Over the past few months I've been having music lessons with Stan Gee (see links) and we've been looking at theory. I'm desperate to know why songs, tunes melodies - whatever - are the way they are, and so many music books don't tell you. Probably, because at first it makes your head hurt.
After months of looking at the Chromatic Scale, the Major Scale and Harmonising the Scale it seemed to click. I couldn't get past the construction of the individual harmonising chords that relate to particular scales. It's the relationship between the individual notes in a scale, and their position in that scale which determines which chords will harmonise, and what chords they will be - major, minor, seventh, diminished etc.
Here's how I understand it. (correct me if I'm wrong)
A chord is composed of three (or more) alternate notes from the scale ie C Major (see diagram), the Root (1), the Third (3) and the Fifth(5). So, a C chord is C(root), E(third) and G(5).
The C Major Scale
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C D E F G A B C
It might seem obvious, and it should have been to me, but for some reason, the Root, third, fifth relationship hadn't equated with the idea of alternate notes from the scale!!!!! doh!
Once it sunk in, it was like a light going on and a lot of the other stuff we've been working on suddenly made sense as well.
The harmonising chords which can be constructed from a scale follow a set sequence. eg C major
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
major minor minor major seventh minor diminished major
C Dm Em F G7 Am Bdim C
All major scales follow this relationship with their harmonising chords and the sequence of major and minor chords is the product of the space between the notes in the scale, because the semi-tone between B and C, and E and F produces flattened thirds and fifths when you make the sequence of alternating notes from the scale.
ie root, tone, tone, semi-tone, tone, tone, tone, semi-tone
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C D E F G A B C
G A B C D E F# G
The D chord in the key of C is Dm - D(root) F(third) A(fifth) because the F(third) is flattened because it is only a semi-tone from E.
The A chord in the key of G is Am - A(root) C(third) E(fifth) because the C(third) is a flattened third as it is only a semi-tone from B.
It still seems complicated but once you understand the structure of the major scale and the root, third, fifth chord construction the pattern of major and minor chords builds itself and follows for every major key.
If you are at all interested in why you are playing what is written down, then a few theory lessons - if you can bare it - is well worth the effort, frustration and brain-ache.
The chord diagrams are from Banjo Blogger (see links), which is a good online resource.
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