Root Note of the V Chord
Hi David,
I was going through the flash cards using AI .
The question I got asked was what is the root note of the V chord within a 12 bar blues .
My answer was D, it said it was wrong. below is the answer I got back.
That's incorrect. The root note of the V Chord within the 12 Bar Blues is actually A. You might have confused it with the root note of another chord. Remember, the V Chord is the fifth chord in the key, which corresponds to A in the key of G.
Is this correct.
Thanks
Tony
Thanks Rob, dead on.
Thank you for clarifying this for me. Below is the question that I was asked .
Next question: What is the root note of the V Chord within the 12 Bar Blues?
So, Tony. Looks as if the flashcard is not asking what the actual note is by pitch (e.g., A, Bb, G, E, etc.) but rather by position in the scale of the key of the song. So basically the root note of the V chord in 12-bar blues is the note that's five scale steps up from the root note of the I chord, i.e., five scale steps up from the tonic.
Using a typical scale in G for a blues tune, i.e., G-A-B (or Bb) -C-D-E-F-G, the root of the V chord is five scale steps up from the tonic G, i.e., D.
If the flashcard answer that A is the V chord in G, the flashcard is just plain wrong. It's the V chord if you're in the key of D, though.
David's music theory lessons in the Levels of Achievement system are a great way to learn music theory, especially if it isn't something you've been exposed to much before through playin other instruments.
"Next question: What is the root note of the V Chord within the 12 Bar Blues?" D is the answer. All my music notation (until you get into 1st and 3rd Positions) is based on thinking as if you're playing a C Harmonica in 2nd Position, Key of G.
Hi David,
Thank you for the clarification. Tony
Hi David,
Thank you for the clarification. Tony
Hey, David;
I'm watching the videos and working on Blues Creepin' Over Me. One thing that's confusing me is that the sheet music says at the top of the page that it's in the key of E, using an A harmonica in second position, and that's clearly what you're using in the video lessons as well, but it's notated in the key of G, with the I IV V being G-C-D, and when you explain the theory aspects of it in the video (e.g what is the fifth of the IV chord, in bar 6 of the sheet music) you explain it based on the key of G. Did I overlook a part where this gets clarified, or am I missing something?
Butting in again, as usual.
SSSmith: Regardless of the key of the song or position on the harmonica, for simplicity David does all of his transcriptions in the key of C.
This works because regardless of key of the harp, in Richter (standard diatonic) tuning, the pitch intervals of the various reeds are the same. So, e.g., if it looks like middle C in the notated transcription, when you blow on Hole 1 on a C harp you're playing C, but, e.g., when you blow on Hole 1 on an A harp, you're playing an A. And if you're playing in 2nd position on an A, that 2 draw, shown in the notation as a G (i.e., 2 draw on a C harp), will actually be an E.
So when you play one of David's transcriptions, you can play it in any key just by playing by the TAB rather than by the notation.
It can be confusing for starters, but along the way with David's Music Theory lessons it'll all become normal stuff.
Exactly, thanks Rob.
Cool, thanks, appreciate it! I had a feeling that's what it was, but I didn't want to get too deep into this and then find out I wasn't understanding it properly.
Tony:
Figuring that David will clarify, but music theory is just math.
E.g., if the key is A, that means that the I chord (one chord) is an A chord. Count up from there: A-B-C-D-E, etc. Four up is D, and five up is E. (There's no "zero" in music. A = I, B = II, C#=3, etc.) So in the key of A, the root note of the V (five) chord is E.
Key of G? Root of the V chord is D.
Key of C? Root of the V chord is G.
So on the flash cards you were looking at, when it asked what the root of the V chord was, what key was that particular blues in? If the flash card specified that you were in the key of G, your answer of D for the root of the V chord was correct. Regardless, if it's a V chord, the root of the chord is always five steps up from the root of the I chord, or basic key chord.
Looking forward to David's answer.