Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The implementation of chords using particular tunings is a defining part of the literature on guitar chords, which is omitted in the abstract musical-theory of chords for all instruments. For example, in the guitar (like other stringed instruments but unlike the piano ), open-string notes are not fretted and so require less hand-motion.
the root note (e.g. C ♯) the chord quality (e.g. minor or lowercase m, or the symbols o or + for diminished and augmented chords, respectively; chord quality is usually omitted for major chords) whether the chord is a triad, seventh chord, or an extended chord (e.g. Δ 7) any altered notes (e.g. sharp five, or ♯ 5) any added tones (e.g. add2)
Much of the classical guitar repertoire is in E minor, as this is a very natural key for the instrument. In standard tuning (E A D G B E), four of the instrument's six open (unfretted) strings are part of the tonic chord. The key of E minor is also popular in heavy metal music, as its tonic is the lowest note on a standard-tuned guitar.
5 is the (perfect) fifth of the chord and is only written as a number when altered (e.g., F7 (♭ 5)). In guitar music, like rock, a "5" indicates a power chord, which consists of only the root and fifth, possibly with the root doubled an octave higher. 6 indicates a sixth chord. There are no rules if the 6 replaces the 5th or not.
Commonly used in both popular and classical music, barre chords are frequently used in combination with "open" chords, where the guitar's open (unfretted) strings construct the chord. Playing a chord with the barre technique slightly affects tone quality. A closed, or fretted, note sounds slightly different from an open, unfretted, string.
Chords that cannot be reduced to stacked thirds (e.g. chords of stacked fourths) may not be amenable to the concept of root, although in practice, in a lead sheet, the composer may specify that a quartal chord has a certain root (e.g., a fake book chart that indicates that a song uses an A sus4(add ♭ 7) chord, which would use the notes A, D ...
In the key of C major, the I major 7 chord is "C, E, G, B," the iii chord ("III–7" [11]) is E minor 7 ("E, G, B, D") and the vi minor 7 chord is A minor 7 ("A, C, E, G"). Both of the tonic substitute chords use notes from the tonic chord, which means that they usually support a melody originally designed for the tonic (I) chord.
These chords are all borrowed from the key of E minor. Similarly, in minor keys, chords from the parallel major may also be "borrowed". For example, in E minor, the diatonic chord built on the fourth scale degree is IVm, or A minor. However, in practice, many songs in E minor will use IV (A major), which is borrowed from the key of E major.