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Part 3:
Tunes
122
The resolution from the perfect fourth to the major third is just a half-step
movement, but that little half step makes a world of difference; until you make
the move, you’re sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for that incredible
tension to resolve.
Power Chords
If you want a really simple chord, one with a lot of raw power, you can play just
the root and the fifth—leaving out the third. This type of chord is called a
power
chord;
it is noted by adding a “5” after the chord note. (For example, a G power
chord is notated G5, and includes only the notes G and D.) Power chords are
used a lot in certain types of popular music, in particular the hard rock and
heavy metal genres.
Here’s one bad thing about power chords: If you use a bunch of them in a row,
you create something called
parallel fifths.
As you’ll learn in Chapter 14, parallel
fifths are frowned upon, especially in classical music theory. So use power chords
sparingly and—if at all possible—not consecutively.
Power chords, up and down the scale.
Inverting the Order
Although it’s easiest to understand a chord when the root is on the bottom and
the fifth is on the top, you don’t have to play the notes in precisely this order.
Chords can be
inverted
so that the root isn’t the lowest note, which can give a
chord a slightly different sound. (It can also make a chord easier to play on a
piano, when you’re moving your fingers from chord to chord; inversions help
to group the notes from adjacent chords closer together.)
When you rearrange the notes of a chord so that the third is on the bottom
(3-5-1), you form what is called the
first inversion.
(Using a C Major chord as an
example, the first inversion is arranged E G C.) The
second inversion
is where you
put the fifth of the chord on the bottom, followed by the root and third (5-1-3).
(Again using C Major as an example, the second inversion is arranged G C E.)
The standard triad form, with the root on the bottom, is called the
root inversion
.
In classical music theory, a
power chord is called an
open fifth
, and is techni-
cally an interval, not a
chord.
Note
The first and second inversions of a C Major chord.
Chapter 9:
Chords
If you’re working with extended chords, there are more than two possible inver-
sions. For example, the third inversion of a seventh chord puts the seventh in
the bass; the fourth inversion of a ninth chord puts the ninth in the bass.
The particular order of a chord’s notes is also referred to as that chord’s
voicing.
You can specify a voicing without writing all the notes by adding a bass note to
the standard chord notation. You do this by adding a slash after the chord nota-
tion, and then the name of the note that should be played on the bottom of the
chord.
For example, if you want to indicate a first inversion of a C Major chord (nor-
mally C E G, but E G C in the first inversion), you’d write this: C/E. This tells
the musician to play a C Major chord, but to put an E in the bass—which just
happens to be the first inversion of the chord. If you wanted to indicate a sec-
ond inversion (G C E), you’d write this: C/G. This tells the musician to play a
C Major chord with a G in the bass.
You can use this notation to indicate other, nonchord notes to be played in the
bass part. For example, Am7/D tells the musician to play an A minor seventh
chord, but to add a D in the bass—a note that doesn’t exist within the A minor
seventh chord proper.
123
Don’t confuse the
chord/bass notation with
the similar (like a
fraction with a horizontal
divider, as opposed to
the chord/bass diagonal
slash). The notation
tells a musician—typically
a pianist—to play one
chord
over
another. For
example, if you see ,
you should play a Cm
chord with your right hand,
and a Dm chord with your
left.
Warning
chord
chord
chord
chord
Cm
Dm
An A minor seventh chord with a D in the bass—not your standard seventh chord.
Adding Chords to Your Music
When you want to indicate a chord in your written music, you add the chord
symbol
above
the staff, like this:
Write the chord symbol above the staff.
The chord applies in the music until you insert another chord. Then the new
chord applies—until the next chord change. For example, in the following piece
of music you’d play a C Major chord in measure 1, an F Major chord in meas-
ure 2, a C Major chord in the first half of measure 3, a G7 chord in the second
half of measure 3, and a C Major chord in measure 4.
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