I know where chords go on the fretboard so it is just a matter of looking for what chords fit the notes you have scored. It can be tricky because chords played in certain positions on the neck have more than one name. It is just experience that allows you to figure it out. I look at the intervals or numbers for the chord. A basic chord is defined by 3 intervals,1(root)3 which determines if the chord is major or minor (3 or b3) and 5 which is a more neutral ,but important part of a Chord. I know the intervals for the variations of the basic chords ie. A major 7 chord has a natural 7 instead of a 1 while a plain 7th chord has a b7.
There is a post here somewhere on progresions and circle of 5ths that will help you understand song structure a little more. It is worth paying close attention to the theory above the tabs in the lessons if you want to get a handle on understanding this stuff.
There are 7 chords to a key,some minor and some major. The Caps are major and small letters( really numbers,Roman numerals) are the minor chords.
I,ii,iii,IV,V,vi,vii. In the key of C. ii would be a Dm for instance. It is not uncommon for song writers to majorize a minor chord if it fits what they want to hear so they will turn in into a D chord. They can also minorize a major chord. This is a very rich and deep subject. Not something you can swallow whole. It will take time to absorb it and you never stop learning. I know some basic progressions so I looked for where those chords would fit in a key which allowed me to see what other chords would likely fit with them.
I wasn't looking at scales at all. I just treated the notes as notes in a chord. The same notes in a scale are the same notes in a chord for the most part. This is a big reason why I like playing through chords. It provides me with a wealth of information when you know your intervals. Scales provide much less info to work with.
This is a lot of stuff to grasp so you might want to keep it simple for now.Pick a key, pick chords from the key and noodle with them. Pick a Key first,much easier than playing a riff and then trying to figure out the chords and key after.
|