DulciTheory #9
jerry@jcrmusic.com
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DulciTheory Newsletter -- Issue #9: Fingerboard Surveys and Chord
Formulas for the Key of G: A minor Chords
publisher: Jerry Rockwell
email: jcrockwell@gmail.com
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INTRO
Last issue we mapped out the G Chords (I) in the D-A-D tuning. This
issue, we'll continue along with the scale tone triads of the Key of G,
concentrating on A minor (ii)
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CONTENTS:
1.) Am (ii) CHORDS
2.) CHORD FORMULAS
3.) LOCATING INDIVIDUAL CHORDS
4.) CHORD SHAPES
5.) WORKING OUT THE REST OF THE CHORDS IN G
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Am (ii) CHORDS
Here are the three notes comprising an A minor triad mapped out at all
their possible locations on the fingerboard, up to the 10th fret.
Remember that we have NOT re-tuned our dulcimer to fit the key --
instead we are going to learn to play in the KEY of G WHILE TUNED D-A-D.
(notice that there is an "X" where the D's should be just to the left of
the nut. This is like a place-holder to fill those spaces, but it also
indicates that this note is not one of the ingredients in our A minor
chord):
X|----------E|---------|----|------A|------|--C|---|---|----E|----|--|
A|-----------|---------|----|------E|------|---|---|--A|-----|----|--|
X|----------E|---------|----|------A|------|--C|---|---|----E|----|--|
Now, you might ask what this chart will do for you. This is a VERY good
question, actually, and if you can understand the reasoning behind it,
you will be able to easily construct your own reference charts for
whatever chords you are interested in.
CHORD FORMULAS
Chord Formulas are a good place to start. They give you the basic
ingredients, or pitches, in a chord. All of our 3-note "triads" have
three ingredients, and for Am the ingredients are A, C, and E.
So the chart above simply maps EACH AND EVERY OCCURRENCE OF A, C, and E
across the entire fingerboard up to the 10th fret. Now, this information
doesn't have IMMEDIATE PRACTICAL VALUE for you as a dulcimer player
trying to play in G while you're tuned D-A-D. However, over the long
term, you will find out that knowing where your chord tones are is
absolutely essential to knowing your instrument thoroughly.
[this is true of ANY instrument! As dulcimer players, we might think
that we can bypass most of the basics of music, but I'm afraid this
mind-set will be severely limiting to our musical growth]
LOCATING INDIVIDUAL CHORDS
Getting to the practical, then, we need to locate individual chord
positions from the complete Am survey chart. Probably the most important
chords, at least to start, would be those containing all three pitches
in the A minor Chord Formula: A, C, and E. Let us start from low to
high.
Here are two complete A minor Chords in TAB:
Am Am/C
--4----6--
--4----7--
--6----8--
Now....refer back to the survey chart. Do you see how each of these
lower-fret chords contains the three essential ingredients?
[did you notice how I labelled the chords above with their standard pop
symbols? You don't see it too much in folk music, but I labelled the
second chord in "slash notation", which can be read as: "A minor with a
C bass".]
CHORD SHAPES
Since we need a C for a complete Am chord, and we don't have many C
notes in the lower frets of the dulcimer (we have to wait all the way to
fret 6!), we don't get a complete set of chord shapes like we did for
the G Chords. Anyway, here are a few of the individual voicings in TAB:
-----4----6----6----8----
-----4----4----7----7----
-----6----4----8----6----
5.) WORKING OUT THE REST OF THE CHORDS IN G
At this point, there should be nothing stopping you from working out the
rest of the chords in the key of G, keeping in mind that many of these
are the same chords we already know for the key of D. The main
difference is that the central REFERENCE POINT, TONIC CENTER, OR "I" is
now G -- instead of D. This is a crucial difference when you are playing
in G while tuned D-A-D: each chord now has a different FUNCTION when
related to D.
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OUTTRO
Next issue we'll take a look at some chord progressions for the key of G
(while tuned D-A-D), so you can get some practice actually playing in
some key other than D.
This will be the last issue of 2001, so I'd like to take this
opportunity to wish you all a joyous holiday season and a Happy New
Year.
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FEEDBACK is always welcome:
jcrockwell@gmail.com
THANKS! Let me know what you think.
Jerry
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