Theory #3 follow up question
Just would like to clarify the following relative to Exercise 1.5
When you ask us for the chords made from the C Major C, D, E, F G etc each of the chords made from the respective notes is based on the Major scale of that note.
So D F# A and therefore the Dm is D F A. My confusion had been that I looked at D in the C Major scale and said okay its D, F, A so therefore the minor triad wouldl be D E A. That is faulty?
So each of the triads for the respective chords is built using the Major chord of the note. Thus D F# A and minor therefore D F A and the B in the C scale would be based on the major chord of B D and F# therefore Bm would be B c# F#.
Now, how does playing in Second position impact all of this? If Im playing a C harp second position in G are all my chords then based on the G major scale with a flat 7th? Is the chord for the 7th scale degree (F natural) based on that F or F#? Maybe this is a stupid question.
So then as I look at the harp, only some of these chords can be played directly pending the hole placement. Dm Yes, Am no.
Im getting there David.
Gary K
Hello Gary. All good questions.
All of the chords based on the major scale are not major. The I, IV, and V are major (note the use of upper case Roman numerals). The ii, iii, and vi are minor (note the use of lower case to denote minor). The vii is diminished (notated at vii-dim). This is taught in Music Theory Study 3.
The chords commonly used for blues are the I, IV and V (all major). In the blues, we commonly add the 7th, as you've stated. For this 7th, we're looking for a minor 3rd interval from the 5th of the chord (a minor third is three half steps from one note to the next)... this sometimes just happens when stacking the notes (the V7 for example) and sometimes we have to modify it (IV7 and I7 for example).
If we're playing a C Harmonica in 2nd Position, this places you and the band in the key of G. The I7 would be G B D F (D to F is three half steps... a minor 3rd). IV7 is C E G Bb and V is D F# A C.
To summarize... use the chords as they're spelled when building them from the major scale and throw a note a minor third above the 5th to get that bluesy note we like to play. Also keep working through the music theory material and accompaniment playing... they both cover music theory, in a different way (it helps to have different approaches).