesson has not included
fingerings to these chords because I'm not very familiar with them (though
I'm learning). I'll discuss fingerings for some of them when I cover barre
chords in a future lesson. Maybe I can talk someone who is more familiar
with them and their uses into writing a guest lesson.
Next time: ???
*****
LESSON
------
II. Chord Theory
B. Basic Barre Chords
As the title suggests, today I'll talk about basic barre chords. I'm a
real fan of them mostly because they open the whole neck of the guitar
up to you. They're called barre because the require you to make a bar
with a finger that covers four five, or six strings. I believe the
spelling of "barre" comes from the French. This barre simulates the nut
of the guitar, so you can play some typical chords you would play with
open strings anywhere on the neck. First let me discuss some of the
techniques of actually making a barre.
Most of the time you will be barre-ing with your index finger (the one
next to your thumb). It will take some practice to fret several strings
cleanly, but once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder how you had
problems before. Ideally, you should try to get a friend to show you how
to do this, but if you don't know anyone, I'll try to say what I can.
You should sit up straight so that you can push your wrist away from your
body so that your hand is straight from the tip of the finger across the
strings all the way to the wrist. Your thumb should press against the
center of the back of the neck. Contrary to what you might think, you
don't have to press very hard. One secret is to slightly rotate your
wrist (back of your hand toward the head of the guitar) so that you can
use the bonier part of your finger next to your thumb rather than the more
fleshy underside. Just keep practicing. One time it will all of a sudden
make sense, and from then on barre chords will be easy.
The primary two barre chords you will use are what I call E type shapes
and A type shapes. First lets discuss the E type shapes. Normally you
probably finger an E like this:
E
++++++
|||1||
|23|||
Instead I want you to finger it like this:
E
++++++
|||2||
|34|||
Now slide everything up one fret and barre your index finger across all
six strings, like this:
F
++++++
111111
|||2||
|34|||
You are now playing an F. Slide everything up one fret so that your
barre is on the second fret and you're playing an F#, one more fret and
you've got a G. And so on. The note on the sixth string is the root of
the chord. You can also play the following chords within the same shape
just by lifting a finger or two.
F7 Fm Fm7
++++++ ++++++ ++++++
111111 111111 111111
|||2|| |||||| ||||||
|3|||| |34||| |3||||
Now lets move on to A chord shapes. If you play an A like so, you can
add a barre to it.
A
++++++
:|||||
:|234|
You make a B by sliding this up one fret and barre-ing five strings with
your index finger.
B
++++++
:11111
:|||||
:|234|
Alternatively you can make a "mini-barre" with your ring (3rd) finger.
B
++++++
:11111
:|||||
:|333|
It is difficult at first to keep from dulling the 1st string, but with
practice it can be done. You can also make the following chords within
this A type shape. The root of your chord is on the 5th string.
B7 or B7 Bm Bm7
++++++ ++++++ ++++++ ++++++
:11111 :11111 :11111 :11111
:||||| :||||| :|||2| :|||2|
:|2|3| :|333| :|34|| :|3|||
:||||4
I haven't seen it done much, but you can also barre a C chord shape.
C#
++++++
:11111
:|||2|
:|3|||
:4||||
If you play this on the second fret, you can see how the open string
D chord relates to this.
For starters you'll probably need to count frets to know where to play
any particular chord. Once you become comfortable with this, you will
soon have this memorized though. For example an E shape on the 5th fret
is some type of A chord, and an A shape on the 5th fret is some type of
D chord. This should help get you started.
Barre chords can also be useful for transposing keys of songs. Lets look
at a I-IV-V progression. If you play the I chord as an E shape the IV
chord will be an A shape on the same fret, and the V chord will be an
A shape two frets higher. If you play the I chord as an A shape, then
the IV chord is an E shape two frets lower, and the V chord is an E
shape on the same fret as the I. Since you now know the chord progression
in a relative position basis, you can choose what key to play it in just
by choosing what fret you play your I chord on.
I'm not going to lie to you. For starters barre chords will be frustrating,
but it is worth working through this because they will open the entire
neck of the guitar up to you. Hopefully this lesson has motivated you to
work on learning them. Questions, comments, and corrections are welcome.
*****
LESSON
------
III. Styles
A. Western Swing/Texas Style backup
NOTE: Bo Parker (parker_b%aplvax.span@fedex.msfc.nasa.gov) is the guest
writer for this lesson. He could probably handle any questions about it
better than I.
Greetings fellow net.pickers.
This is a short lesson in Western Swing or Texas contest-style backup guitar.
I'll be presenting the basic concepts and some arrangements of tunes with
backup parts.
This style of playing has a few defining characteristics:
a) Frequently changing chords, generally two per measure (in 4/4).
b) A walking bass line beneath the chords.
c) Frequent use of closed-position chords (i.e. with no open strings) instead
of open-voiced chords (such as the standard G, C, etc.).
d) "Passing chords" used between the major harmonic areas in a tune.
e) Extended chords (6ths, major 7ths, 9ths, 13ths, minor 7ths, minor 9ths),
altered chords (b9ths, augmented, diminished).
We want to use these techniques to transform the simple chord progressions that
are found in many fiddle tunes and country tunes into more complex progressions
_that will still fit the melody_. This is an important point: what you do still
has to fit and make musical sense. You probably won't want to use very complex
chords like, oh, say, an A13b9sus4 in one of these progressions:
A13b9sus4
+-+-+-+-+-+
o | | | | o
5 +-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | o o |
+-+-+-+-+-+
| | o | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+
It probably won't work very well. But just use your judgment. If a chord sounds
like it works, then it works.
These are essentially jazz-based techniques, and it helps to have at least some
knowledge of jazz harmony to get a grip on this stuff. The discussion does get
a little tech-oid, but even if you don't understand the theory, just try
playing through the examples - they're a lot of fun and they sound really cool.
Listen to recordings by the great Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys for good
examples of this type of backup playing. The Texas Playboys guitarist, Eldon
Shamblin, is responsible for much of the development of this style as it is
applied to country-style tunes. Another great group to listen to if you want to
hear this stuff in a more traditional jazz setting is the Quintet of the Hot
Club of France, with the virtuoso Django Reinhardt on guitar. Another master
practitioner of this style is Ranger Doug from Riders in the Sky.
OK, so, on to the first tune. This is an arrangement of "Sally Goodin," a great
old Texas fiddle tune. The backup part is from an article in a 1990 issue of
Acoustic Guitar magazine. This is the same TAB that I posted out to the net a
few months ago. The backup part will also fit with the arrangement of "Grey
Eagle" that I posted to the net some time ago.
<"Grey Eagle" is available on the Cowpie archives under Traditional -Greg>
Here's TAB for Sally Goodin, a traditional fiddle tune, and a
Texas-style/Western Swing accompaniment for it. This is from the
article "Swinging With Sally Goodin" by Jim Wood, from the Sept/Oct
1990 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
I have TABbed the melody as if it were played in G. The accompaniment
is in A, though, so you'll have to capo at the second fret to make the
melody work with the accompaniment. Each "|" above the
staff represents a quarter note.
Sally Goodin (traditional)
arr. Jim Wood, TAB by Bo Parker parker_b%aplvax.span@fedex.msfc.nasa.gov
Melody:
(Don't worry about the chord symbols - fingerings are given below.
D#o7 means D# diminished 7th.)
A A9/C# D D#o7 A A#o7 Bm7 E7
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|---0---0---------|---0-------------|---0---0---------|-----------------|
|-0---2---0---0-0-|-0---2-0---0-0-0-|-0---2---0-2-0---|-----------0-0-0-|
|-----------------|---------2-------|---------------2-|-0---0-0-2-------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|
A A9/C# D D#o7 E7 F#m E7/G# A
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|---0---0---------|---0-------------|---0---0---------|-----------------|
|-0---2---0---0-0-|-0---2-0---0-0-0-|-0---2---0-2-0---|-----------0-0-0-|
|-----------------|---------2-------|---------------2-|-0---0-0-2-------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
A A7/G D/F# Dm/F A/E D#o7 E7/D E7/B
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------|---3-0-----------|---3-0-----------|-----------------|
|-----0-1-3---3-3-|-3-----3-0-3-3-3-|-3-----3-0-------|-----------------|
|-0-2-------------|-----------------|-----------2-0---|-----------0-0-0-|
|-----------------|-----------------|---------------2-|-0---0-0-2-------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
A A9/C# D D#o7 E7 E7/B E7/G# A
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------|---3-0-----------|---3-0-----------|-----------------|
|-----0-1-3---3-3-|-3-----3-0-3-3-3-|-3-----3-0-------|-----------------|
|-0-2-------------|-----------------|-----------2-0---|-----------0-0-0-|
|-----------------|-----------------|---------------2-|-0---0-0-2-------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
OK - now the accompaniment. Note the nice walking bass lines. The
whole thing is done bass-strum, bass-strum, etc.
A A9/C# D D#o7 A A#o7 Bm7 E7
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------|-----2-------2---|-----------------|-----2-------0---|
|-----2-------5---|-----3-------1---|-----2-------2---|-----3-------0---|
|-----2-------4---|-----2-------2---|-----2-------0---|-----2-------1---|
|-----2-------5---|-0-------1-------|-----2-------2---|----(0)------0---|
|-0-------4-------|-----------------|-0-------1-------|-2-----------2---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|---------0-------|
A A9/C# D D#o7 E7 F#m E7/G# A
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------|-----2-------2---|-----3-------5---|-----7-------5---|
|-----2-------5---|-----3-------1---|-----3-------5---|-----5-------5---|
|-----2-------4---|-----2-------2---|-----4-------6---|-----7-------6---|
|-----2-------5---|-0-------1-------|-2-------4-------|-6-------7-------|
|-0-------4-------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
A A7/G D/F# Dm/F A/E D#o7 E7/D E7/B
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----5-------5---|-----------------|-----------------|-------------0---|
|-----5-------5---|-----7-------6---|-----5-------7---|-----5-------0---|
|-----6-------6---|-----7-------7---|-----6-------5---|-----4-------1---|
|-7-------5-------|-----7-------7---|-----7-------7---|-----6-------0---|
|-----------------|-9-------8-------|-7-------6-------|-5-------2-------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
A A9/C# D D#o7 E7 E7/B E7/G# A
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|-----------------|-----2-------2---|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----2-------5---|-----3-------1---|-----5-------5---|-----3-------2---|
|-----2-------4---|-----2-------2---|-----7-------7---|-----4-------2---|
|-----2-------5---|-0-------1-------|-----6-------6---|-----2-------2---|
|-0-------4-------|-----------------|-7---------------|---------0-------|
|-----------------|-----------------|---------7-------|-4---------------|
An important point about this backup style is the articulation. You should
strive for a sound like this:
boom-CHUNK-boom-CHUNK-boom-CHUNK-boom-CHUNK...
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
"Boom" is the bass note (which is allowed to ring), and "CHUNK" is an accented,
muted chord strum. So in other words, the chords should not be allowed to ring
out - they should be cut short by lifting the fingers of your fretting hand as
soon as you strike the strings. This gives a little rhythmic jab or "sock" on
the backbeat, and leads, BTW, to this style sometimes being referred to as
"sock guitar." This also is why we use primarily closed-voiced chords - it's
hard to properly mute open-voiced chords.
Another way these chords are articulated sometimes is like this:
CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK...
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
i.e. with no separate bass note - just the whole chord strummed staccato on
beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. This is more like the way that big-band guitarists play,
for example Freddie Green with the Count Basie Orchestra.
Another point to note is that we don't always use chords voiced with the root
in the bass. A good example is this voicing, which appears in the first
measure:
A9/C#
+-+-+-+-+-+
| o | o | |
+-+-+-+-+-+
| | o | o |
5 +-+-+-+-+-+
Such voicings are used primarily to keep the bass line moving. Another point
about this chord is that it provides a I dominant (I9), which leads very
strongly to the IV chord in the next measure.
An example of a passing chord, as mentioned above, is the D#dim7 chord found in
measure 2:
D#dim7
0 +-+-+-+-+-+
| | o | o |
+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | o | o
+-+-+-+-+-+
This chord adds interest to the progression in two ways: First, it provides an
interesting harmonic transition between the IV chord (D) and the I chord (A/E).
Second, the D, D#, A run in the bass gives a very nice jazzy, chromatic sound
to the progression. A similar use of a passing chord (an A#dim7) is found in
measure 3. In fact, just playing through measures 1 through 4 will give you a
good idea of where this stuff is coming from.
Now the next tune, Westphalia Waltz. This is a lovely old fiddle waltz that
sounds great with a Texas-style backup. As above, I have provided a guitar TAB
for the melody with the "straight" chords indicated on the upper line of chords
above the TAB and the Texas-style chords indicated on the lower line of chords
above the TAB. The next TAB is just for the backup part.
When playing a waltz, it sounds best if you let the chords ring rather than
muting them. So, you want a sound more like this:
BOOM-strum-strum-BOOM-strum-strum...
1 2 3 1 2 3
where the 1 is accented and the 2 and 3 are unaccented.
Also, note that the moving ("walking") voice in this backup part is sometimes
in an inner voice rather than in the bass. For example, see the G, F#, E, F#, G
run on the 4th string in measures 1 through 5.
TAB- Westphalia Waltz (arr. Bo Parker, TAB by Bo Parker,
parker_b%aplvax.span@fedex.msfc.nasa.gov)
Pickup measure
A
| | |
|-------------|
|-------------|
|-------------|
|-----0---2-4-|
|-------------|
|-------------|
Part A
G Bm Em G
G Gmaj7 G6 Gmaj7
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|---------0---|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-0-----------|-3-----------|-------------|
|-0-------2---|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------0-2-4-|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
G D
G G#dim Am7 D9
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-0-------1---|-------------|-------------|
|-0-------2---|-------------|-2-----------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-----------3-|-4-----3-2-1-|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
D
Am7 D9 Am7 D9
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|---------3---|-2---------3-|-2-------0---|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-2-----------|-------------|-------------|
|-0-------4---|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
D G _1____________
Am7 Daug9/C G6/9/B | G
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-0-----------|-------------|-------------|
|-3-------2-3-|-----3---2-1-|-0---------1-|-0-----------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|------------*|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------0-2-4*|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
_2____________
|
| | |
|-------------|
|-0-----------|
|-------------|
|-------------|
|-------------|
|-------------|
Part B
G Bm Em G
G Gmaj7 G6 Gmaj7
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-3-----------|-2-----------|-0---2---3---|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-0-----------|
|*------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|*------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
G D
G G#dim Am7 D9
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-0-----------|-0-----------|-1-----0-----|-------------|
|-----2---0---|-----2---0---|---------2-0-|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-4-----------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
D
Am7 D9 Am7 D9
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-0-----------|-0-----------|-0---2---3---|-2-------0---|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
D G
Am7 Daug9/C G6/9/B G
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-0-----------|-------------|-------------|
|-3-------2-3-|-----3---2-1-|-0-----1-0---|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-----------2-|-0----------*|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|------------*|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
Backup
Same for both parts
G Gmaj7 G6 Gmaj7
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|
|-----4---4---|-----4---4---|-----4---4---|-----4---4---|
|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|-----2---2---|-----4---4---|
|-----5---5---|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-3-----------|-3-----------|-3-----------|-3-----------|
G G#dim Am7 D9
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|
|-----4---4---|-----4---4---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|
|-----5---5---|-----3---3---|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|
|-----5---5---|-------------|-----------4-|-5-----------|
|-3---------3-|-4---------4-|-5-----------|-------------|
Am7 D9 Am7 D9
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|
|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|
|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|
|-----------4-|-5-----------|-----------4-|-5-----------|
|-5-----------|-------------|-5-----------|-------------|
Am7 Daug9/C G6/9/B G
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----3---3---|-----0-------|
|-----5---5---|-----3---3---|-----2---2---|-----0-------|
|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|-----2---2---|-----0-------|
|-----------2-|-3-----------|-2-----------|-------------|
|-5-----------|-------------|-------------|-3-------0-2-|
G Gmaj7 G6 Gmaj7
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|
|-----4---4---|-----4---4---|-----4---4---|-----4---4---|
|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|-----2---2---|-----4---4---|
|-----5---5---|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-3-----------|-3-----------|-3-----------|-3-----------|
G G#dim Am7 D9
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|
|-----4---4---|-----4---4---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|
|-----5---5---|-----3---3---|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|
|-----5---5---|-------------|-----------4-|-5-----------|
|-3---------3-|-4---------4-|-5-----------|-------------|
Am7 D9 Am7 D9
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|
|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|-----5---5---|
|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|-----5---5---|-----4---4---|
|-----------4-|-5-----------|-----------4-|-5-----------|
|-5-----------|-------------|-5-----------|-------------|
Am7 D7 G G/D
| | | | | | | | | | | |
|-------------|-------------|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|
|-----5---5---|-----3-------|-----0---0---|-----0---0---|
|-----5---5---|-----5-------|-----0---0---|-----0---0---|
|-----5---5---|-----4-------|-----0---0---|-0-----------|
|-------------|-5-----------|-------------|-------------|
|-5-----------|---------0-2-|-3-----------|-------------|
-----
An interesting chord in this progression is the D augmented chord (actually a
Daug9/C) in measure 14. Remember that a D augmented chord has the notes D, F#,
A#. Well, that A# is the same as as a Bb, which is the flat-third "blue note"
in the key of G. Its presence in the D augmented chord (which is used as a V
dominant chord) gives the V - I cadence a really cool bluesy, "down-home" kind
of sound.
I have provided you with a short overview of the Western swing or "Texas" style
of backup guitar playing. Play with these progressions for awhile and you will
discover that there are many contexts in which these concepts, particularly
walking bass lines and passing chords, can be applied. Use these techniques in
a few places in the songs you like to play, and you will find that they can
really spice up your rhythm playing.
Have fun!
*****