How many notes is a chord?

Gary Slabaugh · Post by **Gary Slabaugh** » 6 Sep 2002 8:02 am

In some places it says a chord (by definition) is 3 notes. In tab, and I suppose sheet music showing chords it is not uncommon to see a 2 note chord. How do those 2 notes get defined as say a Major as opposed to a Minor, 7th etc?

Also in tab it is common to see a measure of say 1, 2, 3 ,4 note elements and maybe the whole measure is a "C major", then sometimes it might show a chord change along the way. My question goes something like this; Let's say there is a passage of single or dual notes in a measure, how does one know what chord that passage is and when it changes to another? Let's say the first 3 notes in a single note passage spell out a "C chord", would that phrase be a "C" and then let's say the 4th note is the 7th, would that 4th note/notes indicate that the chord change to c7th has happend? Boy this is a harder question to ask than I thought.

Related question, in music for spanish guitars showing chords, what are ways to adapt this to steel?

ps. I am working my way through the Jerry Byrd course but he does not come to my music room for me to ask these questions.

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 6 Sep 2002 11:15 am

Gary, basically, a chord is 3 notes or more played simultaneously, two notes make a diad. If you consider the bass playing notes at the same time as a diad is played then you have a chord. In a chord, the two notes that define the chord are the 3rd and 7th, that being major, minor or dominant. All of the other notes are "color", that make the chord sound more interesting and 'enhance' the direction of where the chord is going.

Because most traditional music 'moves through changes', the chord at the moment defines where you are in the song and/or sets up where you are going. In your example, the notes that are spelling out the C chord are 'defining' the C chord and probably supporting the melody of the song. When the Bb note happens (7th) you are probably going to an F chord. (How do I know this? You've just played a C7, and the only key that has a C7 chord in it, is F) Not only that, the bass probably played an E on the 4th beat (the leading tone, walking up to F).

Let's say there is a passage of single or dual notes in a measure, how does one know what chord that passage is and when it changes to another?

It helps to know what key the song is in. Usually, the last chord of the song is the key, also looking at the key signature helps, if there is one. The 1st beat of the measure is usually the main chord of that measure and the 4th beat is the chord that leads, sets up, the 1st beat of the next measure. Here's where a little theory and a knowledge of scales, goes a long way. You look through the melody and/or the diads to see what chords they could be outlining. This can be confusing as chords share notes, so you look at the bottom notes which are usually the roots of the chords and see if the top notes fall into place...sorry, that I may have made this more confusing, but my client has arrived and I gotta go.

Back again, where was I? Damn, I'm even confusing myself. The song is in C, so there are chords that are associated with the key of C, that are made from the notes of the C scale: C D E F G A B C like C E G, D F A, E G B, F A C, G E D, A C E, B D F; or slightly more complicated, 7th chords: C E G B, D F A C, E G B D, F A C E, G B D F, A C E G, B D F A. So when you are looking through the melody and the diads, if there's a group of Ds and Fs, it could be a D minor, if there's Bs and Fs it's probably a G7 and after that there's probably going to be a bunch of Cs and Es, back to C.

This could turn into a dissertation, I hope I've helped out a bit.[This message was edited by chas smith on 06 September 2002 at 03:14 PM.]

John Kavanagh · Post by **John Kavanagh** » 6 Sep 2002 12:46 pm

Two notes aren't really a chord - but they can "imply' a chord, depending on context.

That's why it can be neat to ride on two notes throughout changes; they'll sound different in diferent contexts.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 7 Sep 2002 12:39 am

Chords consists of a Major Triad first
3 components
I Root or Tonic (C)
III Third Major (E) or Minor (Eb)
V Fifth (G)
Then Tetrachords 4 components
(this is where all the Fun starts!)
VII or Seventh Major7 (B) or Dominant7 (Bb)
VI or Sixth (A)
Altered chords: #orbV/Diminished/Augmented
Then add a 5th component by getting the Tone the next octave up:
9th Dom7+II (Bb+D^)
11th Dom7+IV (Bb+F^)
13th Dom7+VI (Bb+A^)
So Chords have 3/4/5 notes (and then some...)
if you're only needin'2 notes,you'll only have to "pick"out the right ones

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 7 Sep 2002 7:54 am

In whatever key you're playing the primary chords correspond to the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of that scale. For instance in the key of C, the notes are C D E F G A & B. The 1st note is C (C Chord), the 4th note is F (F Chord) and the 5th note is G (G Chord). The 5th is usually played as a 7th chord (G7th). When we start talking sharps and flats things get a little more complicated, but this is basically how it works.

Erv[This message was edited by Erv Niehaus on 07 September 2002 at 08:56 AM.]

Gary Slabaugh · Post by **Gary Slabaugh** » 8 Sep 2002 7:26 am

many thanks to each of you, each in their own way added much to my budding understanding. If there was more demand for steel guitar maybe someone would make the strings and frets light up at the right time like one of those learner keyboards. "play by the numbers".

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 8 Sep 2002 9:56 am

Gary, play by the numbers is the musical equivalent of paint by the numbers, it ain't art, it ain't music and you aren't really developing an understanding of how the instrument is played. If you do the work and stick with it, it pays off, it's what separates the players from the dilettantes. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, it's what separates us from everyone else.

Sage · Post by **Sage** » 8 Sep 2002 10:10 am

These days, (like Pythagoras) I'm sticking to monads.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 9 Sep 2002 6:12 pm

Gary, you can read the spanish guitar chords and play them on your steel when you learn where to find all the chords. To expand on some of the above comments, there is a chord built on each note of the scale. Lets use the key of C as an example. The chord built on the first note of the C scale is a C major chord. It consists of the the 1st, 3rd and 5th tones of the scale (C, E & G notes). If you lower the 3rd a 1/2 step (E to E flat), it becomes a C minor chord. Any major chord can be made into a minor chord by lowering the 3rd 1/2 step.
The C scale is C D E F G A B C. The chord built on the 2nd tone of the scale is a D minor chord. If you lay your bar on the 8th fret on your E9 neck, no pedals or levers, you have a C major chord. Use the inside 2 pedals to make a D minor chord. The bar does not have to move. The chord built on the third tone of the C scale is an E minor chord. Use the knee lever which lowers the E strings 1/2 step to make an e minor chord. (Bar still on the 8th fret). The chord built on the 4th tone of the scale is and F Major chord. With the bar still on the 8th fret, use the 1st 2 pedals down to make an F major chord. The chord built on the 5th tone of the C scale is a G Major chord. To get a G Major chord, slide your bar up two frets to the 10th fret with the 1st two pedals down. You can play a G7 chord on the 8th fret by using the middle pedal and the knee lever which lowers the E strings. Many old country songs used only three chords, 1(C), 4(F) and 5(G), in the key of C. You can play those 3 chords in many different keys, depending on what fret your bar is on to start with. The chord built on the 6th tone of the C scale is A minor. With the bar on the 8th fret, use the 1st pedal only to make an A minor chord. The chord built on the 7th tone of the scale is a diminished chord. Diminished chords have both the 3rd and 5th in the chord lowered 1/2 step. It is not a chord you use a lot in country music. In the key of C, it is a B diminished chord.
A 2nd option is to start your song in the key of C with both pedals down and your bar on the 3rd Fret. This makes a C major chord. Let the pedals off and you have a G major chord, the 5 chord in the key of C. Slide back two frets to the 1st fret, and you have an F or 4 chord in the key of C. Learn where all these chords are on the neck of your steel, and you are in business... Hope some of this helps... Regards, Larry J.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 9 Sep 2002 6:16 pm

I just went back and realized I was lookin' at No Peddlers... All that pedal and lever stuff isn't going to help a lot.... Oh well, keep on picking and have fun! Larry J.

Everett Cox · Post by **Everett Cox** » 9 Sep 2002 9:03 pm

Larry-- most helpful, though. Since I'm a no-peddler wishing to learn to pedal, I thought it was great. About as clear a rundown as I remember seeing. Thanks. --Everett

Ian Finlay · Post by **Ian Finlay** » 9 Sep 2002 11:40 pm

If anyone's interested, I have an Excel spreadsheet that shows the positions of all the notes in various chords for 3 different tunings. If you want it, email me. It needs you to leave macros turned on though....

Ian

mikey · Post by **mikey** » 11 Sep 2002 7:56 am

A minimum of 3, the 1,3 and 5th of the major scale for a chord(ie. C is C,E&G)...BUT...the 1st and 5th is called a POWER CHORD (C & G)..but it's really a double stop not a REAL chord (in the technical sense).
Mike

Bob Dell · Post by **Bob Dell** » 11 Sep 2002 4:26 pm

According to Robert W. Ottman's Theory book, 2 notes constitute an interval, it takes 3 or more notes to make a chord.
B. Dell

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 19 Sep 2002 6:29 am

minimum of 3 notes, but that doesn't mean they have to be produced by the same instrument. If the bass playes a C and you play the G and a guitar an E, you hear a C Chord, while You play a sinle note.
JJ

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 19 Sep 2002 5:51 pm

Gary,
Nobody has yet addressed your questions about how the chords change as you move through the different notes of the melody. This turns out to be a very complicated question, but with some simple aspects worth thinking about. If you sit at a piano and play a I chord (CEG), and hold those notes while you play a IV chord (FAC), and hold all of those while you play a V chord (GBD), you will see that you have covered every note in the scale (all the white notes). Therefore, every note in a melody is part of some basic chord. If you know where these 3 chords are on your steel, you have every possible note of a melody in one or more of those three chords. If you throw in flatted 3rds, 5ths and 7ths, minor chords, augmenteds and diminished, you get all of the flats or sharps, in short, the whole chromatic scale. So theoretically every conceivable note in a melody is part of some chord.

But the melody frequently moves faster than the chord changes, which, as Johan points out depend on the bass and rythmn instruments in a group, or maybe the left hand on a keyboard. So you may not really need to put a chord to every note in the melody.

Furthermore, any given note may be a part of several chords. So it gets to be an impossible task to find the single right chord for every melody note, especially if the original or definitive version of the song didn't parse out chords for every melody note. The ambiguous interplay of the moving melody with the slower moving chords is part of the fun. You know...the moving apart and coming back together...the tension and release. Okay, now we're having too much fun. I gotta go change my pants.