tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24074531794142201702024-03-02T01:56:05.098-08:00Tao of DobroMichael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-86381996719824127772013-03-04T08:23:00.000-08:002015-01-26T07:50:05.965-08:00Modes <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a><br />
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My first Dobro teacher, Mark Van Allen, showed me modes. I didn't understand them too well so I later looked them up on Wikiepedia. They still didn't make any sense and I bet myself that I would go the rest of my life without having to know such things. I lost that bet. Laying awake one night at 3 AM I started contemplating them and suddenly they made all the sense in the world. The secret--as I alluded to in an earlier post--was the Circle of Fifths. Turns out that it is the decoder ring, so to speak.<br />
<br />
Some good news right up front, you already know two of the modes-the Ionian mode and the Aeolian mode. (Try to get over the Greek names.) And you probably know some classic bluegrass songs in the Dorian mode and the Mixolydian mode.<br />
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The truth is that you can be a very good and knowledgeable Dobro player and be totally clueless about modes. But like with me, you might have this lingering doubt that there is this essential piece of music theory that is eluding you--only to discover that it was not so esoteric after all. I practice modes once a week to improve my knowledge of scale structures and my familiarity with the fretboard, and I find that it helps me see patterns in some familiar bluegrass songs--making it easier for me to improvise around them.<br />
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<h4>
Modes, what the heck are they?</h4>
The modes are seven scales, sequences of seven consecutive notes, that have specific patterns. Visualize a piano keyboard for a moment. The patterns of the seven modes can be found by playing the seven scales starting the first scale on C and then playing the additional scales by going up one note--<b>but playing </b><b><b>only </b>the white keys in each of those new scales</b>.<br />
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Modes can be played in any key, but their patterns are often associated with the key in which they can be played using only the piano's white keys:<br />
<br />
<b>Ionian </b>(C pattern) CDEFGAB<br />
<b>Dorian </b>(D pattern) DEFGABC<br />
<b>Phrygian </b>(E pattern) EFGABCD<br />
<b>Lydian </b>(F pattern) FGABCDE<br />
<b>Mixolydian </b>(G pattern) GABCDEF<br />
<b>Aeolian </b>(A pattern) ABCDEFG<br />
<b>Locrian </b>(B pattern) BCDEFGA<br />
<br />
You can also hear these patterns by playing the scale of C on your
Dobro, then go up a note and play the same notes, and do this until you
have played seven consecutive notes of the C scale starting on each of the notes in the scale. <br />
<br />
Next, I'll discuss each mode and show you how to use the Circle of Fifths as a decoder ring of sorts to figure out a mode in any key.<br />
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<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Ionian</h4>
The Ionian mode is the normal major scale as you already know it. Hooray! you already know a mode.<br />
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<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Dorian</h4>
The Dorian mode is one of the more popular of the modes. To hear what it sounds like, start on D and play the natural notes in sequence: D E F G A B C. It's kind of a bluesy, minor sounding scale. One of the common examples of Dorian mode is the Beatle's song Elenor Rigby.<br />
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But what if you want to play the Dorian mode in another key, like G? Is there an easy way to discern and remember the pattern? Let's pull out our friend the Circle of Fifths:<br />
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Since we can associate the Dorian mode pattern with D (because playing all the white keys starting on D renders the Dorian mode), let's look at D's key signature. Two sharps: F# and C#. These correspond to the 3rd and 7th notes in the scale of D.<br />
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Normally the scale of D is D E F# G A B C#, but in the Dorian mode, you play all white keys, so you can say that the Dorian mode flats the 3rd and 7th note of the scale (playing F natural and C natural). The good news is the pattern of flatting the 3rd and 7th holds regardless of the key you want to play the Dorian mode in. So the Dorian mode in the Key of G would be:<br />
G A Bb C D E F<br />
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Notice that we changed the 3rd note (B) to Bb, and we changed the 7th note (F#) to F.<br />
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Let's abstract that a little bit and give you the steps for using the Circle of Fifths as the <i>Mode Decoder Ring:</i><br />
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<ol>
<li>Find the key signature for the key whose pattern is associated with the mode you want to play, e.g., D for Dorian, E for Phrygian, etc.</li>
<li>Determine the Nashville notation equivalents for the notes in the key signature, e.g., 3 and 7 for F# and C# in D.</li>
<li>Do the opposite of what the key signature does to those notes, i.e., if the key signature sharps them, you flat them; if the key signature flats them, you sharp them.</li>
</ol>
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I'll walk you through some more examples as we go through the other modes.<br />
<br />
But back to the Dorian, this is a very useful mode in bluegrass. The flatted 3rd and flatted 7th give a very bluesy effect and you can hear it clearly in songs like Clynch Mountain Backstep and Old Joe Clark. <br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Phrygian</h4>
Not as common in Bluegrass, but if you want to throw some Flamenco effects into a song, this is your mode. Let's say you're doing a song about a Mexican cantina in G and you need some Spanish guitar effects. How do you play the Phygian in G? Let's use the Circle of Fifths to decode it.<br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li>Phrygian pattern is associated with E, so let's look at that key signature: F#, C#, G#, D#.</li>
<li>Nashville notation equivalents are 2, 6, 3, and 7.</li>
<li>Flat the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th notes and you have the Phrygian mode. In G this would be: <br />G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, F</li>
</ul>
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Play around with this and throw in a G# chord every now and then and you will sound like the Segovia of Dobro.<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Lydian</h4>
Lydian is a kind of "dream sequence" sounding scale. I've not used it in Bluegrass. It is the only mode whose pattern is associated with a key that has a flat in its signature, F. Our decoder formula is still good:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Key of F has one flat, Bb.</li>
<li>Bb is the fourth note of the scale of F.</li>
<li>To play Lydian mode in any key, sharp the fourth note of the scale.</li>
</ul>
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<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Mixolydian</h4>
Another cool Bluegrass mode. Since the Mixolydian pattern is associated with G, the decoder ring tells us that we can play the Mixolydian mode in any key by flatting the 7th note of the scale in that key (F# is the 7th note of the scale in G). Essentially this means that you are playing a dominant seventh as a mainstay of the melody. John Hardy is a good example of a bluegrass song that uses the Mixolydian mode.<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Aeolian</h4>
You already know the Aeolian mode, it is the minor scale. To play the minor scale in any key, just flat the 3rd, 6th, and 7th note of the scale. Can you use the Circle of Fifths to verify that? (Remember that the Aeolian pattern is associated with A.)<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Locrian</h4>
Sounds awful. Don't play it unless you're trying to get out of your beer tab and you want to threaten the club owner with it.Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-41958321511715139192012-11-21T10:20:00.000-08:002013-03-04T05:19:36.256-08:00The Circle of 5ths <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a><br />
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The circle of 5ths is an iconic piece of music theory that pops up from time to time. It has a couple of practical purposes like figuring out what key a piece of music is in, and navigating a particular chord progression commonly called 'going around the horn.'<br />
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Here it is:<br />
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<h4>
General Discussion</h4>
Reading the chart clockwise, you progress from one chord to the chord that would be the V to its I. In other words, G is the five chord for C, D is the five chord for G. etc. Starting at C, you can also see that the key signature keeps adding a sharp at every step. As we noted in the post about scales, the sharp that gets added corresponds to the 7th note in the scale for that key. If you start at the top and go counterclockwise, you are going to the IV chord and the flat you are adding is, coincidentally, the fourth note of the new scale. So we go from C to F, and the flat is Bb.<br />
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I don't show the minor keys, but remember from a previous blog that a major key's relative minor has the same key signature. And the relative minor is the note that corresponds to the 6th note of that scale. So the relative minor of C is Am, the relative minor of G is Em, etc.<br />
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Don't get too overwhelmed by all the keys and their signatures; as we talked about earlier, the main keys for bluegrass are C, G, D, and A. If you have a blues guitar player in a jam, you'll do some stuff in E. And I find it's good to know the scale of F major--cause every now and then someone wants to drag out some old folk song in D minor (F's relative minor).<br />
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Another use for the circle of 5ths, I discovered, is deciphering <i>modes</i>. In my next blog post, I will talk about modes, and having the circle of 5ths handy can let you figure out a modal pattern in any key very quickly.<br />
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<h4>
Around the Horn</h4>
Sometimes a song has a progression that sounds 'different' and if you ask about it, some veteran might say "Oh it just goes around the horn." A good example is "Salty Dog." The progression is:<br />
<br />
G, E, A, D, G. (In Nashville notation that would be I, VI, II, V, I.) <br />
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It feels good because these are mainstays of a scale--for the most part. But it sounds 'different' because it uses two major chords where the <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/chords-part-1-major-and-minors-chord-is.html" target="_blank">natural chords</a> would be minors. Specifically, I am referring to the E major instead of the E minor and the A major instead of the A minor. <br />
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Once you jump to the VI chord, the progression goes counterclockwise along the circle of 5ths until it gets back to the I chord. One way to think of it is to ask yourself "This chord I'm on is the five chord for who?" If that seems a little awkward, ask yourself "Who is the four chord of this chord?" (The circle of 5ths goes clockwise; when you go counterclockwise it is called the circle of 4ths--I'm not making this stuff up.) Personally, I like thinking in terms of "who is the four chord?" but I've had purists get mad at me for thinking that way.<br />
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So once you successfully make the jump to the VI chord, just take the circle of 5ths back to the root chord and you have gone "around the horn."<br />
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<b>Example: Key of C going around the horn.</b><br />
Start on C and jump to the VI--which would be A major (not hard to remember because Am is the relative minor and I think most of us know that.) OK, from A go to D (the four chord of A or the chord for which A is the five chord), then from D go to G (same reasoning) and from G go to C and you have gone around the horn.<br />
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<h4>
And Now, Just for Fun (nothing useful, just mental chewing gum)</h4>
Since there are only five black keys on a piano, you would think that the most sharps or flats a key could have would be five. But look at the bottom of the circle at F# and Gb. Each has six sharps and six flats respectively. What's with that?<br />
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Well, there is a simple rule for any scale: it has to use all the letters from A to G and can only use each letter once. So if you start your scale on F# what do you call the 7th note--the one that lands a half step below F#? You might be tempted to call it F or F natural, but you have already used the letter F in your scale (to name the 1st note F#). Well, that note might sound like F and if played on a piano might look like F, and if fretted on the 1st string of a Dobro would be on the third fret, but in the context of the scale of F# we call that note E#. And if you write music for a song in F#, every time you play that note, you write it as an E. The key signature tells the player to sharp the E and that means playing an F.<br />
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Now just for fun, who's the oddball in Gb?<br />
<br />Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-38117622593924592672012-10-30T09:55:00.001-07:002012-10-31T05:12:42.949-07:00Playing in the Minors<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a><br />
<br />
In an earlier chapter I talked about the musical theory of how minor chords are formed. Now let's look at the practicality of actually playing them on the Dobro.<br />
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You'll recall that in the case of a resophonic, the pattern for a major chord is a
straight barring across the fret where the third string is the root
note. So for a D major, we can bar straight across the seventh
fret--getting a D, F#, A. The pattern for a D minor looks like a
chevron, the third and first strings "fretted" on the seventh fret and
the second string "fretted" on the sixth fret. That would render a D, F,
A. I know, unless you are using a horseshoe for a slide, it's going to
be a bit hard to get that chevron pattern. So what do you do if you need
to sit on that chord for awhile? Well, here are <i><b>five</b></i> solutions.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Solution 1: The easy minors</h3>
Some minors have patterns that use open and "fretted" strings
that allow you to maintain a fixed slide position and pick the minor
chord. The two I use the most are E minor and B minor.<br />
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A nice E minor is:<br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">G B D G B D</span><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">x x 2 0 0 x</span><br />
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As you can see, that pattern would give you E, G, B. Voilla! E minor.<br />
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Here is a workable B minor:<br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">G B D G B D</span><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">x x 4 4 0 0</span><br />
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That gives you F#, B, B, D which is an inversion of B, D, F#, which is B minor.<br />
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And these are common minors! E minor is the vi chord in the G progression (and the relative minor of G major), and Bm is the vi chord in the D progression. That opens up all the I, vi, IV, V progressions in the keys of G and D.<br />
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<h3>
Solution 2: The minor seventh</h3>
Remember that a minor chord is a minor interval (3 half steps) and a major interval (4 half steps). To make a
minor seventh, we just add another minor interval to the chord (the same way we make a dominant 7th). So the pattern is 1, b3, 5, b7.<br />
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OK, for starters, the flatted seventh doesn't have to be at the top, a
rich-sounding seventh adds it at the bottom as in b7, 1, b3, 5.<br />
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Next, you can drop the root note if you need to (and trust me, you're
going to need to) and still get a good, workable minor seventh. For one
thing, the context of the song and the other instruments will establish
the root note in the ear of the listener.<br />
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And here is why this is all cool. If you "fret" the fourth, third, and
second string along any fret, you are playing the b7, b3, 5 for the
chord that would normally be played three frets down. Wait! It's not
that bad. Play the fourth, third, and second string on the fifth fret
and you are playing an A minor seventh! Technically, it's a C, but look
at the notes: G, C, E. Well,an A minor seventh would be G, A, C, E. So
all you've done is drop the root. Again, the other instruments and the
context of the chord will establish that it is an A minor seventh.<br />
<br />
So here is the "cheater's rule:" If you need to hold a minor, go three
frets up from the fret you would play its major on--and play the fourth,
third, and second strings.<br />
<br />
For example, say you're playing a song in D and
it has an F# minor. OK, you would play an F# by barring the eleventh
fret. Go up to the fourteenth (or the second fret which is one octave lower)
and play the fourth, third, and second strings. (Advanced tip: One way
to "sell" it to the listener is to start your chord on the true root and
then slide down two frets to the flatted seventh and then hold the
chord with a roll.)<br />
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<h3>
Solution 3: Passive minors</h3>
If a 1, 3, 5 is a major chord and a 1, b3, 5 is a minor chord, what is a 1, 5?<br />
<br />
<br />
Technically, it's call a fifth, but the important thing is it does not cause any dischord with the minor! So you can play a straight bar but just avoid playing the 5 and 2 strings and you are not "getting in the way" of the minor. I call that a passive minor. The only problem is that you are leaving out the money note--namely, the flatted third. Don't expect anyone to say "Cool sound," but they won't give you any dirty looks either.<br />
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<h3>
Solution 4: Minor intervals</h3>
If you can cheat with a 1, 5, you should be able to cheat even BETTER with a 1 b3! What luck, the open tuning of the Dobro puts 3 half steps (minor interval) between the 5th and 4th strings and between the 2nd and 1st strings. This means that if you play the 5th or 2nd string as the root, you can easily play the minor interval by barring and playing the 4th or 1st string on the same fret.<br />
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The down side is you only have a two note chord, BUT, you can use an open string to establish the third note of the chord and get the following minors: <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">C minor (C, Eb, G)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">G B D G B D</span><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">x 1 1 0 x x</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">E minor (E, G, B)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">G B D G B D</span><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">x 5 5 x 0 x</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">G minor (G, Bb, D)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">G B D G B D</span><br />
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier,monospace;">x 8 8 x x 0</span><br />
<br />
<h3 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Solution 5: Play a run through the chord</h3>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Here is where all that practice you put in on playing scales pays off. If you practice playing the relative minor scale every time you practice a major scale (like I advised in an earlier chapter on practicing) then you have a nice group of runs you can play for a lot of the minor chords. </div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Let's say that you need to play an A minor. Remember that A minor is the relative minor of C (because A is the 6th note in the scale of C) and a relative minor has the same scale as its relative major. So one way to handle the A minor is to play a bit of the A minor scale for that measure. For example, you could play the following:</div>
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It doesn't have to be all of those notes or in that exact order, although that run will work pretty good as is. The point is that if you have been practicing playing the C scale, then you should be able to get that run off pretty quickly and smoothly--you've been practicing it all along!<br />
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But what if the A minor is the ii chord of a song in G? No problem, this run doesn't play the F note, which would be F natural in the key of A min but would be F sharp in the key of G. So no conflict. If there were a conflict, you would just not play the conflicted note in your run.<br />
<br />
<br />
The principle here is to use scale runs as a basis for playing ANY chord where a straight bar is not available or where it would be impractical. For example, I play "City of New Orleans" in C and there is a quick change from one measure with an A minor chord and then one measure with an F. I use the run I show above for the A min, but I don't want to jump way up to the 10th fret to bar the F. So I just use a portion of the C scale to run through the F.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUy-yAARtbkVy6dvoV06lsyf7XLF0CyTlRFpw3QuYvBFrLte_pQbT93bsjpk5BLCLAaL2-s3feKXORmpyuAFaOi2MjAFOnsDJDqE04KaOb-zPZYEDvxGSjFabpSO8idQb8I5A1cC2KVp7-/s1600/Am+F+run.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUy-yAARtbkVy6dvoV06lsyf7XLF0CyTlRFpw3QuYvBFrLte_pQbT93bsjpk5BLCLAaL2-s3feKXORmpyuAFaOi2MjAFOnsDJDqE04KaOb-zPZYEDvxGSjFabpSO8idQb8I5A1cC2KVp7-/s1600/Am+F+run.png" /></a></div>
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Note: As an aside. I sometimes hear people make the mistake of thinking you would play the run through the F by playing the F scale. No, you want to play the C scale but play the notes that run through the F chord. If you played the F scale, you would play a B flat which would sound dissonant. that's why you want to play the C scale, that will give you the B natural in this run.Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-6861566826525071272012-09-24T12:02:00.001-07:002012-09-24T12:42:05.687-07:00Chords--Part 3: The Transition Chords<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a><br />
<br />
I'll wrap up my discussion of chords in this third section on transition chords:<br />
<ul>
<li>Dominant 7th</li>
<li>Dominant 9th</li>
<li>Diminished</li>
</ul>
And, as a special bonus, I will discuss that tricky little chord in the scale that I have refused to discuss up to now.<br />
<br />
The transition chords have an inherent tension in them--they're nice to listen to, but in general you don't want to hang on them for long periods of time (yes, yes, I know the blues players will disagree, especially about the dominant 7th). For example, if you're barreling along in a jam on G and the leader changes to a G7, wake up! You're probably a half-measure from changing chords. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Dominant 7th</h3>
The most common transition chord is the dominant 7th--the one people mean when they say "the seventh." Here is its pattern in the Nashville numbering system:<br />
<br />
1, 3, 5, b7<br />
<br />
The pattern starts with the major chord of the root note and adds a flatted 7.<br />
<br />
So a G7 is G, B, D, F. (Remember from my chapter on color chords that G, B, D, F#--the major plus the 7th note in the scale-- is called "G major 7"). When people say just "G seven" they are referring to the G dominant 7th.<br />
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On the Dobro, you can play the dominant 7 by fretting the first string three frets higher than the barred version of the chord.<br />
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Here is a simple G7:<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">O O O O O 3</span><br />
<br />
The following is another version that is great for doing a vibrato (playing two notes rapidly and alternately) on the 1st and 2nd string:<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x x x x 3 3</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This pattern works for any chord. Let's say you are playing in C and are about to change chords and you want to get a C7 (C, E, G, Bb) </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">in before you do</span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Start on C:</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">5 5 5 5 5 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then do a tremolo on the first and second string while you bar them on the eighth fret:</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x x x x 8 8</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here, the money notes are the G and Bb. And they are the only ones you need to play. Either the other players or the listener's sense memory will provide the other notes.</span></span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dominant 9th</span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Any of the family of dominant chords is made by adding the number of the chord to a dominant 7th. So the pattern for a dominant 9 is this:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1, 3, 5, b7, 9</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To play a complete G9 you would play G, B, D, F, A. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When playing a dominant 9 you will have to pick a sequence of notes and it really helps to make sure you include the flatted 7. I often do this by playing the root chord, then play the b7 and then slide up to the 9. So to play a G9, I play the root chord, then play the first string on the third fret (F) and then slide it up to the seventh fret (A).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My absolute favorite use of a dominant 9th is as a substitution for a dominant 7, and I play it by dropping the 2nd and 3rd strings down two frets. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let's use the C chord transition again as our example. C9 would be C, E, G, Bb, D (the C7 plus the 9 note). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let's say you are playing in C and are about to change chords and you want to get a C9 in before you do.</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Start on C:</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">5 5 5 5 5 5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then do a tremolo on the third and second string while you bar them on the third fret:</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x x x 3 3 x</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In this case the two money notes are Bb and D. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Try it and you'll recognize it right away. It's a more mellow transition that the dominant 7 would be, and it works beautifully in ballads and gospel songs.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Diminished</span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm stretching it a bit to call a diminished a transition chord, but it does have a lot of tension and you surely would not want to play it for any length of time, Here is its pattern in Nashville notation:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1, b3, b5</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is the root note plus a flatted third and a flatted fifth. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is a classic use of it in bluegrass to end a song on a D chord. The second chord is a D dim, using the the b3 (F) and b5 (Ab):</span></span><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x x 7 x 7 x</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x x 6 x 6 x</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x x 5 x 5 x</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">7 x 7 x x x </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That same run can be played going up to transition into a D.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are the opening chords to Panhandle Rag that build around a D6 rather that a straight D:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x 7 7 x 0 x</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x 6 6 x </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">0 x</span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
G B D G B D</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">x 5 5 x </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">0 x</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Chord of Whom I Do Not Speak--and a Fiddler Named Throckmorton</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
Remember this <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/chords-part-1-major-and-minors-chord-is.html" target="_blank">graphic</a>?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUle003Q5T3MykY4Qs_lX6ai0toTcBqYDPVQdAHjA09cHr8Tt1hUjJ8I3Z54HZXdmcstxUkF0qW9giBeAhQxGcdf2pduaU9FS_VpJ5gL-TB4yFv3LkQCksqTli0YujxL3_j856UGUoWGJ/s1600/chord+scale.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUle003Q5T3MykY4Qs_lX6ai0toTcBqYDPVQdAHjA09cHr8Tt1hUjJ8I3Z54HZXdmcstxUkF0qW9giBeAhQxGcdf2pduaU9FS_VpJ5gL-TB4yFv3LkQCksqTli0YujxL3_j856UGUoWGJ/s1600/chord+scale.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well now we can speak of the asterisked chord: It is an F# diminished. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But I've got a big problem with it! </span></span><br />
<br />
<div>
The first six chords have a particular beauty and closure about them.
The three major chords are the tonic (G), dominant (D), and sub-dominant
(C) chords. The three minor chords are their respective relative minors.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Then we get that darn F# diminished! What's with that? It's like
meeting the folks in a jam: The banjo guy says, "I'm Fred," the mandolin
player says, "I'm Skip," the guitar player says, "I'm Jack," and then
the fiddler says, "I'm Throckmorton." What the...??!! How did he end up
with the others?</div>
<div>
</div>
<br />
And that's the problem I have with the F# diminished here--it just doesn't seem to belong. Have
you EVER played a song in G where an F# diminished showed up? I
haven't. But the other six chords are mainstays for G progressions.<br />
<br />
I've fretted (no pun intended) over this for a while, and I think I've
resolved it, at least for me. That seventh chord is a D7 without the
root D. A seventh is the 1 3 5 b7 and in the case of D the 3, 5, and
flatted 7 would be F#, A, C--exactly what we have in an F# diminished. That would make more
sense, except now I have the problem of where did the lost root note go?
That's a problem I pondered for a long time.<br />
<br />
Then my tech writer background kicked in and I solved it! Think of these
seven chords as a seven-page document in a word processor. The first six
are in Portrait and the pages are three strings wide. That's plenty wide
enough because major and minor chords are properly rendered with three
notes. 1, 3, 5 or a 1, b3, 5.<br />
<br />
But what if the last page is supposed to be in Landscape? That would
make the page four strings wide and--lo and behold--look what we now see
if we go into Landscape view: D, F#, A, C our D7. We were missing the
root because it takes four notes to properly render a dominant 7th and
we were looking at just the last three! Now it's as if that fiddler
named Throckmorton winks at me and adds, "But my friends call me Buddy." <br />
<br />
I'm sure the purists will take me to task for this, just as I'm sure Throckmorton's mother thinks it's a perfectly lovely name. But for me the world makes sense again.Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-51432084127356772752012-08-29T08:09:00.000-07:002012-09-24T12:42:21.068-07:00Chords--Part 2: The Color Chords <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a><br />
<br />
OK, get out the wine, light some aroma therapy candles, and practice your very best FM radio DJ voice, because we are going to cover some of the cooler, laid-back chords.<br />
<br />
Specifically, we will cover the Suspended 2, Suspended 4, 6th, and the Major 7th (not to be confused with the Dominant 7th--the one you are probably used to).<br />
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<h3>
Suspended (sus) Chords</h3>
Here are the patterns:<br />
<b>Sus2:</b> 1, 2, 5<br />
<b>Sus4:</b> 1, 4, 5<br />
<br />
Pretty easy to remember in context of the major chord 1, 3, 5. Just replace the middle 3 note with a 2 note or 4 note.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Sus4</h4>
Let's start with the sus4 because it's the one you probably hear more often. Let's say you're playing a ballad in G and there is a measure or two between verses or between the chorus and verse where you just hang out on the G. Instead of just rolling on the G chord with open strings, try starting with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings open, but then play the 2nd string on the first fret for a beat or two (continue playing the 1st and 3rd strings open), then come off. That is a Gsus4 you're throwing in there when you fret the second string on the first fret. Experiment with how long to hold it before coming off. Like with most of the color chords, less is probably better. To me it has the effect of watching a paper airplane gliding to a landing but then at the last second it wafts up one last time for just a second before it touches down. <br />
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You can play a sus4 on any of the bar chords by starting on the straight bar chord, then slide up one fret to the 4 note on the middle string (mute the other two) and then slide back down to the 3 note in the straight bar position to come out of the sus4. Once again, decide how long to hold the 4 note based on the effect you want.<br />
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<h4>
Sus2</h4>
To me the sus2 has a very similar effect as the sus4, and I use it much the same was as a sus4. A Gsus2 is easily played by playing the 3rd string open then hammering the 3rd string on the 2nd fret then playing the one string. Here is a roll pattern that Jerry Douglas uses in the key of C. It is built on the Csus2 chord (because of the open 1st string which is a D), which provides its distinctive sound. [1]<br />
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</h3>
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</h3>
<h3>
6th</h3>
The Major 6th is a jazzy little chord with the pattern: 1, 3, 5, 6<br />
<br />
<br />
An easy way to play a G6 is just play the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings open and then hammer on the 2nd fret of the 1st string. That gives you a G, B, D, E.<br />
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If you've ever heard Panhandle Rag and wondered where it gets its jazzy
sound, it uses D6 a lot by barring on the 7th fret but leaving the 2nd
string (B) open. (D, F#, A, B)<br />
<br />
Here is another Jerry Douglas roll exercise that is built around a D6 chord. The open 2nd string is a B. [1]<br />
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Note: You can also play a Minor 6 with the pattern 1, b3, 5, 6. <br />
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<h4>
Money Notes</h4>
The 6th chord is the first chord we've talked about that has more than three notes, and so this is a good opportunity to talk about an important principle of playing chords with a Dobro, Namely:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>You don't have to play every note in the chord!</b></div>
<br />
Sometimes the combination of key, chord, and melody just make it darn near impossible to get every note in. In these cases, you want to let the Dobro stress the "money note," that is, the one that really establishes the chord you are playing. To find the money note, just ask yourself "How is this chord different from just a plain old 1-3-5 major chord? In the chords we have studied so far the money notes are the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>Flatted 3rd in a minor</li>
<li>2 note in a sus2</li>
<li>4 note in a sus4</li>
<li>6 note in a 6th</li>
</ul>
Another important note in establishing a chord is the root note for that chord. So if you want to get the essence of D6, you could play a D and an A (1, 6).<br />
<br />
Playing a 1, 3, 6 or a 1, 5, 6 gets you even closer.<br />
<br />
What about all those other other notes you're not playing? Hey, you're not the only one in the band or in the jam! Whoever is playing rhythm will pick them up, or if they are in the melody line, the singer or whoever is playing the solo break will pick them up . <br />
<br />
<h3>
Major 7th</h3>
This isn't the 7th you're used to playing--that one is a dominant 7th, and we will talk about that one in the lesson on transition chords.<br />
<br />
This one is the grand daddy of cool chords and you will recognize it as soon as you play it. Here is the pattern:<br />
1, 3, 5, 7<br />
<br />
The reason it is called a <i>major </i>7th is that it adds a <i>major </i>interval (four half-steps) to the root chord.<br />
<br />
It can be especially effective at the end of a sad ballad. (I use it to end Over the Rainbow and Both Sides Now.) Here are two alternate endings using a G Major 7: <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjWa5WLV5OK_G0PmGlw12z9UM1FTqrdkUUjr4QyuyOvz36LcQsCwC89JMSv6wEzU_jJTN-YandCwrDpuU1M7cR5ufEeupjzyX5SUQvIKnoJqZ6BeNaYNrktBpBijTLcLnBAgbMOnWsJXL/s1600/gmaj7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjWa5WLV5OK_G0PmGlw12z9UM1FTqrdkUUjr4QyuyOvz36LcQsCwC89JMSv6wEzU_jJTN-YandCwrDpuU1M7cR5ufEeupjzyX5SUQvIKnoJqZ6BeNaYNrktBpBijTLcLnBAgbMOnWsJXL/s1600/gmaj7.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
Conclusion</h3>
<br />
These are not what you would call traditional blue grass chords, but when you play them on a Dobro, especially if you pick the strings a little up the neck, say right between the sound holes, where you get those rich even-order harmonics like the notes are coming from a Les Paul through a vacuum tube amp--you will add some real mood to the right songs.<br />
<br />
Now, let me go to the fridge and pour another glass of my cardboard-eaux (wine-in-a-box) and play like Josh wearing an ascot.<br />
<br />
[1] <a href="http://www.homespuntapes.com/CatalogueRetrieve.aspx?ProductID=1015566&A=SearchResult&SearchID=2507194&ObjectID=1015566&ObjectType=27">http://www.homespuntapes.com/CatalogueRetrieve.aspx?ProductID=1015566&A=SearchResult&SearchID=2507194&ObjectID=1015566&ObjectType=27</a>Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-87954108937392505872012-08-18T06:24:00.000-07:002012-09-24T12:40:17.934-07:00<h3>
Chords-Part 1: Major and Minors</h3>
<br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a><br />
<br />
<br />
A chord is a group of notes (usually three or four) that have a complementary relationship when played together--that is, they go together in a pleasant or emotive way.<br />
<br />
On the one hand, you can think of them as melodic probabilities. For example if you tell me the chord for a particular part of a bluegrass song is A minor, I'd be willing to bet that the melody at that part starts or ends on an A, C, or E.<br />
<br />
Chords also put melodic notes into a context or mood. For example, the note B can be found in the chord of G major, and it is also in the chord of E minor. If you sang a song that was just the note of B repeated over and over (hey, don't laugh, the group America got away with just about that in the song Horse with No Name), and I backed you up by starting on a G major chord and then shifted to an E minor, the mood of your simple song would suddenly shift.<br />
<br />
Go to any book store and look at a chord book and you could easily feel overwhelmed by the number of chords there are. But we are going to learn the patterns for just nine chords, and these will supply you with darn near every chord you could possibly want to use in bluegrass.<br />
<br />
We'll cover them in three categories:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Building block chords</b>: Major and minor</li>
<li><b>Color chords</b>: Suspended 2, suspended 4, 6th, and major 7th</li>
<li><b>Transition chords</b>: Dominant 7th, dominant 9th, and diminished</li>
</ul>
In this post, I talk about major and minor chords; I will cover the others in my next posts.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Intervals</h3>
Chord theory relies on the concept of an <i>interval</i>. An interval is the distance between two notes, and we measure intervals in half steps (frets). A <i>major interval</i> is four half steps and a <i>minor interval</i> is three half steps. OK, let's take that and go build some chords.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Major Chords</h3>
Rule: To build a major chord, start with a major interval and add a minor interval.<br />
<br />
For example, let's look at the G major chord--the open tuning standard for the Dobro.<br />
G, B, D<br />
<br />
Lay your bar on the fourth fret of the G string and what do you get? B! Lay your bar on the third fret of the B string and what do you get? D! So there are four half steps between the G and B, and there are three half steps between B and D. A major interval and a minor interval. All major chords are built using that pattern.<br />
<br />
Here's the pattern for a major chord in the <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/nashville-number-system.html" target="_blank">Nashville numbering system</a>: 1, 3, 5, where 1 is the root note of the chord. So to make a G major chord, start playing the scale in the key of G--the 1, 3, and 5 notes of that scale make up the G major. In this case, G, B, D. <br />
<br />
Try it for a C major chord. Start at C and play the scale in C. What are the 1, 3, and 5 notes? C, E, G. That's a C major.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Minor Chords</h3>
Rule: To build a minor chord, start with a minor interval and add a major interval.<br />
<br />
The pattern for minor chords are 1, b3, 5. In other words, a minor chord looks like its major chord form, but the middle note is flatted a half step. That makes three half steps between the first and second note, and four half steps between the second and third notes.<br />
<br />
For example, an A major chord is A, C#, E. The A minor is A, C, E. Same as the major but the middle note is dropped a half step--i.e., we take the C# down a half step to C..<br />
<br />
Why do I call these two chord types the building blocks? Well, for one thing, there's hardly any song you can't play if you know the major and minor chords. We'll see how the others can make some cool transitions or add some emotive color to your playing, but really, the majors and minors do all the heavy lifting in bluegrass. <br />
<br />
And the scale is made up almost exclusively of the individual patterns created by these chords--which I'll talk about next.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Chords in the Scale </h3>
Ivan Rosenberg took me through the following exercise.<br />
<br />
Start at the beginning of the scale and start making three-note chords by doing the following:<br />
<ol>
<li>Play a note.</li>
<li>Skip a note.</li>
<li>Play a note.</li>
<li>Skip a note. </li>
<li>Play a note. </li>
</ol>
Every time you do this, go up a note and continue until you have started a chord with every note in the scale. Here's what you get:<br />
1, 3, 5<br />
2, 4, 6<br />
3, 5, 7<br />
4, 6, 1<br />
5, 7, 2<br />
6, 1, 3<br />
7, 2, 4<br />
<br />
If you were in the key of G, this is what you would be playing (work them out on your fret board and notice the intervals):<br />
<br />
1, 3, 5 (G,B,D: a major interval and a minor interval--<b>G major</b>)<br />
2, 4, 6 (A,C,E: a minor interval and a major interval--<b>A minor</b>)<br />
3, 5, 7 (B, D, F#: a minor interval and a major interval<b>--B minor</b>)<br />
4, 6, 1 (C,E,G: a major interval and a minor interval--<b>C major</b>)<br />
5, 7, 2 (D, F#, A: a major interval and a minor interval--<b>D major</b>)<br />
6, 1, 3 (E, G, B: a minor interval and a major interval<b>--E minor)</b><br />
7, 2, 4 (<i>can we just not talk about this one until later?</i>)<br />
<br />
So the scale contains three major chords, the I, IV, and V. How many times in bluegrass do you hear people ask "What's the chord progression?" and the answer is "Oh, it's just a I, IV, V."<br />
<br />
Then you have the three minors: ii, iii, and vi. Notice that these are the relative minors of the three majors. G major/E minor, C major/A minor, and D major/B minor. Is that cool or what?<br />
<br />
My first Dobro instructor, Mark Van Allen, made the same point but in a slightly different way.<br />
<br />
He played the scale of G all up and down the top three strings from open to the 12th fret. He then asked me to imagine that we placed an adhesive dot on every spot on the fret board we had played a note (including open strings as dots on the nut).<br />
<br />
It made the following patterns:<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
Since the Dobro is tuned to a major chord, you can see our three major chords of G, C, and D are straight bars. The three minors make a chevron like pattern, because the middle note of the major is flatted a half step. (Don't worry just yet about that hockey stick shaped guy I'm not talking about. I promise I will get to him later.)<br />
<br />
By the way, I'll talk in another post about how to actually play minor chords, since you probably don't have a chevron shaped bar handy.<br />
<br />
But there is more here than just a way to play chords. Think of each of these patterns as a roadmap for its particular section of the fret board. Learn their names, their notes' real names, and their notes' Nashville numbers. Then if you are on a note and someone asks, "What note is that?" you can just visualize what chord "map" it is in and instantly name it. And going the other way, if I'm reading some sheet music and the note is F#, I know that shows up in my B minor and my D major map and that's how I find it.<br />
<br />
In my next post, I'll talk about the color chords (you might want to have candles and wine handy for that one).Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-83348290205363676952012-08-15T11:47:00.000-07:002012-08-15T11:50:07.549-07:00Nashville Number System <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a>
<br />
<br />
As we move forward talking about music theory, it is important that we can talk in terms of patterns rather than absolutes. The Nashville number system gives us a way to talk about notes, chord patterns, and chord progressions in a way that lets us transfer what we know about one chord or one key to other chords or keys. It is a <i>lingua franca</i> that not only let's us talk about music in terms of transferable patterns, it lets Dobro players communicate with those pesky mandolin and fiddle players without losing our minds.<br />
<br />
Ever hear this conversation at a jam between a mandolin player playing in A and a Dobro player playing in G while capoed on the 2nd fret:<br />
<br />
<b>Mando</b>: What chord does it go to when the verse goes "and my baby took my dog?"<br />
<b>Dobro</b>: It goes to a D.<br />
<b>Mando</b>: My D or your D?<br />
<br />
Try this conversation instead:<br />
<b>Mando</b>: What chord does it go to when the verse goes "and my baby took my dog?"<br />
<b>Dobro</b>: It goes to a "five" chord. <br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Essentially, the Nashville number system talks about notes (and the chords that use those notes as roots) in terms of numbers.<br />
<br />
So instead of thinking of the scale as do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do, and instead of naming those steps differently depending on what key you are in, (as in Key of G: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G; or Key of C: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C) we just call them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.<br />
<br />
So Mary Had a Little Lamb goes 3,2,1,2,3,3,3. Doesn't make any difference what key it's in, that's the pattern.<br />
<br />
So in this blog, here are the conventions I will use.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Arabic numbers refer to the note's sequence in the major scale. 1 is the root, the note that the key is in. </li>
<li>If I put a flat symbol in front of the note, that means it is flatted (played a half step lower than normal). So I might say something like "The money note in a dominant 7th chord is the b7 [pronounced <i>flatted 7</i>]." If you were playing in G, that would be an F natural. If you were playing in C that would mean Bb [pronounced <i>B flat</i>). </li>
<li>The same for a sharp symbol in front of a number, it means it is sharped (played a half step higher.) I think we put the <i>#</i> and <i>b</i> in front of the number to avoid confusion like thinking 7b meant an F flat in G (which would be an E--yikes, see, that's why we put them in front!)</li>
<li>Capital Roman numerals refer to major chords that use that note as the root. So if I notate a chord as IV, anyone playing in G would know that to mean the chord of C major (C being the fourth note in the key of G). If you were playing in A, IV would be D major.</li>
<li>Lower case Roman numerals refer to minor chords that use that note as the root. So ii would mean a minor chord based on the second note of the scale. In the key of G, that would be A minor. In the key of A, that would be B minor.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Although the Nashville number system makes life a lot easier, you need to aware that we use numbers a LOT to mean other things, like string numbers and fret numbers. Try not to mix them up. Sometimes we mistakenly bar on the fourth fret when told to play a four chord. Or we say things like "I play the five [note] by picking the second [string] on the third [fret]."<br />
<br />
Now that we have a language to talk in, we'll start talking about how chords are built and how they combine into chord progressions.Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-76304620699270218112012-08-12T04:51:00.000-07:002012-08-12T13:23:45.218-07:00Scales - Part 2<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a>
<br />
<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/scales-part-1.html" target="_blank">Scales - Part 1</a> I introduced the chromatic scale and the pattern for the major scales. I also showed how this pattern creates the scales of C, G, D, and A. These are the most common keys in Bluegrass.<br />
<br />
In this section, we look at two other useful scales, the minor scale and the blues scale. Armed with these, there isn't a bluegrass song you should not be equipped to tackle.<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Minor Scales</h3>
First, a formal definition and then an easier way to get there.<br />
<br />
Remember that the pattern for a major scale is 2 wholes and a half, 3 holes and a half. One way to build a minor scale is to follow a different pattern, one that goes like this:<br />
1 whole, 1 half, 2 wholes, 1 half, 2 wholes. If we followed such a pattern starting on E, we would get a scale that looked like this.<br />
<br />
<br />
E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E<br />
<br />
Take a moment and play that scale. It's kind of sad and pensive. And that's what minor keys are great for. There aren't a lot of happy toe-tappers in the minors.<br />
<br />
But you might be feeling a little put off right now. For one thing, that's a lot harder pattern to remember than 2 wholes and a half, 3 wholes and a half. And what's with suddenly being in a key of E Minor, what happened to C, G, D, A?<br />
<br />
Good points, and there is an easier way to remember how to build a minor scale, one that lets us stay in our familiar scales of C, G, D, and A.<br />
<br />
Do you notice anything familiar about the notes in the scale of E Minor? Here's a hint, there is only one sharp--F#. This scale has exactly the same notes that are in the key of G, except it starts and ends on E. E is the 6th note in the key of G Major and that sets up a very useful pattern:<br />
<br />
<i><b>For every major scale, there is a relative minor scale that starts on the 6th note and uses all of the same notes.</b></i> So:<br />
<ul>
<li>If you know the scale in the key of <b>G Major</b>, you also know the scale in the key of <b>E Minor</b>.</li>
<li>If you know the scale in the key of <b>C Major</b>, you also know the scale in the key of <b>A Minor.</b></li>
<li>If you know the scale in the key of <b>D Major</b>, you also know the scale in the key of <b>B Minor</b>.</li>
<li>If you know the scale in the key of <b>A Major</b>, you also know the scale in the key of <b>F# Minor</b>.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Here are our four major keys and their relative minors: <br />
<b>C Major</b><br />
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C<br />
<b>A Minor</b><br />
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A<br />
<br />
<b>G Major</b><br />
G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G<br />
<b>E Minor</b><br />
E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E<br />
<br />
<b>D Major</b><br />
D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D<br />
<b>B Minor</b><br />
B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A, B<br />
<br />
<b>A Major</b><br />
A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A <br />
<b>F# Minor</b><br />
F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E, F#<br />
<br />
I'll talk more about musical notation and key signatures in a later post, but for now I will just point out that a major scale has the same key signature as its relative minor. And that makes sense, they share the same notes (including who is sharp and who is natural).<br />
<br />
Even if you do not play songs in these keys, knowing their scales will help you find runs in the chords of E minor, A minor, B minor, and F# minor--and these chords occur a lot in the regular keys of C, G, D, and A.<br />
<br />
Every time I practice a scale in a major key, I practice its relative minor right afterwards. Why not? The notes are free! <br />
<br />
<h3>
The Blues Scales</h3>
Slide guitar is a natural for playing the blues. One thing that gives the blues its distinctive sound is that it uses its own scale pattern. Here is the blues scale in the key of G (I've tabbed it on the reference page for <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/g-scales.html" target="_blank">G scales</a>):<br />
<br />
G, Bb, C, C#, D, F, G <br />
<br />
This is technically referred to as the <i>blues hexatonic scale</i> (because is has six tones--versus the major scale which has seven).<br />
I find it easier to build this scale by thinking of how it modifies the major scale.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>First, it flattens the 3rd and 7th notes of the major scale. B went to B flat and F sharp went to just plain F. Those two notes are the "money" notes of the blues scales. Be sure to hit those notes if you want to sound "bluesy."</li>
<li>Skip the 2nd note of the major scale.</li>
<li>Add an extra half step between the 4th and 5th note of the major scale. (BTW, if you leave this out, you get what is called the blues <i>pentatonic </i>scale.) </li>
</ul>
The blues hexatonic scale is easily played in G, and you should make it part of your standard practice repertoire. I include the blues scale for all the keys I practice, but the G is the one that comes up the most in jams.Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-8821854078452950772012-08-07T13:16:00.000-07:002012-08-18T06:25:52.589-07:00Scales- Part 1<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a><br />
<br />
The good news about Bluegrass and Dobro is that they do not require an extensive amount of musical theory to understand and appreciate them. But we all know that some notes go together better than others, and it is a basic understanding of the underlying music theory that will let you predict and find these combinations.<br />
<br />
The most basic of these principles is understanding scales.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Types of Scales</h3>
There are all kinds of scales and modes, but in Bluegrass, we rely almost exclusively on four:<br />
<ul>
<li>Chromatic scale</li>
<li>Major scale</li>
<li>Minor scale</li>
<li>Blues scale</li>
</ul>
<br />
These scales apply to all types of music and all instruments, but I will discuss them in the special context of the Dobro.<br />
<br />
This section will cover the chromatic scale and the major scales. Part 2 will cover the minor scales and the blues scale.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Chromatic Scale</h3>
The chromatic scale is the complete inventory of all the notes you have at your disposal. It is your toolbox from which all other scales and chords are made; therefore, you need to know it so you know what you have to make music with.<br />
<br />
Notice, I said "it." There is only one--hooray! That makes sense, since it contains all the notes there are, how could there be more than one?<br />
<br />
In Bluegrass, as in all Western music, notes are arranged in what we call half steps. Physically, every fret on a guitar, mandolin, or banjo is a half step. So to play the chromatic scale, just start on an open string and start going up the fret board one fret at a time. <br />
<br />
Let's look at the chromatic scale starting on G. <br />
<br />
If you pluck the 3rd string on the Dobro, here is the chromatic scale.<br />
<br />
<u><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Fret</span></b></u><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></b><u><b><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Note</span></b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">0 G</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">1 G#</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">2 A</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">3 A#</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">4 B</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">5 C</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">6 C#</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">7 D</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">8 D#</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">9 E</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">10 F</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">11 F#</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">12 G</span><br />
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Notice that notes are named with the letters A through G. The # symbol means "half step above." One interesting thing is that most letters have a half step between them and the next higher letter with the exception of B and E. B goes directly to C and E goes directly to F. Don't ask me why because I don't know--most importantly, I don't need to know in order to make good musical decisions.<br />
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<h3>
Major Scale</h3>
If you ever heard someone sing the scale, as in "do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do," they were singing the major scale. We talk about a major scale as being in some <i>key</i>, and the key is the name of the note we start on (often called the root). Regardless of where they start, all major scales have the same pattern:<br />
Two wholes and a half, three wholes and a half.<br />
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In other words, a major scale starts on a note, then goes up a whole step (two half-steps) then another whole step, then a half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, and lastly, a half step.<br />
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Here is the scale of G Major, compare the steps with the chromatic scale above:<br />
G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G.<br />
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So we start on G and go two half steps (G# and A) and that leaves us on A. Take another two half steps (A# and B) and that lands us on B. Now take a single half step and that takes us to C. (Remember this is one of the two exceptions and there is just a half step between B and C.) The next three whole steps land us on D, E, and F# respectively. Then the last half step is from F# to G. If you started on the 3rd string open, you should have ended on the 12th fret.<br />
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I have included a set of <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/g-scales.html" target="_blank">scale exercises in G</a> that shows the various ways you can achieve this basic sequence for G.<br />
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The same pattern (two wholes and a half, three wholes and a half) can be applied to any note in the chromatic scale as a starting point. That could be a lot of scales, but most bluegrass songs will be in the key of G, C, D, or A.<br />
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Here are those scales; look at the chromatic scale above to verify that they all follow the same pattern:<br />
C Major: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C<br />
G Major: G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G<br />
D Major: D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D<br />
A Major: A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A<br />
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Notice that in this order of the keys, each one adds a sharp, while keeping all the previous sharps. C--no sharps; G--one sharp: F#; D--two sharps: the F# and now a C#; A--three sharps: the F# and C# and now a G#. Notice that the extra sharp that gets added is the 7th note in the scale, which is always a half step below the 8th note. (Remember the simple phrase <i><b>C</b>ountry <b>G</b>entlemen <b>D</b>on't <b>A</b>rgue</i> to recall this order of the keys.)<br />
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It is useful to know the notes in each of these major scales for two reasons:<br />
<ul>
<li>Most of the melody notes in a bluegrass song will be based on the notes of the scale. Knowing the notes of the scale in the key you are playing will help you predict where a song is going and will help you define a break (solo) for when someone yells "Dobro" in the jam.</li>
<li>The notes of a scale combine in a special way that defines the most used and useful chords in that key (more on that when we talk about chords).</li>
</ul>
In Part 2 I will talk about the minor scales and the blues scale. <br />
<ul>
</ul>
Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-76389451239284365352012-08-04T05:27:00.001-07:002012-08-07T06:55:38.269-07:00Basic Template for a Practice Session--Part 2<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a>
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In <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/basic-template-for-practice-session.html" target="_blank">Basic Template for a Practice Session--Part 1</a>, I talk about starting the first half of a practice session with fundamentals. In the second half of the session, I learn new songs. To get the most out of this half of the session you need to keep in mind that there are two goals:<br />
<ul>
<li>Learn some new songs (duh!)</li>
<li>Get better at something!</li>
</ul>
The focus of the <i>something </i>you want to get better at can change. It might be a particular technique, the ability to read sheet music, or to learn a specific artist's style, etc. Just keep in mind that this part of your practice should develop more than just adding a new song to your repertoire--<i>it needs to add a skill that you can notice in other aspects of your playing.</i><br />
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<h3>
Sources of Songs</h3>
There are several ways you can learn a new song:<br />
<ul>
<li>Tab and audio</li>
<li>Tab alone </li>
<li>Sheet music and audio</li>
<li>Sheet music alone </li>
<li>By ear with audio</li>
<li>By ear from memory</li>
</ul>
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<h4>
Tab and Audio</h4>
Of all of these options, I think the most efficient and productive from a learning perspective is tab and audio, i.e., CD, DVD, or whatever medium you use to hear the song. Before I hunkered down and decided to develop better practice routines, I would learn a lot of songs by ear but stop at a point where I was "close enough" to play a reasonable version of it. Well the problem was I was learning more songs but I wasn't getting any better. So now I learn new songs from one of my CD instructional programs and learn to play it as written, note-for-note and finger-for-finger.<br />
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Essentially, the audio demonstrates what the instructor is playing and the tab shows how he is playing it. But it is more complicated than that. I go back and forth between the two with each giving me a better understanding of the other. I think I heard what he was playing until I see the timing in the tab and I say, "He's not playing a quarter note there." Then I go back to the audio and sure enough, now I can hear that quarter note. Or I read the tab and can't make sense out of a particular run of notes until I go to the audio and hear it. This iteration back and forth reminds me of an adage we have in technical writing "You need the machine to understand the manual as much as you need the manual to understand the machine."<br />
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The best instructional CDs have the song at two speeds: slow and not so slow.<br />
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If you learn songs this way, you not only get a new song, you pick up new fingering techniques, new licks, insight into someone's style, and you get more fluent at reading tab.<br />
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<h4>
Tab Alone</h4>
I find it very hard to learn a song by tab alone, I only mention it
in case someone says "Hey what about learning by tab alone?!?" Maybe as I get more fluent at reading tab, that will change. But I can learn rolls by reading the tab without an accompanying CD.<br />
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<h4>
Sheet Music and Audio</h4>
I enjoy arranging songs for Dobro, so I often learn the melody line from sheet music and then convert that to a Dobro arrangement. For example, I use the <a href="http://www.flatpik.com/instructional-materials/four-hour-bluegrass-work-out-volume-1" target="_blank">Steve Kaufman Four Hour Bluegrass Workout</a> series to learn a new fiddle tune. I start by learning it note by note the way Steve has it in the music. Then I rearrange it to accommodate the Dobro. I find that this keeps my arrangements more honest to the melody line and less likely to be just playing rolls along a straight bar while I follow the chord progression.<br />
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By the way, I find I'm getting much better at this since I started practicing scales, especially folded scales. My note-to-note dexterity has improved.<br />
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<h4>
Sheet Music Alone</h4>
Not as hard as it sounds. I have a somewhat dyslexic ear and if I learn a song's melody by ear, I might have all the notes, but rarely in the right order. I like to pick up a song book and just play the melody to make sure I'm getting it right.<br />
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<h4>
By Ear with Audio</h4>
Sometimes you have a recent CD with a cool song and no one has transcribed it to tab yet. I think learning it off the CD develops your ability to hear notes and discern chord progressions.<br />
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<h4>
By Ear from Memory</h4>
I'm not saying don't do it, just don't expect it to make you much better.<br />
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<h3>
Disassemble, Learn, Reassemble</h3>
Learning a song is not as simple as just sitting down and going through it in a linear way from beginning to end. Music is essentially a language and you should approach learning it the way you learn a language.<br />
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First of all, language is not a string of single syllables pronounced in sequence. It is a collection of words and phases, each of which we have come to treat as units in their own right. For example let's consider the following song lyric:<br />
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some-where-o-ver-the-rain-bow-skies-are-blue<br />
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Someone who was not a native speaker of English would not try to learn that as a sequence of syllables as it is written above. He would learn combinations of syllables we call words, like "somewhere," "over," and "rainbow." He would practice these separately until the individual syllables flowed smoothly as words. Then he would use those words as units to build and practice the larger phrase "Somewhere over the rainbow." Then he would learn and practice "skies are blue." Then he would try the whole thing, "Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue."<br />
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Learning a new Dobro song is just the same. Don't see the song as a long string of notes, break it down into its musical "words" and "phrases." For example, don't just learn to play the notes G,A,A#,B,D,E,D,G. Learn this as a <i>word </i>(G-run) and practice it until it becomes a smooth unit.<br />
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Then start putting these words together into phrases and then put the phrases together into the musical parts. <br />
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And don't get discouraged if the going is slow. It takes me a week or more to learn the A part of a song and then another week or so to get the B part. Then I start working on speed (and that takes months).Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-2771141168235245902012-07-24T10:48:00.001-07:002012-08-06T06:37:16.610-07:00Basic Template for a Practice Session--Part 1<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a>
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The main things that differentiate practicing from just playing is that practice has learning objectives and a structure or strategy for achieving those objectives.
My practice sessions are an hour long, after that my concentration or rear end gives out. I divide the session into two 30 minute halves. In the first half I focus on fundamentals and I spend the second half learning a new song.<br />
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In this post, I discuss how to practice the fundamentals. <br />
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<h3>
Scales</h3>
In the first 30 minutes of my practice I play scales and do dexterity drills (mostly rolls right now). I used to think "What could possibly be more boring than playing scales?" but I have come to love this part of my practice. For one thing, scales help your playing in so many ways: <br />
<ul>
<li>Mechanics for attacking and plucking the strings</li>
<li>Finger dexterity and strength</li>
<li>Dynamics (managing loudness and softness)</li>
<li>Tonality (being on pitch)</li>
<li>Timing</li>
<li>Familiarity with the fretboard</li>
</ul>
Practice scales and rolls while playing to a metronome. Set it somewhere between 80 and 120 beats per minute depending on how cleanly you play at the selected speed. Remember that speed will come, but you must practice being precise more than anything.<br />
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I initially play the scale in quarter notes, that is, I play one note for every beat of the metronome. While I am doing that I concentrate on the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>Posture. Am I comfortable? Since I have started paying attention to my posture, I have made several adjustments that have improved the comfort level and therefore my stamina.</li>
<li>Picking hand position. Are my fingers curled around the strings so that I can pluck the strings without a lot of motion? Is my hand loose and moving easily as I play up and down the scale?</li>
<li>Attack. Are my fingers plucking the strings the way an archer plucks a bow string? Am I snapping the string and getting a clean crisp twang from each pluck?</li>
<li>Noise. Am I minimizing extraneous string noise? I will write more about that later.</li>
<li>Tonality. Are my notes on pitch? </li>
</ul>
As I practice a particular scale, I alternate successive notes between my thumb and my index finger. Then I practice it again using my thumb and middle finger.<br />
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Then I play the scale in eighth notes, that is, I get two notes in for every beat of the metronome. Again, I alternate between thumb-index and thumb-middle. If my playing sounds too rough, I either slow down the metronome or go back to practicing with quarter notes. I know that in Bluegrass fast is good, but people will remember how clean your playing was more than how fast it was.<br />
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I do all of the above for different versions of the scale in the key I am practicing. Here is my drill for the scale in the key of G (see <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/g-scales.html" target="_blank">G Scales</a> for the tab and musical staff for each of these).<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Open G scale starting on the 6th string</b>. This scale starts at the open 6th string and goes all the way up through two octaves to the 1st string and then back to the 6th again. Work on dynamics and expression--see how pretty you can make this "song." Also notice the patterns on the fretboard. Look for the two "chevrons" and the run on the 4th string. These are bread and butter patterns you will come back to again and again in G.</li>
<li><b>G scale starting on the 4th string</b>. Look for the box pattern. This is another good set of notes to feed your G licks in a very useful part of the fretboard.</li>
<li><b>G scale starting on the 5th string</b>. Makes a snake pattern.</li>
<li><b>G scale entirely on the 3rd string</b>. Good reinforcement for understanding how scales are built (2 wholes and a half, 3 wholes and a half--I will write more about that later). Practice this scale by never lifting the bar off the string. Let each note ring right up to the moment for the next note and then slide quickly and pluck the next note right at the end of the slide. If you do this right, you will never hear a slide--just each note of the scale ringing until the next note is plucked. </li>
<li><b>Folded scales</b>. These are any of the patterns above where you go
forward in the scale, back up a little, go forward from there, back up a
little etc. I've included one pattern for this. </li>
<li><b>E minor scale.</b> Technically this is not a G scale (it is the relative minor of G) but it uses the same notes. Just start your G scale on E instead of G.</li>
<li><b>G blues scale.</b> Different pattern from the regular scale. It flats the 3rd note and the 7th. </li>
</ul>
Depending on where you are in your journey, you can include other scales in other keys in your fundamentals session. Right now I regularly practice scales in G, C, D, and A during my 30 minute fundamentals.I will include tabs and staff for important patterns in each of those keys.<br />
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<h3>
Rolls</h3>
In a later post, I will provide some useful roll exercises. I use published rolls from various instruction books I have. I try to "read" the tab as I am playing the exercises and that has improved my comfort level with reading tab in general. Try to do a mix of forward rolls, back rolls, and reverse rolls.<br />
<br />Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-2776193068188668472012-07-24T10:46:00.000-07:002012-07-25T06:05:56.039-07:00G Scales<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html">Welcome</a> | <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Contents</a>
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<i>Note: Mike Witcher has a great poster of the scale positions in G at <a href="http://mikewitcher.com/store/fretboard-poster-g-tuning/%20" target="_blank">http://mikewitcher.com/store/fretboard-poster-g-tuning/ </a></i><br />
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The following G scales are great practice exercises.<br />
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Open G scale starting on the 6th string:<br />
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G scale starting on the 4th string:<br />
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G scale starting on the 5th string:<br />
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G scale played entirely on the 3rd string:<br />
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Folded G scale:<br />
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G blues scale:<br />
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E minor. Technically not a G scale, but it uses the same notes and key signature:<br />
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<br />Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-14279686180744995262012-07-15T02:51:00.001-07:002012-08-08T09:39:47.294-07:00WelcomeGo to <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html">Table of Contents</a><br />
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I am writing this blog to help students of Dobroâ„¢ become better <i>students</i>. It does not teach you how to play the Dobro; you should get that from instructors or from their books and CDs. Use this blog as a companion piece to your other instruction.<br />
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The posts cover two main areas of discussion:<br />
<ul>
<li>How to practice effectively</li>
<li>How to apply music theory to the Dobro</li>
</ul>
The first topic, how to practice effectively, comes from my own introspection and experimentation when I have stagnated in my journey toward learning this instrument. I realized that there is a difference between <i>playing </i>an hour a day and <i>practicing </i>an hour a day. Both are fun, but the first one doesn't improve your skills or increase your knowledge nearly as quickly as the second one does.<br />
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The second topic, music theory, lays a road map of the musical landscape that will let you do the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>Figure out where you are</li>
<li>Relate where you are to other landmarks in the landscape</li>
<li>Make better decisions about where to go next</li>
</ul>
I am writing this initially as a blog, but I plan some day to compile it into a more cohesive document. The material is copyrighted but I am publishing it to share it. Feel free to "reshare" it but please give me appropriate attribution if you do (and please provide links back to the blog or specific post). <br />
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And of course, feel free to add comments and enrich the conversation.<br />
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As I add posts organically, I am maintaining a <a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/contents.html" target="_blank">contents</a> post that organizes the posts logically by topic.<br />
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<h4>
Credits</h4>
I am deeply indebted to the following people who have instructed me and made my journey richer and more enjoyable than if I had been on my own:<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/davidellisdobro" target="_blank">David Ellis</a><br />
<a href="http://www.markvanallen.com/" target="_blank">Mark van Allen</a><br />
<a href="http://mikewitcher.com/" target="_blank">Mike Witcher</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ivanrosenberg.com/" target="_blank">Ivan Rosenberg</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flatpik.com/" target="_blank">Steve Kaufman </a><br />
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Dobro is a registered trademark of the Gibson Guitar CorporationMichael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407453179414220170.post-37302752000117853072012-07-15T02:15:00.004-07:002013-03-04T08:24:06.065-08:00ContentsUse this entry to navigate blogs by topic.<br />
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<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html" target="_blank">Welcome (brief overview of blog)</a><br />
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<h3>
Practice </h3>
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/basic-template-for-practice-session.html" target="_blank">Basic Template for Practice Session--Part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/basic-template-for-practice-session.html" target="_blank">Basic Template for Practice Session--Part 2</a><br />
<h3>
Music Theory </h3>
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/scales-part-1.html" target="_blank">Scales--Part 1 (Chromatic and Major Scales)</a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/scales-part-2.html" target="_blank">Scales--Part 2 (Minor and Blues Scales) </a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/nashville-number-system.html" target="_blank">Nashville Number System </a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/chords-part-1-major-and-minors-chord-is.html" target="_blank">Chords- Part 1 (Major and Minor)</a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/08/chords-part-2-color-chords.html" target="_blank">Chords- Part 2 (The Color Chords) </a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/09/chords-part-3-transtion-chords.html" target="_blank">Chords- Part 3 (The Transition Chords) </a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/10/playing-in-minors.html" target="_blank">Playing in the Minors</a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-circle-of-5ths.html" target="_blank">The Circle of 5ths </a><br />
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2013/03/modes.html" target="_blank">Modes </a><br />
<h3>
Reference</h3>
<a href="http://dobrodojo.blogspot.com/2012/07/g-scales.html" target="_blank">G Scales</a>Michael Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06004741387594324547noreply@blogger.com1