Day 16.

Chords and Chord Groups

Below is how you create major and minor chord-based bass note sequences.

These are notes that you have the option of playing. You can include them all or leave some out. But for now play them all.

Major chord - basically play the 1st, 3rd, 5th and octave of the major scale along with any connecting and/or chromatic notes you might want to use.

Minor chord - play the 1st, flatted 3rd (of the major scale), 5th and octave along with any connecting and/or chromatic notes you might want to use.

Further on in this section is a list of how to create many other chords and, for the bass player, this is also a list of the notes which can be selected (but don't have to be selected) when you're playing the notes in chords and trying to influence the sound of a piece in one way or another. Options. But for now, play them all so that the harmonies of the individual chords become familiar and you can actually hear the chords in your mind even though you're playing separate notes.

From here on I will refer to the positions by number and omit the ths or rds or nds after the numbers.

I advise you to spend a lot of time on this section, maybe five days, and play the notes of many different chords using each of these ideas, below, which extend or alter the structures of chords. For example, using a Bb major scale, Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A and Bb, first play, in rapid succession if you can or as fast as you can go without making mistakes, the 1st, 3rd, 5th and octave, Bb, D, F, Bb (octave), then backwards. Then play the major 7th succession of notes (see the chart beginning two pages forward), then the major 6th succession of notes, then the major 9th succession of notes, then the major 11th, major 13th, then the minor 6th, etc . . ., etc . . .

Definition: extension: a note that adds more harmonic dimension to an existing chord. Constructed by adding on a major or minor third beyond the existing chord's notes. ie.' 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13. The 7th is a 3rd (four half-steps) beyond the 5th. The 9th is a minor 3rd (three half-steps) beyond the 7th. The 11th is a minor 3rd (three half-steps) beyond the 9th. The 13th is a 3rd (four half-steps) beyond the 11th.

Definition: alteration: raising or lowering a note by a half-step. Most often used on the 5th and 9th position notes but sometimes on higher numbered positions, too.

Today would be the day for you to go out to your nearest music store to buy some sheet music of/from your favorite songs, singers or groups. Just one or two at first. You might also want to buy the CD or cassette that has the song(s) on it.

Chord Groups

There are three basic groups of chords: major, minor and dominant 7th. Major chords are characterized by having a 3rd; minor chords have a b3rd; dominant chords have a b7th, again, using the major scale positions as basic reference points and defining the minor and dominant 7th scales and chords in terms of the positions of the major. The dominant 7th group has many more chords than either the major or minor groups because of the large number of extensions and alterations and combinations of extensions and alterations available to the chords in the group.

There is a fourth group, the augmented and diminished group (augmented means 'added to' or sharped ( # ) and diminished means 'subtracted from' or flatted ( b )) whose chords are characterized by having one or two altered notes. This group has very few chords in it and is less important for that reason. You will, however, run into augmented and diminished forms of chords so please understand them in their group, below.

LISTEN carefully as you play to get your ears attuned to the differences in these successions of notes.

Note: you don't have to actually memorize any of the following. By going through these formulations mentally and playing them on your bass you'll slowly become familiar with them, patterns will become more apparent to you and you'll absorb them rather than just memorizing them.

Remind yourself to do this: on each succeeding day of these five days replay some (or all) of each of the previous day's chord-based bass note sequences and play the notes in different orders according to how you feel and/or what you'd like to hear at the moment. For example, if you play the notes C, E and G, mix them up a bit. Play, say, C and G, then C and E, then G, C and E, etc... Add a 6th. . . . Add any other position(s). Add some fingering techniques (in the Appendix). You've learned seven or eight fingering techniques by now haven't you?

It's very important to spend this much time on this !! Five days of this and it'll blow your mind how much you've improved !! I'm not kidding.

Chords

Major group: ~~~~~~~~ Play everything forwards and backwards, of course.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ P o s i t i o n s ~~~~~~~~~~~ Note: (op) = optional.

~~~~ major sixth~~~1~~~3~~~5~~~6~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ and you can always use the octave so I won't be mentioning it again

~~~ major seventh~~~1~~~3~~~5~~~~~~~7

~~~~ major ninth~~~1~~~3~~~5~~~~~~~7~~~9 (or use the 2nd). If the 7th were not present the chord would be called an 'add 9th.'

If the major 7th is in the chord then the chord is called a major 9th. It's named or labeled by its highest numbered extension. If no 7th is present then it would be called an 'add 9th.'

~~~major eleventh~~~1~~~3~~~5~~~~~~~7~~~9(op) ~~~11 (or use the 4th). The chord is called the 11th if the 7th is present.

~~ major thirteenth~~~1~~~3~~~5~~~~~~~7~~~9(op)~~~11(op)~~~13 (or use the 6th).

A chord with both the 6th and 9th but no 7th would be labeled a '6 add 9.'

~~~~~~ 6 add 9~~~1~~~3~~~5~~~6~~~~~~~9

~~~~~~~ add 9~~~1~~~3~~~5~~~~~~~~~~~9

~~~~major 7 #11~~~1~~~3~~~5~~~~~~~7~~~~~~~~#11

End of day 16.