3 replies to this topic

[Lunty]

Hi Folks
!st post
I got on to "The key,scale and related chords" lesson and understand
everything completely,before and after, the following two sentences
pasted below which have me lost!

"The note that differs is the treble note which is the 3 of the chord.
All of these triads are 5-1-3 triads, meaning that the root (1) is
sandwiched between the 5 and the 3."

I can't see anything to relate the 5-3-1 back to.I can see the
position of the 3 but can't understand why it is called the 3 or the 5
is called the 5.I am obviously missing something.
If I can try to give you an example,on the diagram green ii chord
shows the 3 (minor) on the second(b) string 1st fret.I am thinking
that the next note must be the 1 because it is on the g string,so how
is the next note (second fret d string) the five?..Sorry to be so
convoluted but I am mystified and would really appreciate some help.Apart from that I must thank you 1 million for giving me
a good understanding of the chord structure virtually overnight and
the apartment block lesson is tailor made for me, being a builder and
having worked on plenty of them with different floor layouts.Can't
wait to get my slide rule.
Thanks for your patience and keep up the good work.
Adios
Lunty

Ps After checking out some more lessons I see the one-three-five refers to the notes from the scale but still can't make the connection.



No we don't have to rehearse the songs! we wrote them and we've played them about a thousand times,It's smiling we have to rehearse!...........John Lennon.

[carol m]

Welcome Lunty, Kirk's not online so I'll try and explain.

Kirk is referring to three note chord as triads - 3 notes that are the I (root) 3 (the third) and 5 (the fifth) notes of a scale. If you play those notes for a chord, say Amaj, the 'middle' note on the fretboard is the I (root) in this case A. The lowest note/string on the fretboard is the 5, in this case E. And the highest note/string is the third, in this case C#. This relationship is true for all triads played on 3 strings.

For the minor chord, only the 3 changes - by dropping a semitone. In this example Am, the top string/note is played as a C, not C#, but the 5 1 3 relationship stays constant. Try it for a few 3 string/note triads and you will see that it's true. For example, a standard D or E.

The G that's played down the near the nut doesn't seem to work, but if you realise that the 3 middle strings that are played open are themselves a G chord triad, the 5 1 3 pattern applies there too - the 'middle' note is the G (root), the 'top' note/sting is the 3 ( and the 'bottom' note/string is the 5 (D).

If I haven't explained it clearly, feel free to keep asking!

[Kirk Lorange]

Hi, Lunty.

Relate the 1-3-5 or 1-b3-5 to the chord. Every chord has a root (the name of the chord, like A or B or C) ... stacked above the root are the third (3) and fifth (5). In this case the order is different: the root is in the middle (sandwiched) between the third and fifth ... so 5-1-3. So look at the vertical configurations. Each colour is a chord, and the root is the middle note.
The order of the notes is not important; whatever order they come in, it's still 'the chord' (1-3-5, 3-5-1, 5-1-3 are called inversions). What makes a chord minor or major is where the 3 is compared to the 1-5. The minor chords have a flat 3, or 'one semitone lower' than the major.

Does that help? If not, wait for your PlaneTalk package to arrive and it'll all make sense. If you have any questions after you read PT, ask them at the PlaneTalkers' Forum.

Cheers!

[Lunty]

Thanks a lot folks,brilliant! you even managed to answer my next question about inversions.I am now at peace.
All the best
Lunty