|
I've been playing guitar for a long time now but I came across this today and it's confused me as to the way I thought that chords were built. I would have naturally assumed that the Em6 chord would have used the natural minor 6th of the Em scale. Why do we use the major 6th or a sharpened minor 6th (C#) in this chord (or any minor 6th chord). We don't use a M7 note when we play a Em7 chord. So my question is when we do play an Em chord with a C in it, why is that call Em+#5 (or something like that) as opposed to just Em6? I think the answer is that all chords are derived from the major (E major in this case) and that if a minor chord is written out note by note I'd find that the 3rd is written as being a flattened 3rd - so I think I may have just answered my own question there! But, please, if this is wrong - put me right! Cheers! |
|
I'll give this one a go. I understand it this way. Whether Major or Minor, chords are understood in light of the Major scale. A Major chord features the 1, 3, and 5 of the scale. The minor chord of the same key also has the 1, 3, and 5--with the tweak of flattening the 3rd. So, an E6 features an E Major chord (1-3-5, or E-G#-B), plus the 6th of the E Major scale (C#), making an E6 look like (E-G#-B-C#). The Em6 likewise features the (1-3-5, with the flattened 3rd, so it's really 1-b3-5); and again, the 6th of the E Major scale is added (C#), making an Em6 look like (E-G-B-C#). In his book, Guitar Chords, Paul Roland offers three diagrams each for the E6 and Em6 chords, and each set features the same 4 notes for each chord. Michael Wolfsohn, in his book, Ultimate Guitar Chord User's Guide, the 5th of both E6 and Em6 are listed as "preferred notes." Of course, the presence of the 6th gives the chord its distinctive name, and in fact both the E6 and Em6 require the 1, (b)3, and 6. From the look of things, if the chord is easier played with or without the 5, then perhaps that's the way to play it. If you like the sound of one or the other in your chord progression, and you can play the preferred Em6 without much difficulty, then go for it. Peace! |
|
(Your question would benefit from revision to clarify what you are asking for.) I'm not going to repeat what Ramshackle said (which could be stated more clearly and simply), but only add the following observation: The fundamental principle in chord naming is to provide the minimum amount of information that can uniquely identify a chord. Typically, the format is: [triad] [added/altered interval #1] [added/altered interval #2] [etc.] For example, you may have seen the chord symbol "CmM7" (or a variation). This refers to a C-minor chord (flatted third, natural fifth) with a major seventh interval added (always counting from the root). As "Ramshackle from Fresno" noted, the default intervals come from the major or Ionian scale (mode)---with the exception of the seventh. Not all chords are used with equal frequency, so the commonly used "dominant 7th" chord is simply called "C7". Technically, you can call it a "C-major, minor-7th" or "Cmaj min7" chord. Here are a few examples:
Note that chord books and sheet music may use "M" or "maj" for "major" and "m" or "min" for "minor". 1
Cheers everybody for your great answers - that's certainly cleared that one up!
(13 Apr '10, 15:15)
Kris
|
|
You really did answer your own question. The question I see you asking here that wasn't answered is when do we use a #5/b6? The answer there is: all the time, and almost never. We could call it a C major. Or, if we are writing in the key of E minor and we wanted to have some really cool chord shift; we could resolve a B7 to E minor with a raised 5. In that case we would still call it a C Maj because there isn't really a convention established for adding a #5 to a minor chord in a chord chart. Seems a bit deceptive, no? Perhaps, a weak sort of resolution? |
