About Overview of The Major Chord – Lesson 8
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Of course! So there are different ways to explain Major and minor but I'll stick with the very basic concept.
So first thing is the sound. In general, people identify Major with sounding happy while minor sounds more sad. That works for both scales and chords when you take them at their basic form. This is a very simple explanation and there is more to it but this is just to give you the very basic idea of it and I think its a good place to start. You will see once you go deeper in the lessons that there are more differences to them when you dive into the theory aspect of it but I dont want to give you too much in one shot!
If you need more information, let me know! And by all means, don't ever be afraid to ask any questions. We've all been beginners
Thank you so muchOf course! So there are different ways to explain Major and minor but I'll stick with the very basic concept.
So first thing is the sound. In general, people identify Major with sounding happy while minor sounds more sad. That works for both scales and chords when you take them at their basic form. This is a very simple explanation and there is more to it but this is just to give you the very basic idea of it and I think its a good place to start. You will see once you go deeper in the lessons that there are more differences to them when you dive into the theory aspect of it but I dont want to give you too much in one shot!
If you need more information, let me know! And by all means, don't ever be afraid to ask any questions. We've all been beginners
I think I got it now
Hi Ace!
Here is the simplest way to hear it (without having to know ANY THEORY - Play an E chord (which I'm sure you know). Now - keep your 2nd & 3rd fingers where they are (on the 2nd frets of the 4th & 5th strings) but lift your index finger off the first fret of the G string (giving you an open G string). Now it's a minor. Play them both a few times back and forth. Index finger on, then index finger off. You will quickly hear the difference between major and minor.
Here is the theory behind it:
The major chord is made up of the 1st, 3rd & 5th note of a major scale. To make a minor chord, you simply flat the 3rd by a half step (one fret).
OK - So what do we mean by a major scale? In C it would be CDEFGABC. Each note gets a number 12345678.
So the 1 3 5 of a major scale would be C E G and minor chord would be C Eb G.
If you're not quite there yet (theory wise) - think of: Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do.
A major chord would be Do Mi So. A minor chord would be Do bMi So.
A flat is abbreviated by "b" Ab, Bb, etc.
In order to make a note flat, you lower it by a half step, (or one fret).
That's about as simple as I can make it.
The most important thing is that you hear the difference. The theory just explains how you get there.
Make sense?
Hope that helps!
Cheers!
pg
Thank you, sir! As a beginner myself, everything is kinda confusing to me. I watch the videos over and over, 'cause I have no knowledge lol but this explanation made me see things from other perspective.
Without a picture, all I can do is guess you might not be arching your hand enough to use only the fingerTIPS.
I'm very late to reply to this but.. wow! I had the same question almost 2 years later and your comment was the perfect simple explanation. Really shows the power of the discussion thread!The chord formula is 135 (That's the 1st 3rd and 5th notes of the scale : C,E,G) - What PG plays for the C major chord is : C, E, G, C, E - 1,3,5,1,3 - It's still using the same chord formula/harmony because he hasn't added any new notes, just using 1 3 5. That's why it's still a C major chord
Basically if you managed to play every C, E & G on the guitar at the same time with 10 pairs of hands, you'd still be playing a C Major chord, just a massive 'voicing' of the chord. The information contained in the chord hasn't changed from 1 3 5.
Hope this helps!
As a beginner with stubby fingers I'm struggling with "fat fingering" the strings and as such the chords don't sound right. Any tips on how I can get better at keeping my fingers on just one string?
It’s not the most exciting answer….but…practice. Gotta get the phalanges used to being in awkward positions. I too have chubby fingers and I used to get so damn pissed off when I was given that answer but it’s true lol.
Hold your chord and pluck each note. When you hear the one that’s dull or muted adjust your finger ever so slightly so it’s not touching anything it shouldn’t be and pluck that note again until it rings clear. Sometimes just the smallest movement is all you need.
Okay so when I play random notes my string makes a weird vibration kind of noise, how do I fix that?
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