Natural, Enharmonic, Sharp and Flat notes.
Keys, Intervals, Triads and Four note chord structures. - Part Two. [Advanced Beginner Lesson]
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Beginner and Intermediate music theory can be like trying to learn a new language. Advanced music theory is like trying to write a screenplay in that new language. It can be truly overwhelming to learn music theory, even on the most basic of levels, but it is necessary to know these basics, so they can be used to understand formulas and applications in music. Such as, chord structures and progressions, scales and melody, keys and intervals, etc. All of these things help you become a better instrumentalist and musician. This article takes a look at some of the basics in understanding music theory.
Advanced Beginner Lesson
What is an "Interval" in music?
An interval is the distance between two musical notes.
For examples:
If you play your open sixth string - E, then place your finger on to fret one of that string - F, the interval between E and F is one-half step.
If you move that finger up one fret to the second fret - F#, the interval between E and F# is one whole step.
Move your finger to the third fret - G, the interval between E and G is one and a half steps.
If you place your finger on the twelfth fret of the sixth string - E (one octave away from the open string), the interval is six whole steps.
Do these intervals have names?
Yes, they do. This is where we begin to think in terms of chord structures.
Let's try the key of "C" to make things easier. The key of C major "C, D, E, F, G, A, and B" are the seven notes in that key. However, there are five other notes that are not in the key of C major, but exist as minor or "flatted" positions.
All twelve notes "C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, F# (Gb), G, Ab (G#), A, Bb, B" is called the chromatic scale. We will use the notes in the parenthesis (Gb and G#) for the naming of the intervals in the next section.
In the diagram below, you can see the names of these intervals as major, minor, perfect, diminished, augmented and dominant.
NOTE: This chart represents the first octave in a key. The second octave will have differently named intervals.
So, if we use this chart in the key of C major, it will look like this:
C to Db is a minor 2nd
C to D is a major 2nd
C to Eb is a minor 3rd
C to E is a major 3rd
C to F is a perfect 4th
C to Gb is a diminished 5th
C to G is a perfect 5th
C to G# is an augment 5th
C to A is a major 6th
C to Bb is a dominant 7th
C to B is a major 7th
You need to know the names of these interval positions to better understand why and how chord structures are named what they are.
Chord structures
In the diagram below, we have the list of chord structures for triads and four-note chords. The section marked in green are higher percentage chords, meaning they are the most common in music. The yellow sections are medium percentage chords that are used less frequently in music. The blue sections are low percentage chords or transition chords that are used mostly as context chords in a progression.
How to use this chart
Let's continue using the seven notes in the key of C major listed above, including the other five notes, so we can build some interesting chord examples.
Triads (Three note chords)
To make a C major (triad) we need the I, the III and the V, which are the C, E and G notes. You can use the chart in the previous article (Part one) to figure out which notes are used to build the chords for any key.
Four-note chord structures
Now, let's try a common four-note chord structure. We can build the "Cm7" chord by using the next section of the chart below. According to the chart, in order to build a Cm7 chord, we need the I, the iii, the V and the vii, which are the C, Eb, G and the Bb notes.
In order to build your chord vocabulary as a guitarist, it would be in your best interest to use and learn this chart, so you can figure out how to build these chords anywhere on your guitar. You will, of course, need to know the notes on your fretboard. Some of these chord structures are "barre" chords. Some have strange shapes that you need to memorize. Many of these chords are "movable", meaning, the shape of one chord can be moved up or down in any key as long as you know the location of the root note in the chord.
Study the above diagrams carefully. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below.