xdoomx wrote:
I'm looking for a chord generator..
Something almost identical to this, but maybe someone knows something better?
http://jguitar.com/chord?root=d&tuning=4A%2C4E%2C5A%2C5D%2C5G%23%2C6C%23&chord=Major
A key feature is being able to tell it what I'm tuned in.. In my case it's: A E A D G C# and then generate desired chord shapes based on that.
(the pasted link should show you D major shapes in my tuning)
I'd like to use this as a composition tool by choosing a chord (eg minor 9th) and then generating all the chords that 'go' with it. Is that possible, or do I need to know more theory?
After 20 years+ of playing guitar I've never attempted to compose in this way. Maybe you guys have some input?
this is a very cool tool. if you don't mind, i'm gonna borrow it.
shreddy's question is extremely pertinent to this discussion. scales, scale tones, chord tones; in theory, the principles are the same, in essence. but you will require at least a basic understanding of it if your composition is to really get off the ground. essentially, it works like this (and this is the very basics, the building blocks, as it were. this is probably dangerous, as over-simplification can often lead to confusion, so feel free to pick this apart if you need further clarification):
starting with the major scale (the do-re-mi we all learned in nursery scale, sorry, school), and using the C major scale for simplicity's sake, you get the following notes:
C D E F G A B (and back to) C. in other words, do - re - mi - fa - so - la - ti - (which will bring us back to) do.
in a more generic sense, this is sometimes expressed as using roman numerals, but don't worry about this too much right now.
what is more important than the notes themselves, is the intervals between them. if you apply the same interval formula, and start on any note, you will always end up with a major scale. (note: the same applies to chords. each chord structure has its own 'formula'. ever played an F major barre chord? slide the shape up two frets and you have a G major barre chord. same shape, different sound. same principle.)
key to the formula:
R: (root note, starting place for the scale. start on any note, apply the formula, and you're playing the scale.)
W: (whole step, two frets on the guitar, two notes apart on the piano keyboard [including black keys].)
H: (half step; one fret on the guitar, one note up/down [but generally speaking, up] on the piano keyboard.)
the formula for the major scale looks like this:
R W W H W W W (and then a half step back up to the root). C - D is one whole step. D - E again. E - F is a half step. F - G is a whole step. G - A is another whole step. the last whole step is A - B, and then B - C is a half step.
so. enough with the boring (but necessary) stuff. how to put a song together in a key. we'll use the key of C major as a reference point because the key is the starting point. it will tell you what scale to use, which, in turn, unlocks the majority of the chords for you. right, we're in the key of C major, and we're using chords built off the C major scale. (that one up there with which we're far too familiar.) but how to build which chords?
another formula (last one, i promise. but probably most important when it comes to chords):
I ii iii IV V vi vii I
this formula (i call it a formula - no idea what the correct term for it is) tells us, or me at any rate, what 'flavour' or character, each degree of the major scale has. you've probably seen something like this if you've ever seen the circle of fifths. is it major, or minor, basically. if the degree is uppercase, it's major. if it's lowercase, it's minor. (the vii'th degree is a special case when it comes to building chords off of it, but we'll get there.)
so. let's build some chords. or, as shreddy more accurately put it - triads. as you can probably guess, or probably even know, a triad consists of three notes. let us commence with the first one.
i can do this in my head, kind of have a visual piano keyboard and/or fretboard up there, depending, so pardon me if it takes a while to lay down here. we're working with the C major scale - or, more accurately, its notes and intervals. we want to build a chord off the first note, because it's the first note. the most common form of chord is a triad, or stacked thirds. check it out.
C D E F G A B C could also be written as 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 (not a formula, more a kind of shorthand. your Cm11, for instance, took that counting all the way up to 11. which is the same note as the 4, only an octave higher, generally speaking. but, it can be used another way. we'll see as we build our triad.) check it out.
C D E F G A B C = 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 1, and we're looking for stacked thirds. so what note is the first third?
C D
E F G A B C. so the first two notes of our triad are C and E. but we need another third up from E, because we're stacking
another third on top of the first two notes. hmm... what's the third up from
E in the key of C?
C D E F
G A B C. cool. three notes, stuck on top of each other, give us our first triad in C. C E G. if you've been playing for any amount of time, this is probably among of the first chords you learned - C major.
if you apply the same principle to the second degree of the major scale - D - you'll end up with the same result - a triad that you recognise as a chord you have used a lot more than a dozen times. i'm not gonna do the job, i'm pretty sure you get the gist of it by now.
adding colour to your compositional repertoire comes with time, practice of these principles, and extending your chords beyond the triads. you can do this on paper - write out the octave a few times, three or so, end to end, and see how many different chord types you can make up and identify, using both naturals as well as sharps and flats. but suspended 2nds, 4ths, that's where to start - play a different kind of 'triad' by adding the 2nd or 4th without the third, and then 'resolve' to the third. add in 7#9ths - a favourite trick of hendrix, it almost became a signature of his sound. go above and beyond mere triads, stretch all over the fretboard for new and interesting places to play chords. have fun.
speaking of which, the last trick is knowing your fretboard backward. (and i should be the last one to talk!) if you know the make up of the chords, moving the notes around the fretboard should be a breeze.
i don't mean to condescend, and i apologise if i have. it's just these theory building blocks are essential to getting things started. i also apologise to those theory gurus who will immediately realise that i have made countless errors of terminology. i hope and trust that i have at least got the facts correct.
i hope i haven't done too much damage...
dh
