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Music

Music essentially involves two components namely (i) (ii) Melody Pleasant sound and Rhythm Backbone of melody

Sound involves frequencies of vibration. Any arrangement of these frequencies to yield a pleasant sound results in a melody. In case of a melody, these sound frequencies are more commonly known as musical notes. Rhythm involves patterns based on time intervals (often consistent and repetitive with respect to time) upon which a melody is designed (composed) using notes. Thus rhythm patterns often act as the backbone of music upon which melodies are built. The Notes: In western music, the musical notes (frequencies of vibration) are represented by the seven English alphabets, A B C D E F G along with the use of # or b signs. The intervals between the frequencies of vibrations (notes in music) are known as either semitones or tones. The shortest interval between the notes is known as a semitone. Two semitones make an interval equal to one tone. A # (when frequencies are ascending) or a b (when frequencies are descending) sign placed behind a note implies that the note is separated from its preceding and succeeding note by an interval of a semi-tone. In addition to this, it is important note here that the notes C and F are separated by an interval of just a semitone from their preceding notes B and E respectively. Therefore there is practically no E#(Fb) or a B#(Cb) note. The table below displays the type of intervals between the notes Interval C-C# C#-D D-D# D#-E E-F F-F# F#-G G-G# G#-A A-A# A#-B B-C Type of interval Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Semitone Interval C-D C#-D# D-E D#-F E-F# F-G F#-G# G-A G#-A# B-C# C-D Type of Interval Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone

Therefore in western music we will often come across altogether 12 notes namely C, C#(Db), D, D#(Eb), E, F, F#(Gb), G, G#(Ab), A, A#(Bb), and B. Each of these notes are separated by a semitone interval. Any possible harmonious sequential arrangement of these notes so as to give sound pleasing to ears results in a melody. As we can see there can be innumerable possible arrangements of these twelve notes that can result in various types of melodies. Throughout history, various definitions for arrangements of these notes to form melodies have been developed indigenously by people all over the world based on the musical taste of various communities. We can safely call these definitions for arrangements of these notes to form melodies as scales. Thousands of musical scales are now known from various parts of the world. Modern western music involves mainly four different types of chromatic scales (seven notes are involved in the arrangement similar to seven colors and hence the name, chromatic) namely (i) Major Scales (ii) Melodic minor Scales (iii) Natural minor Scales and (iv) Harmonic minor Scales. Major Scales The sequential arrangement of notes in a major scale involves the use of the following sequence of intervals between the notes: Tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone and tone. In general when these notes are played they are played as an octave ending in the starting note (root note) once again which is at an interval of a semitone from the seventh note. Therefore the sequence of intervals for a major scale octave can be written as Tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone and semitone. Such a set of eight notes played sequentially intervals of five tones and two semitones is commonly known as a major scale. Example: C Major Scale Interval Number Note T 2 D T 3 E ST 4 F T 5 G T 6 A T 7 B ST 8 C

1 C

Just like the above example, scales can be written for the rest of the eleven notes by following the rule of the intervals.

Although the major scales can be written by following the rule of the intervals as demonstrated above, musicians find it easier to remember the notes corresponding to the various major scales by knowing the number of sharp notes or the flat notes (the black keys in a piano or an organ) used in each major scale. If we look at the above example, the C scale does not involve the use of any sharp or flat notes in the sequence. Therefore, in general the C scale is known as the natural scale. The rest of the sequence of scales involving the use of increasing number of sharps or flats can be determined by following a simple rule known as the circle of the fifths. Determination of the major scales containing sharp notes using the circle of fifths: 1. Draw a heptagon and sequentially label each vertex of the heptagon with the notes of a known scale in the clockwise direction. (Let us start with the C scale which we know already by the rule of the intervals)
C B A G F D E

2. Then number the notes in the clockwise direction starting from the key note or the root note (in our case, C since it is the C scale that we have drawn here).

1 7 6
C B

2
D E

A G F

3. The C scale as we know is a natural scale with no sharps. Therefore the next scale will involve one sharp note in its arrangement of notes. The name of that scale will be the same as the fifth note in the circle. In this case, the next scale involving the use of one sharp note will be the G scale.

1 7 6
C B

2
D E

A G F

The scale involving + one sharp note = G


4. The next step is to find out the sharp note that has to be used in the G scale. To do this, let us just write the notes corresponding to the C scale once again starting from G in the clockwise direction again on a heptagon.
G F E D C A B

5. Then number the notes again in the clockwise direction starting from the root note (G)

1 7 6
C B

2
D E

A G F

6. Now the seventh note in the clockwise direction is sharpened by a semitone. In this case, F is sharpened by a semitone to F#.

The seventh note is sharpened by a semitone: F becomes F# 1 7 6


G A B D C F# E

2 3

Thus we find that the G scale involves one sharp note (F#) while the rest of the notes are all natural notes. 7. The next step is to find the scale containing two sharp notes. This is done by repeating what we did in step 3 now by using the G scale.

1 7 6
G A F# E D C

2
B

The scale involving + one sharp note = D


8. Repeating steps 4, 5 and 6 in the heptagon on the G scale starting from D note will result in the D scale with two sharp notes (F# and C#). 9. The sequence of these steps can be repeated continuously until we reach a limit of scale involving six sharps (the F# scale). This can be done by anyone as a simple exercise. When we do this exercise we will arrive at totally seven major scales as shown in the table below:

Name

C G D A E B F#

Number of sharps 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

C G D A E B F#

D A E B F# C# G#

E B F# C# G# D# A#

F C G D A E B

G D A E B F# C#

A E B F# C# G# D#

B F# C# G# D# A# F(E#!)

C G D A E B F#

An important feature that has to be noted here is that both B scale and F# scale seem to involve five sharp notes. The difference is that in the F# scale, F note is considered as a semitone-sharpened E note (theoretical E#!?) which still fits the rule we came across in step 6. Thus theoretically, F# scale involves six sharps though we come across only 5 actual sharp (black notes in a piano or organ) in reality when playing the scale in practice.

Determination of the major scales containing flat notes using the circle of fifths: 1. Draw a heptagon and sequentially label each vertex of the heptagon with the notes of a known scale in the clockwise direction. (Let us start with the C scale which we know already by the rule of the intervals)
C B A G F D E

2. Then number the notes in the anti-clockwise direction starting from the key note or the root note (in our case, C since it is the C scale that we have drawn here).

1 2 3
C B

7
D E

A G F

3. The C scale as we know is a natural scale with no sharps (or in other words, no flats). Therefore the next scale will involve one flat note in its arrangement of notes. The name of that scale will be the same as the fifth note in the circle. In this case, the next scale involving the use of one sharp note will be the F scale.

1 2 3
C B

7
D E

A G F

The scale involving + one flat note = F


4. The next step is to find out the flat note that has to be used in the F scale. To do this, let us just write the notes corresponding to the C scale once again starting from F in the clockwise direction again on a heptagon.

F E D C B G A

5. Then number the notes again in the anti-clockwise direction starting from the root note (F)

1 2 3
F E

7
G A

D C B

6. Now the fifth note in the anti-clockwise direction is flattened by a semitone. In this case, B is flattened by a semitone to Bb.

1 2 3
F E

7
G A

D
C

Bb

The fifth note is flatened by a semitone: B becomes Bb

7. The next step is to find the scale containing two flat notes. This is done by repeating what we did in step 3 now by using the F scale.

1 2 3
F E

7
G A

D C Bb

The scale involving + one flat note = Bb


8. Repeating steps 4, 5 and 6 in the heptagon on the Bb scale starting from Bb note will result in the Eb scale with two flat notes (Bb and Eb). 9. The sequence of these steps can be repeated continuously until we reach a limit of scale involving six sharps (the Gb scale). This can be done by anyone as a simple exercise. When we do this exercise we will arrive at another five major scales (totally 6 including the C major scale from where we started) as shown in the table below: Name C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Number of flats 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 8(1) C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb 7(2) D G C F Bb Eb Ab 6(3) E A D G C F Bb 5(4) F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B(Cb!) 4(5) G C F Bb Eb Ab Db 3(6) A D G C F Bb Eb 2(7) B E A D G C F 1(8) C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb

The bracketed numbers in the first row of the table are the numbers of the notes when they are actually played as a scale. Thus we find ourselves completing the circle by ending back on Gb scale which is nothing but the same as the F# scale as we would want it to be since we know that Gb is nothing but another name for F#. Again, similar to what we saw in the case of sharps, Db scale and Gb scale seem to have the same number of flats. The difference here is that in the Gb scale, the B note is considered as a semitone-flatened C note (theoretical Cb!?) which still fits the rule we came across in step 6. Thus theoretically, Gb scale involves six sharps though we come across only 5 actual flat (black notes in a piano or organ) in reality when playing the scale in practice.

The following table summarizes all the 12 major scales that we have derived so far with the appropriate number of sharps and flats. The F#(Gb) scale is given twice in the table just for the convenience of reference to the completion of the circle of fifths (with six flats and six sharps scale) which has been used to arrive at these scales. Number of sharps/flats Gb(F#) 6b Db 5b Ab 4b Eb 3b Bb 2b F 1b C 0 G 1# D 2# A 3# E 4# B 5# F#(Gb) 6# Name 1 Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# 2 Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# C# G# 3 Bb F C G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# 4 B(Cb!) Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B 5 Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# C# 6 Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# C# G# D# 7 F C G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# F(E#!) 8 Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F#

Minor Scales For each major scale, we can derive atleast three types of minor scales namely natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor. In a major scale, the same sequence of notes is played when the scale is ascending as well as descending. In case of the natural minor scale and harmonic minor scale, the same sequence of notes is played when the scale is ascending and descending. But in the case of the melodic minor scale, the sequence of notes played while the scale is descending is generally different from that when the scale is ascending. Natural Minor Scale: The natural minor scale is derived by flattening the third, sixth and the seventh notes of a major scale by a semi tone. The descending notes are the same as the ascending notes in the scale. Example: Ascending 3 4 5 E F G G Eb F 3b 4 5 Descending 5 4 G F G F 5 4

Name C Cm

1 C C 1

2 D D 2

6 A Ab 6b

7 B Bb 7b 10

8 C C 8

7 6 B A Bb Ab 7b 6b

3 E Eb 3b

2 D D 2

1 C C 1

As we can see in the table, the third, sixth and the seventh notes are flattened to give the natural minor scale. Thus from the 12 major scales, we can derive twelve natural minor scales. The natural minor scales derived from the twelve major scales are given in the table below Ascending 3b 4 5 6b 7b B E Gb Ab A B Db Eb E Gb Gb Ab Bb B Db Db Eb F Gb Ab Ab Bb C Db Eb G Ab Bb Eb F D Eb F Bb C G A Bb C F D E C F G B G A C D E F# G D A B A C# D E Descending 4 6b 5 A Ab Gb E Eb Db B Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db C Bb F Ab G Eb D C Bb A G E D F B A C G F# E D C# B

Name Dbm Abm Ebm Bbm Fm Cm Gm Dm Am Em Bm F#m

1 2 Db Eb Ab Bb Eb F Bb C F G C D G A D E A B E F# B C# F# G#

8 Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F#

7b B Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E

2 1 3b E Eb Db B Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db C Bb F Ab G C Eb D Bb A G E D F B A C G F# E D C# B A G# F#

If we look back at the major scale table, we can observe that the C natural minor scale is essentially the same as the Eb major scale starting with C as the root note. Ascending Descending Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Eb Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb D C Bb Ab G F Eb C D Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb F G Ab Bb C Cm In other words, if any major scale is played starting from its 6th note as the root note, then we get a natural minor scale which is named after the 6th note of that major scale. I think that it is because of this reason, that this type of minor scale is known as the natural minor scale. Thus, since the C natural minor scale and Eb major scales share the same set of notes, this C natural minor scale is known as the relative minor scale of Eb major. Thus by deriving the natural minor scales from the major scales, we also end up finding the relative minor scales (the natural minor scale corresponding to the sixth note of the major scale) for the different major scales. The relative minor scales for the various major scales are given in the table below: Major Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# Relative Bbm Fm Cm Gm Dm Am Em Bm F#m C#m G#m D#m minor (A#m) (Gbm) (Dbm) (Abm) (Ebm)

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Harmonic Minor Scales: The harmonic minor scales are derived from the major scales by flattening the third and the sixth notes of the major scale by a semitone. Here again, the descending notes are the same as the ascending notes in the scale. Example: Ascending 3 4 5 E F G G Eb F 3b 4 5 Descending 5 4 G F G F 5 4

Name C Cm

1 C C 1

2 D D 2

6 A Ab 6b

7 B B 7

8 C C 8

7 B B 7

6 A Ab 6b

3 E Eb 3b

2 D D 2

1 C C 1

Thus from the 12 major scales, we can derive twelve harmonic minor scales. The harmonic minor scales derived from the twelve major scales are given in the table below

Name Dbm Abm Ebm Bbm Fm Cm Gm Dm Am Em Bm F#m

Ascending 1 2 3b 4 5 6b 7 Db Eb E Gb Ab A C Ab Bb B Db Eb E G D Eb F Gb Ab Bb B Bb C Db Eb F Gb A F G Ab Bb C Db E C D Eb F G Ab B G A Bb C D Eb F# D E G A Bb C# F A B D E C F G# E F# G A B C D# B C# D E F# G A# F# G# A B C# D F

8 Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F#

Descending 7 6b 5 4 C A Ab Gb G E Eb Db D B Bb Ab A Gb F Eb E Db C Bb B Ab G F F# Eb D C C# Bb A G G# F E D D# C B A A# G F# E F D C# B

2 1 3b E Eb Db B Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db C Bb F Ab G C Eb D Bb A G E D F B A C G F# E D C# B A G# F#

Melodic Minor Scales: The melodic minor scale is derived from the major scale by flattening the 3rd note while the scale is ascending and then flattening the 7th, 6th and 3rd notes when the scale is descending. (When the scale is descending the melodic minor scale has the same notes as the natural minor scale).

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Example: Ascending 3 4 5 E F G G Eb F 3b 4 5 Descending 7 6 5 4 B A G F F Bb Ab G 4 7b 6b 5

Name C Cm

1 C C 1

2 D D 2

6 A A 6

7 B B 7

8 C C 8

3 E Eb 3b

2 D D 2

1 C C 1

Thus from the 12 major scales, we can derive twelve melodic minor scales. The melodic minor scales derived from the twelve major scales are given in the table below

Name Dbm Abm Ebm Bbm Fm Cm Gm Dm Am Em Bm F#m

Ascending 1 2 3b 4 5 Db Eb E Gb Ab Ab Bb B Db Eb Eb F Gb Ab Bb Bb C Db Eb F F G Ab Bb C C D Eb F G G A Bb C D D E G A F A B D E C E F# G A B B C# D E F# F# G# A B C#

6 A# F C G D A E B F# C# G# D#

7 C G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# F

8 Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F#

7b B Gb Db Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E

Descending 4 6b 5 A Ab Gb E Eb Db B Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db C Bb F Ab G Eb D C Bb A G E D F B A C G F# E D C# B

2 1 3b E Eb Db B Bb Ab Gb F Eb Db C Bb F Ab G C Eb D Bb A G E D F B A C G F# E D C# B A G# F#

Having learnt about the scales, let us just focus our attention briefly on how these notes are represented in musical notation (music written in paper for reading). Introduction to musical notation Western music involves the use of staff to write down music. A musical staff involves five lines and four spaces with a clef signature as shown below:

E C A F

F D B G E

The names of the lines and the spaces in a staff are generally determined by the clef signature represented at the beginning of the staff. A treble clef or a G clef (as shown above) implies that the lines are named as E, G, B, D and F starting from the bottom with 13

the corresponding spaces named as F, A, C and E. In other words, the notes are named on the lines and spaces of a staff in an ascending alphabetical sequence starting from E at the bottom most line in a G cleffed staff. The treble clef is generally used to write music notations for lead or solo instruments
A F D B G

G E C A

A bass clef or a F clef (as shown above) implies that the lines are named as G, B, D, Fand A starting from the bottom with the corresponding spaces named as A, C, E and G. In other words, the notes are named on the lines and spaces of a staff in an ascending alphabetical sequence starting from G at the bottom most line in an F cleffed staff. The bass clef is generally used to write music notations for the lower notes (bass notes or the left hand notes) of a keyboard (piano or organ). The combined representation of staves involving both treble clef and the bass clef is shown below.

E C A F

F D B G E

G E C A

A F D B G

Besides the representation of notes on the staves, notes involving additional octaves in musical pieces can be represented by small lines called ledger lines (and the spaces between those lines) above and below the staff.
F E C D B A G E C A F C D B D C A B G D C B A F G E

B A G

C B A G

F D B G E

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C A C

D E B C A E

G F E D B C A G

A E F D F E D C B F E D C A B G

A F D B G

The staff of any musical piece contains a key signature and a time signature immediately after the clef sign as shown below. The key signature represents the key or the scale of the musical piece and is generally represented by the number and name of sharp notes or flat notes denoted right after the clef sign.

For example, in the above case, the key signature is represented by three sharp notes at F# (fifth line), C# (third space) and G# (space above the fifth line). We can infer from the above information that the key or the scale of the musical piece is A major or F#m scale. (If we get back to the major scales table, we can find A major scale having three sharp notes which are F#, C# and G#. Alternatively F#m scale also have the same set of notes if we refer to the natural minor scale table.) We will learn about time signature later after going through the rhythm component of music. So far, we have been primarily discussing just about the component of melody in music. We were looking at notes (frequency intervals) and some of the various possible arrangements of notes (scales) that can result in melody. As mentioned at the beginning of this file, there is another major component of music, rhythm which involves the patterns (of notes) based on time intervals. At this stage, it may be good for us to learn the other component, rhythm of music

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Rhythm Any arrangement of a sequence of notes if played randomly without any well-defined set of time intervals would in general sound as noise and not like music. Therefore, welldefined time intervals with which an arranged sequence of notes is played form a vital component of music. In music, in general any arrangement of a sequence of notes is built over well-defined time intervals which are more commonly referred to as the rhythm (timing) of a musical piece or melody. Due to this reason, rhythm (or timing) of a musical piece can be considered as the skeleton of music upon which a melody is designed using musical notes that we had been discussing so far. Therefore, it is important to define and classify the types of musical notes based on time intervals. The double whole note (breve) is the note with the longest time duration in western musical notation. The breve is not commonly encountered in modern western music. It is represented as shown below

A whole note or a semi-breve is a note that gets half the time duration of a double whole note and is represented by a hollow oval note head.

A half-note (1/2) or minim is a note that gets half the time duration of a whole note and is represented by a hollow oval note head attached to a stem.

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A quarter note () (also known as crotchet) in general involves one fourth of the time duration of a whole note and is represented by a oval note head with a stem.

An eighth note (quaver) gets one eighth of the time duration of a whole note and is represented by a crochet symbol with a flag.

A sixteenth note (semiquaver) gets one sixteenth of the time duration of a whole note and is represented by a crochet symbol with two flags.

A thirty second note (demisemiquaver) gets one thirty second of the time duration of the whole note and is represented by a crochet symbol with three flags.

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A sixty fourth note (hemidemisemiquaver) gets one sixty fourth of the time duration of a whole note and is represented by a crochet symbol with four flags.

A one hundred and twenty eighth note (semihemidemisemiquaver) gets one hundred and twentieth of the time duration of a whole note.

In general, timing of a musical piece is defined with respect to the number of counts over which an arranged set of notes are played. The timing of any musical piece is generally referred to as the time signature and is generally represented at the start of the musical piece as a fractional number after the key signature(scale signature represented by the number of flats or sharps) of music.

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Some of the time signatures that we often encounter in musical pieces are 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 3/8, 6/8, 7/8 and 12/8.

Reading and Playing Musical Notation In general musical pieces are sub-divided into measures (also sometimes referred to as bars) each of which involves a defined number of counts The upper number of the fraction tells the number of notes in a measure. The lower number of the fraction tells us the type of note that represents one count in the measure. For example, 4/4 time signature implies that each measure in the musical piece has four one fourth notes (4 x 1/4). The numerator (4) says that there are 4 notes in each measure while the denominator (1/4) says the type of the note (one fourth note) that represents one count in the measure. Let us look at one more example here. 7/8 time signature implies that each measure in the musical piece has 7 one eighth notes (7 x 1/8). The numerator (7) says that there are 7 notes in each measure while the denominator (1/8) says the type of note (one eighth note) that represents one count in the measure.

To give an example of the use of musical staff notation, let us see what the above musical piece means. The treble clef represents that this piece can be played on any lead instrument or by the right hand of the piano or any keyboard. The time signature implies that each measure in the piece has four counts and that the quarter note gets one count in the measure. Thus each measure in this piece can have a maximum of four quarter notes or two half notes or a whole note. Thus playing the above piece involves playing G for half count value in the measure, then A for 1 count, then C for one count, then E for one count and G# for the last half count. That completes the first bar with totally four counts. The next measure just involves just a whole note A. The note A is played at the first count and held sustained for the rest of the three counts in that measure.

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Guitar Tabs Modern guitar music is represented simply in an easy to read format known as guitar tabs. The guitar tabs involve 6 lines representing the six strings of a guitar from bottom to top. The fret numbers that have to be played in any string are written across these lines representing the strings. The same piece of music above in the staff notation can be represented in guitar tabs as given below:
E 5 7 5 5 6 7 A D G B E

As we can notice, we may not be able to put represent in guitar tabs, the information about the timing involved in the musical piece. A more complete representation involves the use of the staff notation above the guitar tab notation to represent the notes for guitar solos. Let us try to recap what we have learned so far: Music melody and rhythm. Notes Frequency intervals involving tones and semitones Arrangement of notes Scales (Major scales and minor scales) Derivation of the 12 major scales Circle of fifths Derivation of natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor scales Introduction to musical notation The Staff Rhythm Classification of notes based on time intervals. Reading and playing the musical notation represented in a staff Guitar Tabs

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Guitar Fret Board Diagram


GUITAR FRET BOARD String Number 6 E 5 A 4 D 3 G 2 B 1 E String Name Note 1 2 3 4 F A# D# G# C C# D D# F F# G G# 1 Fret Number F# G B C E F A A# 2 3 4

G#

C#

F#

5 6 7

A A# B

D D# E

G G# A

C C# D

E F F#

A A# B

5 6 7

8 9 10 11

C C# D D#

F F# G G#

A# B C C#

D# E F F#

G G#

C C#

8 9

A A#

D D#

10 11

12

E F F#

A A# B

D D# E

G G# A

B C C#

E F F#

12 13 14

13 14

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The above fret board diagram is based on the most common tuning used in guitars. Most of the guitars have six strings which vary in thickness. The thinnest string is generally at the lower side of the fret board (right hand side in the diagram above) of guitars made for right hand guitarists when being held at playing position. The strings are generally numbered consecutively starting from the thinnest to the thickest. Thus the thinnest string (string at the right end in the above diagram) is numbered as the 1st string while the thickest string is numbered as 6th string. In the most common tuning, the first and the sixth string are tuned to sound note E. The second string is tuned to sound note B, the third to note G, the fourth to note D and the fifth to note A. Therefore the first string is named as E string, the second - B string, the third - G string, the fourth - D string, the fifth - A string and the sixth - E string. The string names are given below the string numbers in the above diagram. When a string is held pressed at any fret, effectively we decrease the length of the string. Therefore on striking any string with one of its frets pressed, we hear a note of higher frequency. The higher the fret number which is held pressed for any string, the higher will be frequency of the note when the string is picked or played. In a guitar fret board, the frets are arranged in such a way that the frequency increases by an interval of a semitone with each increasing fret number. Thus in E string the first fret corresponds to F note, the second corresponds to F# and the semitone interval progression continues likewise for each of the six strings with increasing number of frets. It will be a good practice for any guitarist to remember the names of the notes of the various fret positions on all the six strings atleast upto the 12th fret. In the fret board diagram, one can easily observe that the notes of the twelfth fret are the same as the notes of the corresponding open strings, the only difference being that the notes at the twelfth fret are one octave higher than the corresponding open string notes. One can also observe that the 5th fret of n+1th string corresponds to the same note as the open string of the nth string except for the fifth fret of 3rd string and the open 2nd string. In case of the 3rd string the fourth fret note corresponds to the open string note of the second string. Tuning the guitar: To tune the guitar, first set the 6th string close to E note approximately. Then hold the fifth fret of 6th string and pick both the 6th string and 5th string. If the tones sound the same then, both the strings are in tune. If not adjust the tuning key of just the 5th string until they both sound similar. This process is repeated then for the 5th string and the 4th string to tune the 4th string and then for the 4th string and the 3rd string to tune the 3rd string. To tune the second string, hold the fourth fret of 3rd string and pick both 3rd and 2nd strings. Adjust the tuning key of the second string until they both sound similar. Finally

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to tune the first string, the fifth fret of 2nd string is held and picked along with the first string. The tuning key of the first string is then adjusted until they both sound similar. Orchestration of Music Orchestration involves the use of multiple musical instruments with or without vocalists to play a musical composition. Some of the instruments in orchestration may be lead or solo instruments while other instruments may be used as accompaniment instruments. In general percussion instruments play a key role in accompaniment. Bass instruments, guitars and keyboards can also be used as highly effective accompaniment intruments. Guitars can be used as either solo instruments (lead or bass guitars) or as accompaniment instruments (rhythm or bass guitars). Chords While lead or solo musical pieces often involve direct rigorous use of the scales, accompaniment music using rhythm guitars and accompaniment keyboards primarily involve the use of various chords that can be derived from these scales. Chords play a key role in accompaniment music by elegantly augmenting the patterns that are played in a percussion instrument while complementing the lead or solo pieces by integrating the notes of the musical piece. In general, a chord involves playing three or more notes together simoltaneously. Therefore, theoretically we can have thousands of chords possible. But considering the fact that we can only use a maximum of 5 fingers in the guitar fret board to hold the notes, we may never be able to play all the possible chords. In a piano or a keyboard, we can play some more chords since we can use both hands to hold chords on the keys. Since there are theoretically more chords than one can ever play, the classification of chords is not an easy process. In general, chords are classified based on the notes that are used in them. We will start here by defining the most common type of chords the major chords and then try to learn about various other types of chords and how to derive various types of chords from the major scale. Deriving Chords from the Scales. At this stage, it will be useful to recall once again the major scales that we learnt earlier and learn something more about the notes involved in the major scale. For easier understanding, we will try to use the C Major scale as the example in the initial illustrations in arriving at the various types of chords. We already know that the C Major scale can be written as follows:

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1 C

2 D

3 E

4 F

5 G

6 A

7 B

8 C

For convenience of uniformity in deriving various types of chords (as we will see later), we will use two octaves of the C major scale with the notes numbered as shown below: 1 C 2 D 3 E 4 F 5 G 6 A 7 B 8 C 9 D 10 E 11 F 12 G 13 A 13 B 14 C

The most common set of chords used in music are the major chords. The major chord in essence is a triad involving three notes played simoltaneously. The three notes that form the major chord are the 1st, 3rd and the 5th notes. In the case of C major, these notes are C, E and G. In general, to get a minor tonal effect, the third note is flattened by a semitone. Therefore, for the minor chord, the 1st, the flattened 3rd and the 5th notes need to be played together. In case of C minor, the notes are C, Eb and G. For the simple seventh chord, a semi-tone flattened 7th note is used along with the 1st, the 3rd, the 5th notes. In case of C7, these notes would bes C, E, G and Bb. Similarly, the notes that need to be played together for various types of chords can be derived simply from the numbered notes of major scale of the corresponding root note of the chord. In general, a chord is named after its root note. For example, in Csus4, C is the root note and in A7-9, A would be the root note. Let us see another simple example with the steps that we need to follow to find the notes that need to be played for example the chord, DmM7. Step 1: Write down the notes of the scale of D major for two octaves. (We write the D major scale here because D is the root note of the chord DmM7.) D E F# G A B C# D E F# G A B C# D

Step 2: Number all the notes involved in the scale in the ascending sequence (1 to14 starting from D in this case). 1 D 2 E 3 F# 4 G 5 A 6 B 7 C# 8 D 9 E 10 F# 11 G 12 A 13 B 13 C# 14 D

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Step 3: The chord that we are interested in is D minor Major 7th (DmM7). For a chord to be minor, we generally flatten the 3rd note by a semitone. For a chord to be seventh, we generally use the (semi-tone) flattened 7th note along with the 1st, 3rd and the 5th notes. Here since we need DmM7, we will have to use the notes involved for Dm (1st, flattened 3rd and 5th notes) to start with. Along with these notes, if we use a flattened 7th note, we will have just a minor seventh chord. Therefore, in order to add a major tonal effect, we can use the 7th note as such without flattening it. Thus the notes that are involved in the D minor major seventh chord are 1st, flattened 3rd ( to give the minor tone), 5th and the 7th (to give the major tonality) notes. Step 4: From the D scale table, we can see that the corresponding notes are D (1st note), F (flattened F# which is the 3rd note), A (the 5th note) and C# ( the 7th note). Thus playing simoltaneously the notes D, F, A and C# gives DmM7. Similarly, one can arrive at the notes involved for any type of chord by following the above steps and using some simple rules of flattening, sharpening, suspending or adding of notes. In general, in suspended chords, the third note is suspended and substituted by some other note. In case of added chords like (add 9 or add 11 also represented as +9 or +11 as the case may be), the ninth (or the eleventh) note is added without adding the seventh note. An augmented chord involves sharpening the fifth note in general while a diminished chord generally involves flattening of the all the notes in the chord by a semitone except the root note. The tables in the following pages give the numbered notes that need to be played for various types of chords along with the notes of the various types of chords for the twelve different root notes. The names in the brackets indicate how the same chords are also otherwise written in general in musical literature. As one can imagine, it is almost impossible to write all the possible types of chords. The list in the tables below consists notes involved for most of the chords one often encounters in the musical literature. There may be few types which are not in here. But if we can understand the logic behind the derivation of these chords from the major scales, we can easily find the notes involved for those new chords based on the name of the chord. At first look, the tables below may be appear too complicated. So it may be worthwhile to learn just few types of chords to start with, understand well how they are derived from the corresponding major scales by writing down the scales and then try the more complicated ones given in the table.

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Chord Type Major Minor 6 m6 7 m7 M7 mM7 m7-5 (m7b5) m7+5 7-5 (7b5) 7+5 (7#5) M7+5 (M7#5) M7-5(M7b5) 7-9 (7b9) 7+9 (7#9) m7-9 (m7b9) m7+9 (m7#9) (m7) M7+9 (M7#9) M7-9 (M7b9) 9 add 9 M9 m9 mM9 m add9 11 M11 m11 mM11 add11 m add11 6add9 6add11 13 Aug (+) Dim (-) 7dim sus4 7sus4 M7sus4 sus2 7sus2 M7sus2 sus M7 sus 7 Power Chord (C)

Numbered Notes 135 1 3b 5 1356 1 3b 5 6 1 3 5 7b 1 3b 5 7b 1357 1 3b 5 7 1 3b 5b 7b 1 3b 5# 7b 1 3 5b 7b 1 3 5# 7b 1 3 5# 7 1 3 5b 7 1 3 5 7b 9b 1 3 5 7b 9# 1 3b 5 7b 9b 1 3b 5 7b 9# 1 3 5 7 9# 1 3 5 7 9b 1 3 5 7b 9 1359 13579 1 3b 5 7b 9 1 3b 5 7 9 1 3b 5 9 1 3 5 7b 9 11 1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3b 5 7b 9 11 2 3b 5 7 9 11 1 3 5 11 1 3b 5 11 13569 1 3 5 6 11 1 3 5 7b 9 11 13 1 3 5# 1 3b 5b 1 3b 5b 7bb 145 1 4 5 7b 1457 125 1 2 5 7b 1257 157 1 5 7b 15

C CEG C Eb G CEGA C Eb G A C E G Bb C Eb G Bb CEGB C Eb G B C Eb Gb Bb C Eb G# Bb C E Gb Bb C E G# Bb C E G# B C E Gb B C E G Bb Db C E G Bb D# C Eb G Bb Db C Eb G Bb D# C E G B D# C E G B Db C E G Bb D CEGD CEGBD C Eb G Bb D C Eb G B D C Eb G D C E G Bb D F CEGBDF C Eb G Bb D F C Eb G B D F CEGF C Eb G F CEGAD CEGAF C E G Bb D F A C E G# C Eb Gb C Eb Gb A CFG C F G Bb CFGB CDG C D G Bb CDGB CGB C G Bb CG

C# C# F G# C# E G# C# F G# A# C# E G# A# C# F G# B C# E G# B C# F G# C C# E G# C C# E G B C# E A B C# F G B C# F A B C# F A C C# F G C C# F G# B D C# F G# B E C# E G# B D C# E G B E C# F G# B E C# F G# C D C# F G# B D# C# F G# D# C# F G# C D# C# E G# B D# C# E G# C D# C# E G# D# C# F G# B D# F# C# F G# C D# F# C# E G# B D# F# C# E G# C D# F# C# F G# F# C# E G# F# C# F G# A# D# C# F G# A# F# C# F G# B D# F# A# C# F A C# E G C# E G Bb C# F# G# C# F# G# B C# F# G# C C# D# G# C# D# G# B C# D# G# C C# G# C C# G# B C# G#

D D F# A DFA D F# A B DFAB D F# A C DFAC D F# A C# D F A C# D F Ab C D F A# C D F# Ab C D F# A# C D F# A# C# D F# Ab C# D F# A C Eb D F# A C F D F A C Eb DFACF D F# A C# F D F# A C# D# D F# A C E D F# A E D F# A C# E DFACE D F A C# E DFAE D F# A C E G D F# A C# E G DFACEG D F A C# E G D F# A G DFAG D F# A B E D F# A B G D F# A C E G B D F# A# D F Ab D F Ab B DGA DGAC D G A C# DEA DEAC D E A C# D A C# DAC DA

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Chord Type Major Minor 6 m6 7 m7 M7 mM7 m7-5 (m7b5) m7+5 7-5 (7b5) 7+5 (7#5) M7+5 (M7#5) M7-5(M7b5) 7-9 (7b9) 7+9 (7#9) m7-9 (m7b9) m7+9 (m7#9) (m7) M7+9 (M7#9) M7-9 (M7b9) 9 add 9 M9 m9 mM9 m add9 11 M11 m11 mM11 add11 m add11 6add9 6add11 13 Aug (+) Dim (-) 7dim sus4 7sus4 M7sus4 sus2 7sus2 M7sus2 sus M7 sus 7 Power Chord (C)

Numbered Notes 135 1 3b 5 1356 1 3b 5 6 1 3 5 7b 1 3b 5 7b 1357 1 3b 5 7 1 3b 5b 7b 1 3b 5# 7b 1 3 5b 7b 1 3 5# 7b 1 3 5# 7 1 3 5b 7 1 3 5 7b 9b 1 3 5 7b 9# 1 3b 5 7b 9b 1 3b 5 7b 9# 1 3 5 7 9# 1 3 5 7 9b 1 3 5 7b 9 1359 13579 1 3b 5 7b 9 1 3b 5 7 9 1 3b 5 9 1 3 5 7b 9 11 1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3b 5 7b 9 11 2 3b 5 7 9 11 1 3 5 11 1 3b 5 11 13569 1 3 5 6 11 1 3 5 7b 9 11 13 1 3 5# 1 3b 5b 1 3b 5b 7bb 145 1 4 5 7b 1457 125 1 2 5 7b 1257 157 1 5 7b 15

D# D# G A# D# Gb A# D# G A# C D# Gb A# C D# G A# Db D# Gb A# Db D# G A# D D# Gb A# D D# Gb A Db D# Gb B Db D# G A C D# G B Db D# G B D D# G A D D# G A# C# E D# G A# C# F# D# F# A# C# E D# F# A# C# F# D# G A# D F# D# G A# D E D# G A# Db F D# G A# F D# G A# D F D# F# A# C# F D# F# A# D F D# F# A# F D# G A# Db F G# D# G A# D F G# D# Gb A# Db F G# D# Gb A# D F G# D# G A# G# D# Gb A# G# D# G A# C F D# G A# C G# D# G A# Db F G# C D# G B D# Gb A D# Gb A C D# G# A# D# G# A# Db D# G# A# D D# F A# D# F A# Db D# F A# D D# A# D D# A# Db D# A#

E E G# B EGB E G# B C# E G B C# E G# B D EGBD E G# B D# E G B D# E G Bb D EG C D E G# Bb D E G# C D E G# C D# E G# Bb D# E G# B D F E G# B D G EGBDF EGBDG E G# B D# G E G# B D# F E G# B D F# E G# B F# E G# B D# F# E G B D F# E G B D# F# E G B F# E G# B D F# A E G# B D# F# A E G B D F# A E G B D# F# A E G# B A EGBA E G# B C# F# E G# B C# A E G# B D F# A C# E G# C E G Bb E G Bb Db EAB EABD E A B D# E F# B E F# B D E F# B D# E B D# EBD EB

F FAC F Ab C FACD F Ab C D F A C Eb F Ab C Eb FACE F Ab C E F Ab B Eb F Ab C# Eb F A B Eb F A C# Eb F A C# E FABE F A C Eb Gb F A C Eb G# F Ab C Eb Gb F Ab C Eb Ab F A C E G# F A C E F# F A C Eb G FACG FACEG F Ab C Eb G F Ab C E G F Ab C G F A C Eb G A# F A C E G A# F Ab C Eb G A# F Ab C E G A# F A C A# F Ab C A# FACDG F A C D A# F A C Eb G A# D F A C# F Ab B F Ab B D F A# C F A# C Eb F A# C E FGC F G C Eb FGCE FCE F C Eb FC

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Chord Type Major Minor 6 m6 7 m7 M7 mM7 m7-5 (m7b5) m7+5 7-5 (7b5) 7+5 (7#5) M7+5 (M7#5) M7-5(M7b5) 7-9 (7b9) 7+9 (7#9) m7-9 (m7b9) m7+9 (m7#9) (m7) M7+9 (M7#9) M7-9 (M7b9) 9 add 9 M9 m9 mM9 m add9 11 M11 m11 mM11 add11 m add11 6add9 6add11 13 Aug (+) Dim (-) 7dim sus4 7sus4 M7sus4 sus2 7sus2 M7sus2 sus M7 sus 7 Power Chord (C)

Numbered Notes 135 1 3b 5 1356 1 3b 5 6 1 3 5 7b 1 3b 5 7b 1357 1 3b 5 7 1 3b 5b 7b 1 3b 5# 7b 1 3 5b 7b 1 3 5# 7b 1 3 5# 7 1 3 5b 7 1 3 5 7b 9b 1 3 5 7b 9# 1 3b 5 7b 9b 1 3b 5 7b 9# 1 3 5 7 9# 1 3 5 7 9b 1 3 5 7b 9 1359 13579 1 3b 5 7b 9 1 3b 5 7 9 1 3b 5 9 1 3 5 7b 9 11 1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3b 5 7b 9 11 2 3b 5 7 9 11 1 3 5 11 1 3b 5 11 13569 1 3 5 6 11 1 3 5 7b 9 11 13 1 3 5# 1 3b 5b 1 3b 5b 7bb 145 1 4 5 7b 1457 125 1 2 5 7b 1257 157 1 5 7b 15

F# F# A# C# F# A C# F# A# C# D# F# A C# D# F# A# C# E F# A C# E F# A# C# F F# A C# F F# A C E F# A D E F# A# C E F# A# D E F# A# D F F# A# C F F# A# C# E G F# A# C# E A F# A C# E G F# A C# E A F# A# C# F A F# A# C# F G F# A# C# E G# F# A# C# G# F# A# C# F G# F# A C# E G# F# A C# F G# F# A C# G# F# A# C# E G# B F# A# C# F G# B F# A C# E G# B F# A C# F G# B F# A# C# B F# A C# B F# A# C# D# G# F# A# C# D# B F# A# C# E G# B D# F# A# D F# A C F# A C Eb F# B C# F# B C# E F# B C# F F# G# C# F# G# C# E F# G# C# F F# C# F F# C# E F# C#

G GBD G Bb D GBDE G Bb D E GBDF G Bb D F G B D F# G Bb D F# G Bb Db F G Bb D# F G B Db F G B D# F G B D# F# G B Db F# G B D F Ab G B D F A# G Bb D F Ab G Bb D F Bb G B D F# A# G B D F# G# GBDFA GBDA G B D F# A G Bb D F A G Bb D F# A G Bb D A GBDFAC G B D F# A C G Bb D F A C G Bb D F# A C GBDC G Bb D C GBDEA GBDEC GBDFACE G B D# G Bb Db G Bb Db E GCD GCDF G C D F# GAD GADF G A D F# G D F# GDF GD

G# G# C D# G# B D# G# C D# F G# B D# F G# C D# Gb G# B D# Gb G# C D# G G# B D# G G# B D Gb G# B E Gb G# C D Gb G# C E Gb G# C E G G# C D G G# C D# Gb A G# C D# Gb B G# B D# Gb A G# B D# Gb B G# C D# G B G# C D# G A G# C D# F# A# G# C D# A# G# C D# G A# G# B D# Gb A# G# B D# G A# G# B D# A# G# C D# F# A# C# G# C D# G A# C# G# B D# F# A# C# G# B D# G A# C# G# C D# C# G# B D# C# G# C D# F A# G# C D# F C# G# C D# F# A# C# F G# C E G# B D G# B D F G# C# D# G# C# D# F# G# C# D# G G# A# D# G# A# D# F# G# A# D# G G# D# G G# D# Gb G# D#

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Chord Type Major Minor 6 m6 7 m7 M7 mM7 m7-5 (m7b5) m7+5 7-5 (7b5) 7+5 (7#5) M7+5 (M7#5) M7-5(M7b5) 7-9 (7b9) 7+9 (7#9) m7-9 (m7b9) m7+9 (m7#9) (m7) M7+9 (M7#9) M7-9 (M7b9) 9 add 9 M9 m9 mM9 m add9 11 M11 m11 mM11 add11 m add11 6add9 6add11 13 Aug (+) Dim (-) 7dim sus4 7sus4 M7sus4 sus2 7sus2 M7sus2 sus M7 sus 7 Power Chord (C)

Numbered Notes 135 1 3b 5 1356 1 3b 5 6 1 3 5 7b 1 3b 5 7b 1357 1 3b 5 7 1 3b 5b 7b 1 3b 5# 7b 1 3 5b 7b 1 3 5# 7b 1 3 5# 7 1 3 5b 7 1 3 5 7b 9b 1 3 5 7b 9# 1 3b 5 7b 9b 1 3b 5 7b 9# 1 3 5 7 9# 1 3 5 7 9b 1 3 5 7b 9 1359 13579 1 3b 5 7b 9 1 3b 5 7 9 1 3b 5 9 1 3 5 7b 9 11 1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3b 5 7b 9 11 2 3b 5 7 9 11 1 3 5 11 1 3b 5 11 13569 1 3 5 6 11 1 3 5 7b 9 11 13 1 3 5# 1 3b 5b 1 3b 5b 7bb 145 1 4 5 7b 1457 125 1 2 5 7b 1257 157 1 5 7b 15

A A C# E ACE A C# E F# A C E F# A C# E G ACEG A C# E G# A C E G# A C Eb G ACFG A C# Eb G A C# F G A C# F G# A C# Eb G# A C# E G Bb A C# E G C A C E G Bb ACEGC A C# E G# C A C# E G# A# A C# E G B A C# E B A C# E G# B ACEGB A C E G# B ACEB A C# E G B D A C# E G# B D ACEGBD A C E G# B D A C# E D ACED A C# E F# B A C# E F# D A C# E G B D F# A C# F A C Eb A C Eb Gb ADE ADEG A D E G# ABE ABEG A B E G# A E G# AEG AE

A# A# D F A# Db F A# D F G A# Db F G A# D F Ab A# Db F Ab A# D F A A# Db F A A# Db E Ab A# Db F# Ab A# D E Ab A# D F# Ab A# D F# A A# D E A A# D F G# B A# D F G# C# A# Db F G# B A# Db F G# C# A# D F A C# A# D F A B A# D F G# C A# D F C A# D F A C A# C# F G# C A# C# F A C A# C# F C A# D F G# C D# A# D F A C D# A# Db F G# C D# A# Db F A C D# A# D F D# A# Db F D# A# D F G C A# D F G D# A# D F G# C D# G A# D F# A# Db E A# Db E G A# D# F A# D# F G# A# D# F A A# C F A# C F G# A# C F A A# F A A# F Ab A# F

B B D# F# B D F# B D# F# G# B D F# G# B D# F# A B D F# A B D# F# A# B D F# A# BDFA BDGA B D# F A B D# G A B D# G A# B D# F A# B D# F# A C B D# F# A D B D F# A C B D F# A D B D# F# A# D B D# F# A# C B D# F# A C# B D# F# D B D# F# A# C# B D F# A C# B D F# A# C# B D F# C# B D# F# A C# E B D# F# A# C# E B D F# A C# E B D F# A# C# E B D# F# E B D F# E B D# F# G# C# B D# F# G# E B D# F# A C# E G# B D# G BDF B D F Ab B E F# B E F# A B E F# A# B C# F# B C# F# A B C# F# A# B F# A# B F# A B F#

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One can easily see from the tables, that it is almost impossible to play some chords (example 13th chords, 11th chords) in instruments like guitars where we are limited by the number of notes that we can hold together simoltaneously with five fingers (in most cases, just four fingers). Nevertheless, when needed, these chords can be used effectively when we have more than one guitarist or on a keyboard easily. It may be a good exercise for us to try playing these chords at various positions on a guitar fretboard. Such a practise would help any guitarist over a period of time to get familiar with the names of the various notes on the fretboard.

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Family of Chords We just went through the process of deriving various types of chords in the previous section. But the big questions for most of us are where, how and when to use the various types of chords in songs practically. In practice, there are no simple answers to these questions. The application of various types of chords varies significantly with the various styles of music that we can find around different parts of our world. Even within western music, one can find different types of chord arrangements for songs depending on the style of the music used. For example, the chord arrangements for a song written by rock musician may be quiet different from that of the arrangements for the same song written by a country song writer or a jazz and blues musician. Nevertheless in western music, we can arrive at relationships of chords to the various scales that we had seen earlier. By doing so, most often we can predict the possible chords that we can often use in a scale under consideration. Thus, once we determine the key (or scale) of a song, we can predict to a reasonable extent, the set of chords that can be used in the chord arrangement for the song. Such set of chords which are inter-related in a scale is known as a family of chords. Let us now go through the process of deriving the family of chords for the major scales. To arrive at the family of chords for any scale, we start again by writing the notes involved that scale and numbering the notes as we had done earlier. To start with, let us try arriving at the family of chords for the C major scale. First we have to write down the notes involved in the scale and then number the notes sequentially. 1 C 2 D 3 E 4 F 5 G 6 A 7 B 8 C

Before proceeding further, it might be good to learn at this stage, a new name for each note involved in the major scale. These names in general are based on the position or relationship of the corresponding notes within a scale. The table below shows the notes, the number associated with each note and the corresponding name for each note in the scale based on its relative position in the scale. Number Name Note 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Tonic Supertonic Mediant C D E

SubDominant SubLeading Octave dominant mediant Note F G A B C

The key or root note of the scale (1st note) is known as the tonic as it determines the tonal intervals of the scale (number of sharps or flats). The 2nd note in the scale is known as supertonic probably because of the fact that it is in the next position to the tonic (above or beyond tonic) in the scale. The 3rd note is known as the mediant since it is mid-way

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between the tonic and the sub-dominant. The 4th note is known as the sub-dominant as it is just below the position of the dominant note in the scale. It is also the second best consonant note (next only to the dominant) with the tonic in a scale. The 5th note (also known as the perfect fifth) is the second most important note since it is in very good consonance with the tonic note in the scale and is known as the dominant note. The consonance of the 5th note with the tonic is so good that just playing the combination of the 5th note and the tonic note together (diad) in the recent past has become popularly known as the power chord. The 6th note is known as sub- mediant as it is midway between the sub-dominant (4th note) and the octave (8th note or the key note). The 7th note is known as the leading note as it leads into the next octave of the scale and the 8th note (which is again the key note) known as the octave because of its 8th position in the scale. Having learnt about the significance of the relative positions of the notes in scales, let us now look at the types of chords associated (in general) with these notes in a scale. The table below gives the positional names of the different notes in a given scale with C major scale as the example.

Number Name Note

Tonic Supertonic Mediant C D E

Leading Octave SubDominant SubNote dominant mediant B C F G A

Primary family of chords: Tonic: As one could readily expect, the C major chord will be the key chord associated with the C major scale since the tonic or the root note is C. In general, the tonic chord integrates the information regarding tonal intervals in a musical piece with that of a scale and thus helps us easily identify the key or scale of the musical piece and also the major/minor tonality of the scale. In any scale, the chord corresponding to the root note or key note (1st note) is known as tonic chord. Thus the tonic chord is the most important basic chord of any musical piece. In other words, if we have to play just one chord for any musical piece, it must be the tonic chord. Number Name Note Tonic chord 1 2 3 4 Subdominant F 5 Dominant G 6 Submediant A 7 8

Tonic Supertonic Mediant C C major D E

Leading Octave Note B C

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Sub-dominant: The sub-dominant chord is the next most important chord after the dominant chord (which is discussed in the next section below) in its consonance with the tonic. The chord corresponding to the 4th note in a scale is known as the sub-dominant chord. In case of C scale, the sub-dominant chord is F major. Number Name Note Subdominant chord 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Tonic Supertonic Mediant C D E

Dominant SubLeading Octave Submediant Note dominant G A B C F F major

Dominant: The dominant chord is the most important chord next to the tonic in a scale since it is in very good consonance with the tonic. The chord corresponding to the 5th note in a scale is known as the dominant chord. In our example of C scale, the dominant chord will be G major. Number Name Note Dominant chord Dominant Seventh: The dominant seventh chord is the seventh chord (seventh here represents the chord type as explained in page 24) corresponding to the 5th note of the scale. In case of C scale, the dominant seventh chord is G7. Number Name Note Dominant Seventh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Tonic Supertonic Mediant C D E

SubSubLeading Octave Dominant dominant mediant Note F A B C G G major

Tonic Supertonic Mediant C D E

SubSubLeading Octave Dominant dominant mediant Note F A B C G G7

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The G7 chord involves G, B, D and F notes. As we have already seen, F is the subdominant in C scale, G is the dominant in C scale and D is known as the supertonic or double dominant of C scale. Since the dominant seventh chord (G7 in case of C scale) involves all these notes, it has highly versatile application in any song or musical piece. Simply said, the dominant seventh chord is an enhanced version of the dominant chord (G major in case of C scale) due to the inclusion of the sub-dominant note (F in case of C scale). G7 involves four notes (G, B, D and F) which are involved also in C scale while C major involves three of the notes involved in C scale (C, E and G). The note G is found in both C major chord and G7 chord. Thus just these two chords cover all the notes involved in the C scale except the note A. Therefore, simply said, even if one doesn't know using any other relative chord in a key, he/she can just use the major chord of the scale or key(C major in case of C scale) and the dominant seventh chord (G7 in case of C scale) to complete a simple chord arrangement for the song. In a very broad sense, if we are singing a song in C major (as an example), wherever we think that there is a variation in tonality of the chord in the song, if we use the dominant seventh chord and then return back to C major with the next change in tonality, we will be able to play any song with a decent chord arrangement with just two chords. Thus the seventh chords are highly powerful chords that can be used by any musician even if he/she has to give a quick chord accompaniment to some singer singing even an unknown new song. Relative minor: The minor chord corresponding to the 6th note in a scale is known as the relative minor chord. In case of C scale, A minor (Am) is the relative minor chord. As we saw earlier while deriving the natural minor scales in (page 11), the relative minor relationship of A minor to C major comes from the fact that the natural A minor scale has the same notes as that of C major scale (Refer page 11). Therefore, the relative minor chord can play a very important role along with the dominant, sub-dominant and dominant seventh chords in any given major scale. In general, the tonic, dominant, sub-dominant and the relative minor chords for any given scale are conisdered as the primary members of the family of chords. Let us therefore try to recall the method of finding these primary chords for any given scale. Again for convenience, C scale has been used as an example here. (i) (ii) (iii) To begin with, we have to write down the notes of the scale. Then number the different notes of the scale sequentially from one to eight. The chord corresponding to the 1st note is the tonic chord (C major in C scale)

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(iv) (v) (vi) (vii)

The chord corresponding to the 4th note is the sub-dominant chord (F major in C scale). The chord corresponding to the 5th note is the dominant chord (G major in C scale) The seventh chord corresponding to the 5th note is the dominant seventh chord (G7 in C scale) Finally, the chord corresponding to the 6th note is the relative minor chord (A minor in C scale)

The above points can be summarized in a table as shown below to arrive at the primary members of the family of chords for any given scale. Number Name Note Chord Type 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Tonic Supertonic Mediant C C major D E

Leading Octave SubDominant SubNote dominant mediant B C F G A F Major G7 and G major A minor

We can use the above methodology to arrive at the primary family of chords for each of the twelve major scales. The table below displays the family of chords for the various major scales.

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SubDominant Relative dominant and minor Dominant seventh Number 2 3 7 8 1 4 5 6 Name Tonic Supertonic Mediant Leading Octave SubDominant SubNote dominant mediant Scale D E B C C F G A Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family Scale Family C G G D D A A E E B B F# F# F F Bb Bb Eb Eb Ab Ab Db Db A E B F# C# B F# C# G# D# F C C G G D D A A E E B B Bb Bb Eb Eb Ab Ab Db Db Gb Gb G and G7 D D and D7 A A and A7 E E and E7 B B and B7 F# F# and F#7 C# C# and C#7 C C and C7 F F and F7 Bb Bb and Bb7 Eb Eb and Eb7 Ab Ab and Ab7 Am E Em B Bm F# F#m C# C#m G# G#m D# D#m D Dm G Gm C Cm F Fm Bb Bbm F# C# G# D# A# G D A E B

Chord

Tonic

G#

A#

F#

G C F

A D G

E A D

F Bb Eb

Bb

Ab

Eb

Db

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Summarizing the above table to show only the primary family of chords that we learnt for each scale, we get Scale Tonic SubDominant Dominant Relative dominant seventh minor C C F G G7 Am G G C D D7 Em D D G A A7 Bm A A D E E7 F#m E E A B B7 C#m B B E F# F#7 G#m F# F# B C# C#7 D#m F F Bb C C7 Dm Bb Bb Eb F F7 Gm Eb Eb Ab Bb Bb7 Cm Ab Ab Db Eb Eb7 Fm Db Db Gb Ab Ab7 Bbm Extended family of chords: While it is important for musicians to be familiar with the primary family of chords, as we already saw while deriving chords, there are thousands of possible chords available for musicians to utilize in developing more creative and exciting musical arrangments. Though it is almost impossible to learn all these available chords and define their utility, it will be useful for us to learn how we can use some of these chords. We will first go through the extended family of chords that can be commonly associated with the different scales. To start with, let us try to gain some more understanding about the common chord tonalities that can be associated with each note in a given scale. Again, let us consider the example of the C scale. As we already saw earlier, the 1st note is tonic and in general is associated with a major chord tonality. The 2nd note (supertonic) can be consonant to the scale more effectively as a minor chord. I think that one of the reasons for this is the fact that the minor chord corresponding to the supertonic involves the notes involved in the scale. For example, in case of C major scale, the supertonic note is D. The D minor chord involves D F and A notes all of which are involved again in C major scale. The 3rd note or the mediant can be consonant in the scale as an augmented chord. For example, in case of C scale, we can use the E augmented (E+) chord. We already saw in the previous section that the 4th, 5th and 6th notes can be consonant as major (sub-dominant), major or seventh (dominant) and minor chords (relative minor) respectively. The seventh note being the leading note can be consonant with the scale as a diminished chord. In case of C scale, the leading note is B and therefore B diminished chord can be utilized in C scale. The following table shows the extended family of chords for the C major scale.

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Number Name Note Chord Type

3 Mediant E Augmented

7 Leading Note B

8 Octave C Major

Tonic Supertonic C Major D Minor

Dominant SubSubmediant dominant F G A Major

Dominant Relative Diminished seventh minor or major

We can now write down the extended family of chords for the other scales using the same set of rules. The minor chords are represented by the name of the chord followed by a small m (for example, Cm represents C minor). The augmented chords are generally represented by a + sign after the name of the chord (for example E+ represents, E Augmented) while the diminished chords are represented by a - sign after the name of the chord (for example, B- represents B diminished).

Number Name C family G family D family A family E family B family F# family F family Bb family Eb family Ab family Db family

3 Mediant E+, B+ F#+ C#+ G#+ D#+ A#+ A+ D+ G+ C+ F+

7 Leading Note BF#C#G#D#A#FEADGC-

8 Octave C G D A E B F# F Bb Eb Ab Db

Tonic Supertonic C G D A E B F# F Bb Eb Ab Db Dm Am Em Bm F#m C#m G#m Gm Cm Fm Bbm Ebm

SubDominant Subdominant mediant F G7, G Am C D7, D Em G A7, A Bm D E7, E F#m A E B Bb Eb Ab Db Gb B7, B F#7, F# C#7, C# C7, C F7, F Bb7, Bb Eb7, Eb Ab7, Ab C#m G#m D#m Dm Gm Cm Fm Bbm

Other relative chords:

By extending the family of chords, from the primary family of chords we have effectively learnt about the use of two new types of chords namely the augmented and the diminshed chords in addition to the major, minor and seventh chords. But as we saw earlier, there 38

are many more types of chords available out there. In general, the usage of the rest of the types of chords cannot be well-defined. Depending on the style of music or the style adapted by a musician, the usage of the rest of these chords can be highly diversified. Therefore the details that I am trying to put together out here regarding the usage of these other types of chords are merely based on how I learnt applying these chords in arrangment of chords for hymns, choruses and other contemperorary Christian songs. One can just use this as a initial guidance to get used to using these types of chords and then can come up with different possible chord arrangements.

Again for simplicity, let us use the C major scale as the example (for most cases to correlate chord relationships) in trying to learn the significance, relationship and application of the various types of chords. Note: The song numbers referred here are the song numbers in the songs file that I have already put together. Some chord arrangements put in here (especially to illustrate the utility of specific chords) might be slightly different from that given in the songs file. Such variation in arrangements can be considered as the possible diverse arrangement of chords for a song. Such arrangements also illustrate the possiblity of substituting one chord in a song with some other chord depending on the style of musician or the singer. I have given guitar chord position diagrams as much as possible for relatively rare or unknown chords used here leaving out the well known chords. One can find chord position diagrams for common chords (if unknown) from various websites in the internet easily. To the best possible extent, I have chosen mostly the well known Christian songs and hymns for illustrative examples here. But even if the tunes for the songs given in these examples are unknown, it may still be possible to learn the use and application of these chords by just playing the sequence of chords in the arrangements to gain an understanding about the specific application of the rare chords in varied chord arrangements. I would strongly recommend the readers to try out these chords slowly (one at a time) with a guitar in hand to gain a better understanding of their application rather than just reading through this section rapidly. Major chords: The most common major chord other than the dominant and the sub-dominant chords that can often be associated with C scale is E major. Let us see an example of this for the case of a song in E major scale. For E scale, G# will be the chord (similar to E major for C scale). Example: Song 189 - In the garden G#m E G# E I come to the garden alone

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Minor chords: Fading the sub-dominant major chord to the corresponding minor chord in many cases often adds a unique expression in a musical piece (Example: Fading from F major to F minor in C scale). Example: Song 144- Id rather have Jesus C Em F Fm C Em G C Fm6 C Id rather have Jesus than a-ny thing this world affords today.
E x 1 2 3 3 4 5 Fm 4 3 4 5 Fm6 A D G 1 B 1 E 1 1 2 3 4 E x A x D G 1 B 1 E 1

In some styles of music, we can very well substitute the sub-dominant major with the corresponding minor chord (playing F minor instead of F major in C scale). We can consider an example here in E scale in which case we can use A minor instead of A major which is the sub-dominant major chord for E scale. Example: Song 141 I surrender all E Am E G#7 AM7 B All to Jesus I surrender E Am E G#7 B E All to Him I freely give

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E x 1 2 3 4 5

A x

G 1

B 1

E 1 1 2 3 4 5

G#7

AM7

Often, we may also encounter musical pieces where the mediant chord tonality is minor. Thus in C major scale, E minor chord can be often used. Example: Song 140 - O holy night C Em F Am7 G O! Holy Night the stars are brightly shining Am Em C Its the night of the dear Saviours birth Em F Am7 G Long lay the world in sin and darkness pining B7 Em B Em Till He appeared gift of in--finite worth G Em Am G Behold the Babe in yonder manger lowly Em G Em Am7 G Tis Gods own Son, come down in human form Am FM7 G Em7 Dm Am C Fall on your knees before the Lord most ho-ly Seventh chords: We already saw the versatility of the dominant seventh chord in the section involving the discussion about primary family of chords. In addition to the dominant seventh chord, we can often use the seventh tonality for the mediant in a scale(3rd note which is E7 in the case of C scale). Seventh tonality of the tonic is also particularly useful during transfer of chords from the tonic to the sub-dominant. For example, one can often (but not necessarily always) use C7 as a bridging chord while going from C major chord to F major chord. Alternatively, one can also use C7#5 as a bridging chord between C major and F major.

41

The chord C#7b5 can be used as a bridging chord between G7 and C while returning to C from G7. Example: Song 145 - It is well with my soul G7 C F Fm G7 C#7b5 C It is well,.. with my soul.. it is well, it is well with my soul
E A x x 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 C#7b5 4 5 G7b9 3 3 2 4 D G B E E A D G 1 1 3 B o E 2

The chord G7b9 can sometimes be used instead of Bdim (B-) or B7dim (B7-) in C scale. Example: Song 144 Id rather have Jesus In this song, I generally use B7dim chord for the word dread. That chord can be replaced effectively by G7b9. G Em7 FM7 C G Em7 G7b9 Cdim Than to be the King of a vast domain, and be held in sins dread sway

Major Seventh chords: The use of major seventh chords in western music was very popular during the eighties. In case of C scale, one can use C major seventh (CM7) instead of C major and F major seventh (FM7) instead of F major. Example: Song - Thy loving kindness EM7 AM7 G#m F#m Adim Thy loving kindness is better than life B Bsus4 E Thy loving kindness is better than life

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EM7 AM7 E+ Am My lips shall praise thee, thus will I bless Thee A E B E Thy loving kindness is better than life Example: Song 208 - Power of Your love E B G#7 Esus4 E B C#m Hold me close, Let Your love surround me C#m E B G#7 F#m6 E EM7 AM7 Bring me near; Draw me to Your side E B G#7 Am Esus4 E And as I wait, I'll rise up like the eagle E E+ C#m E+ Am A And I will soar with You, Your Spirit leads me on C7dim B7 Am6 E In the power of Your Love One can also use FmM7 in C scale to get a unique minor and major seventh tonality. This chord can be highly useful finishing chord in cases of many good old hymns. Example: Song 189 - In the garden In this song which I generally sing in the key of E major, one can effectively use AmM7 (similar to using FmM7 in case of C scale) as a finishing chord. E E+ B Ebdim/Gb And He walks with me and He talks with me Ebdim Am6 G# E And He tells me I am His own G# C#m E+ A Am And the joy we share as we tarry there E AmM7 E None others would ever know. Alternatively, one can use minor major seventh chords as bridging chords while fading the tonality of chords by semitones in certain songs to add unique expression to the piece of music. Example: Song 167 - You are beautiful In this case, for the phrase, Holy God to whom all praise is dueone can effectively fade bass notes by semitones starting from F# to all the way down to D# through the notes F and E. Thus the sequence of bass notes over the phrase can be F#, F, E and D#. For such a sequence, the corresponding chords could be F#m (F# as the bass note), F#mM7 (with F as the bass note), F#m7 (with E as the bass note) and then D#m7b5(with D# as the

43

bass note). For convenience of observing this fading sequence, I have boldened the finger numbers in the chord diagram in the fourth string. F#m F#mM7 F#m7 D#m7b5 Holy God to whom all praise is due A Bdim E A I stand in awe of You, A Bdim D A I stand in awe of You.
E A x x 1 1 2 3 4 4 5 F#m E A x x 1 2 2 3 4 5 D#m7b5 3 4 4 5 2 6 3 7 B dim (Note the fret number) 4 D 1 3 G B E 4 5 F#mM7 E A x x D x G B 4 5 F#m7 E 1 1 2 3 3 3 D G B E E A x x 1 1 1 1 2 D G B E E A x x 1 1 1 1 1 D G B E

Minor seventh chords: In C major scale, we can sometimes replace Em with Em7 or Am with Am7 to effectively get a milder minor tonality. Example: Song 140 - O holy night C Em F Am7 G O! Holy Night the stars are brightly shining 44

Am Em C Its the night of the dear Saviours birth Em F Am7 G Long lay the world in sin and darkness pining B7 Em B Em Till He appeared gift of in--finite worth G Em Am G Behold the Babe in yonder manger lowly Em G Em Am7 G Tis Gods own Son, come down in human form Am FM7 G Em7 Dm Am C Fall on your knees before the Lord most ho-ly
E A o D G B 1 1 2 2 4 3 4 5 Am7 3 4 5 Em7 3 2 4 3 4 5 FM7 1 2 3 2 1 E

E o

G o

E o

E o

Conversely, we can also use Em7 instead of G or Am7 instead of C to get a milder major tonality in C scale. It will be worthwhile to note here that essentially Am7 is equivalent to C6. Both C6 and Am7 share the same set of notes. Similarly, Dm7 can also be used instead of either Dm or F in C scale. Example: Song 26 We are here to praise You (D scale Here using Em7 in D scale is equivalent to using Dm7 in C scale) D Em Em7A A7 D Dsus4 D We are here to praise You, lift our hearts and sing

Gm7b5 can be used in C scale as a finishing chord just before returning to C. Example: Song 144 Id rather have Jesus Chorus: G Em7 FM7 C G 45 Em7 B7dim C7dim

Than to be the King of a vast domain, and be held in sins dread sway C Em F Fm C Em G C Gm7b5 C Id rather have Jesus than a-ny thing this world affords today.
E 1 3 2 4 3 5 4 6 7 Gm7b5 (Note the Fret Number) 4 5 B7 Dim 4 5 C7 Dim 3 3 2 2 A D G 1 B E 1 1 E A x x D o G 1 B o E 3 1 E A x x D G B 2 3 4 E

Ninth chords: In terms of versatility, the ninth chords are pretty similar to that of the seventh chords in a scale since they involve five notes that are involved in the scale. For example, G9 which can be used instead of G7 in C scale involves G, B, D, F and A notes. In other words, it involves all the other notes in C scale except the notes C and E which are involved in C major chord. Therefore it can be used as a versatile substitute for any other chord in C scale other than C major. Example: Song 69 Shepherd of my soul

Fm(G)

G7

Shepherd of my soul, I give you full control Am Dm Gsus4 G Wherever you may lead, I will follow C F Fm(G) C I have made the choice, to listen to your voice Am Dm G C C7 Wherever you may lead, I will go F G9 C Em Am Be it in a quiet pasture, Or by a gentle stream Dm G Esus4 E The shepherd of my soul is by my side. F G9 C Em Am Should I face a mighty mountain, or a valley dark and deep? Dm G9 C The shepherd of my soul will be my guide.

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A o

D o

G o

B o

E 1

1 2 3 3 4 5 G9

Major Ninth Chords: Major ninth chords can be viewed as a combination of a minor seventh and a major chord. For example, FM9 which can be used in C scale involves F A C E and G notes. Am7 involves the notes A, C, E and G while F major involves the notes F, A and C. A combination of these notes to form a chord results as FM9 chord. Because of this, FM9 can also be represented as Am7/F. Such a representation implies that Am7 has to be played with F as the bass note. In general, such chords are great tools in orchestration when we have a bass guitarist or a keyboard player. M9 can also be used instead of M7 chords. For example, in C scale, FM9 can be used instead of FM7 to give a milder major seventh tonality. Alternatively FM9 can also be viewed as a combination of two major chords (F major which involves F A and C notes and C major which involves C, E and G notes). Therefore, chords C and F played by two musicians in unison can also result in a M9 tonality. Example: Song 11 - Come on and celebrate (Using CM9 in G scale is similar to using FM9 in C scale)

G Em7/A Em7/B D7 Bm Come on and celebrate, His gift of love we will celebrate, CM9 G C G Am F D The Son of God who loved us, and gave us life,

Minor Ninth chords:

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Dm9 can be used in C scale instead of either Dm or G7. Alternatively Fm9 can also be used in C scale. Example: Song 27 As the deer pants (Using Em9 in D scale is similar to using Dm9 in C scale) Chorus: Bm GM7 G D You alone are my strength, my shield G Bm Em9 Bsus4 To You alone may my spirit yield
E o 1 2 2 3 4 5 Em9 A o D o G o B o E

Added Ninth chords: These chords along with suspended fourths have become very popular in contemperorary worship songs. In general, F added ninth (F+9), G added ninth (G+9), C added ninth (C+9), A minor added ninth (Am+9), D minor added ninth (Dm+9) and C sixth added ninth (C6+9) can be used in C scale. Example: Song 15 - Give thanks (In G scale, using G+9, C+9 and C6+9 is equivalent to using C+9, F+9 and F6+9 in C scale) G Em G+9 D Em G+/Eb D Bm Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, C Gsus4 G F Am C6+9 D7 Give thanks because Hes given Jesus Christ His Son, C+9 D C+9 G C C7dim D7 G Bm And now let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich,

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G Em G F Am C6+9 G Gsus4 G Because of what our Lord hath done for us, give thanks.
E A D G o B E o 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 C+9 4 3 2 4 3 5 G+9 4 4 5 C6+9 2 1 3 2

A o

D o

G o

B 1

E o

G o

B 1

D o

B 1

E A o o 1

B o

E o

1 2 2 3 4 5 G sus4 3 4

1 2 2 3 4 5 D7 sus4 3

2 2 3 4 5

E sus4

A x

D 1

G o

B o

E x 1

E x

A x

D 1

B 2 3

1 2 2 3 4 5 G+/Eb

2 3 4 5 C7 dim

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Eleventh Chords: These are six note chords. Therefore we may have limitations in instruments like guitar to play these chords. Nevertheless, eleventh chords can be considered as a combination of a suspended fourth chord and a minor sixth chord. For example, G11 has the following notes: G, C, D, A, B and F notes. Eleventh chord can be used as a bridging chord between two consecutive major chords. For example in C scale, G11 can be used between C and D. Example: Song 145 It is well with my soul C Am G11 C When peace like a river attendeth my way, C G11 D D7 G G7 When sorrows like sea billows roll
E A D o G B o E 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 G11 4

In C scale Dm11 chord can be sometimes used instead of FM7. It will be interesting to note the tonality of Dm11 sometimes resembling closely to the tonality of FM7. It turns out that Dm11 has notes that form C major (C E and G) and Dm (D F and A). Alternatively, Dm11 can sometimes be used instead of F major. Example: Song 156 Blessing and Honor Gsus4 FM7 Gsus4 C Your kingdom shall reign over all the earth Bb Dm11 G Sing unto the Ancient of Days

50

E A o o 1 2 3 4 5

D o

G o

B 1

E 1 1

E x

D o

B 1

A o

D o

G o

E o 1

1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 D7sus4 Am+11

2 3 4 5 Dm11

In C scale, Am+11, Dm+11 and Em+11 can be used at times instead of the corresponding minor chords to give a softer minor tonality. Example: Song 2 What a mighty God (Using Am+11 in G scale is similar to using Dm+11 in C scale) G Em G D7sus4 G Em Am+11 D7 What a mighty God we have What a mighty God we have G G+ C Cm G D7 GCG What a mighty God we have What a mighty God we have

mM11 chords could be used as bridging chords between major chords and minor chord (instead of the usual seventh chords) for songs in minor scales. For example, in the song When the spirit of the Lord which can be sung in the key of E minor, one can use EmM11 instead of B7 before returning to Em. Example: Song 9 When the Spirit of the Lord E7 Am G Em Am B7 Bsus4 B I will si..ng I will sing I will sing like David sang, C Am G Em D EmM11 Em I will sing I will sing I will sing like David sang. Example: Song Saare jahan se achcha To give another well known example here, in indian patriotic song, Saare Jahan se achcha one can use EmM11 at the following line of the song (When sung in hindustani Em) EmM11 Em Mazh ab nahi sikatha 51

E A o o 1

D 2

G o

B o

E o 1

G 1

E o

1 3 1 2 3 2 4 4 5 EmM11 B sus4 1

2 2

3 4

2 3 4 5

3 4 5 E7

Thirteenth chords: Thirteenth chords are seven note chords and in general are not practically possible to be played in guitars without omitting some of the notes. It may be worthwhile noting here that seven note chords like the thirteenth chords often contain all the notes that may be involved in a scale. For example, G13 involves G B D F A C and E notes which are nothing but all the seven notes involved in C scale. Thus if one holds all the seven consecutive white keys together in a keyboard, it will result in the G13 chord. One can easily notice that chords that have more than five notes sound more general (not relatively unique or distinct in their tonality) in their tonality compared the chords that have five or less than five notes which sound more specific or distinct in their tonality. This may be due to the fact that the increase in the number of the notes in a chord eventually tends to reduce the specificity of the tone of the chord. In arranging chords for a piece of music, it may always be nice to arrange chords with distinct tonality to emphasize the distinctions in the musical piece. Thus, in general for most of the songs, in all practicality, we may not have the need to use the eleventh or the thirteenth chords other than the added chords like Am+11 or G+11. Augmented Chords: We already saw that the augmented chord corresponding to the mediant note in the scale is consonant with the scale. It is worthwhile to note here that there are only four augmented chords. If we look at the notes involved in augmented chords, we will find that C augmented is equivalent to E augmented and G# augmented, C# augmented is equivalent to F augmented and A augmented, D augmented is equivalent to F# augmented and A# augmented and lastly D# augmented is equivalent to G augmented and B augmented chords. These equivalent chords share the same set of notes.

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Augmented chords are convenient bridging chords between the tonic and the the subdominant chords. For example, C+ can be used as a bridging chord between C major and F major. Example: Song 17 Majesty (In G scale, using G+ is similar to using C+ in C scale) G CG G+ C Em Am Majesty, worship His Majesty, G G+ G Em G F Am Am7 D7 Unto Jesus, be all glory, honour and praise, G Gsus4 G D7sus4 C Em Am Majesty, kingdom authority, C G Em F D7 C G Flows from His throne, unto His own, His anthem raise Dsus4 Am Dsus4 D G CM7 G So exalt, lift up on high, the Name of Jesus Dsus4 Am Dsus4 D B7 B Em Am D7 Magnify, come glorify, Christ Jesus the King G CG G+ C Em Am Majesty, worship His Majesty, C G Em F D7 C G Jesus who died now glorified, King of all kings.

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E x 1 2 3 4 5

A x

G o

B 1

D o

B 1

1 2 2 3 4 4 5 G+ E A D G o B o E o 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 CM7 3 4 5 D sus4 2 3 4 1 E A G sus4 D o G B E 3 4

1 2 2 3 4 5 D7 sus4 E A o D G B 1 E

1 2

1 2 2 4 3 4 5 Am7 3

Example: Song 82 What a Friend we have in Jesus ( In E scale, using E+ is similar to using C+ in C scale) E C#m7 E+ A C7dim What a friend we have in Jesus

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G 1

B 2

E o 3

E x

A x

E A x x 1

D 1

B 2 3

1 3 2 3 4 5 E+

4 1 5 2 6 7 C#m7 3 4

2 3 4 5 C7dim

They are also convenient bridging chords between relative minor and the tonic. For example, to go from Am to C, we can use C+ as a bridge chord. Example: Song 93 With my hands lifted up G Bm Em G Am C+ With my hands lifted up and my mouth filled with praise C Cm Am D7 G C G With a heart of thanksgiving I will bless thee O Lord.
E A x D G 1 1 3 2 3 4 5 C+ B 2 E o

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Diminished Chords: We already saw that B diminished chord is consonant with C scale. G# diminished can also be used in C scale. Diminished chords are great chords to give a finishing touch to songs. It must be noted here that the term diminished chord is widely applied in musical literature for also the seventh diminished chord as I have explained in the chord tables in pages, 26-29 (For example C7- is also referred to as C- in many songs). If we get back to the tables in pages 26-29, one can notice that there are only three seventh diminished chords and the rest of them are just the equivalents of these three seventh diminished chords. Diminished chords can be handy chords that can often be used at the end of a line or musical strain (especially in good old hymns) to add a unique expression of importance. For C scale, B7dim can be used. Example: Song 82 What a Friend we have in Jesus (One can use C7dim in case of E scale similar to using B7dim in case of C scale) E C#m7 E+ A C7dim What a friend we have in Jesus

Example: Song 144 Id rather have Jesus Chorus: G Em7 FM7 C G Em7 B7dim C7dim Than to be the King of a vast domain, and be held in sins dread sway C Em F Fm C Em G C Gm7b5 C Id rather have Jesus than a-ny thing this world affords today.
E A x x 1 2 3 4 5 B7 Dim D o G 1 B o E 3 1 2 3 4 5 C7 Dim E A x x D G B 2 1 3 4 2 3 4 5 FM7 E E A D G B E o

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Suspended chords: These are highly versatile chords often used along with the added ninths and power chords in contemporary praise and worship songs. Suspended fourths and suspended second chords (also commonly known as second chords) in general are equivalent. For example G suspended fourth is equivalent to suspended second also known as C2. For C scale, the common suspended chords that can be used are Csus4 (Fsus2 or F2), Gsus4 (Csus2 or C2) and G7sus4. Example: Song 156 Blessing and Honor C Csus4 C C Csus4 C Blessing and honor, glory and power C Csus4 Am Gsus4 Be unto the Ancient of Days C Csus4 C Csus4 C From every nation, all of creation C Csus4 C Gsus4 Bow before the Ancient of Days
E 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 Csus4 4 3 4 3 5 Gsus4 4 1 1 1 1 A D G B E

G o

B 1

1 2

Example: Song 14 He is exalted G Gsus4 G Gsus4 C He is exalted the King is exalted on high, G Am+11 D7sus4 D7 I will praise Him. G Gsus4 G Gsus4 C D G Am Esus4 E He is exalted forever exalted and I will praise His Name, Am D G Em7 Em

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He is the Lord, forever His truth shall reign, C Am+11 D7 G C+9 C D Heaven and earth rejoice in His holy Name C Am F D7 G Gsus4 G He is exalted the King is exalted on high.
E A D G o B 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 G sus4 3 4 3 4 5 D7 sus4 1 2 2 3 2 3 4 5 E sus4 E

D o

B 1

E A o o 1

B o

E o

A o

D o

G o

E o 1 1

G o

E o

1 2 2 3 4 5 Am+11

2 2 3 3 4 5 C+9 4

Suspended major seventh chords are very good to be used along with power chords ands suspended fourth chords especially to fill gaps between a power chord and a suspended fourth chord. Example: Song 197 Open the eyes of my heart, Lord E EsusM7 Open the eyes of my heart, Lord; Open the eyes of my heart A+9/E E Esus4 A+9/E E Esus4 I want to see You, I want to see You

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B o

E o 5 6

B o

E o

B o

E o

5 6 1 7 8 9 3 E E A D G B o E o 4

5 1 6 1 2 7 2 8 3 9 EsusM7 E A D G B o E o 4 5 2 7 8 6 7 4 Esus4 8 C#m7 B o E o 1 2 2 3 4 5 Bsus4 E A D G B E 3 4 E A 1 D A+9/E G B o E o 3

7 8 9

5 1 6 2 7 8 4 9 E E A D G B E

5 6

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

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Power chords: As already noted in our discussion regarding dominants, the use of just the tonic note and the dominant note together (a diad as a chord rather than a triad which had been more traditionally defined as a chord) has become very popular in the recent past. The consonance of these notes are so good and these combinations in general known as the power chords. Any major chord in a song can be replaced in general by the corresponding power chord. Power chords are in general more commonly used by lead guitarists in contemporary rock music. While the consonance of the dominant with the tonic note makes the power chord more attractive, it also has to be noted that by using just two notes in a chord, we also end up making the chord more specific with respect to its tonality. (Contrast this to the use of seven notes in a thirteenth chord which results in a highly general tonality). Example: (The same song given in the previous example) Song 197 Open the eyes of my heart Lord

Note Regarding Updates: In this update, I have primarily put together examples (songs mostly from the songs file) for the application of various types of rare chords in chord arrangements. It is my hope that these examples are useful to learn the application of various types of chords.

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