This week we are tying together some concepts we have been discussing over the last few weeks. In this article you will gain a better understanding of the relationships between chords and scales and how they relate to keys and progressions.
Unlike in human relationships, the connections between scales, chords and progressions are unchanging. This means:
Here is a scale, so here is a chord that comes from that scale.
Here are some chords, this is the key they are from.
These relationships are very stable and unchanging, so you can apply an unchanging set of rules to figure out the relationship between scales, modes, chords, keys.
Here is a diatonic progression we looked at in a previous lesson:
Diatonic means that all of the chords are from the same key, in this case the key of Db.
Here is a visual representation of the chords, as they are found in the Db major scale. These chords are planted inside the scale, like vegetables in a garden. So to put together a chord you just have to "pick" notes out of the scale in thirds (this means pick out every second note).
Remember, if you want a triad, only "pick" three notes.
Let us go through each chord in the progression to figure out how we got it (or picked it, like a vegetable from a garden) from the scale.
Db Maj- Db is 1, so this chord is built from the 1, in thirds (skipping every second note), following the Db Major Scale
C dim- C is 7, so this chord is built from the 7, in thirds (skipping every second note), following the Db Major Scale
Bb min- Bb is 6, so this chord is built from the 6, in thirds (skipping every second note), following the Db Major Scale
Gb Maj- Gb is 4, so this chord is built from the 4, in thirds (skipping every second note), following the Db Major Scale
Db Maj- See above
Ab7- Ab is 5, so this chord is built from the 5, in thirds (skipping every second note), following the Db Major Scale
Db Maj- See above
Ab7- See above
So we were able to build chords of different qualities (major, minor, diminished, etc) from the same scale...
How?
If we use a pattern of thirds (or skipping every second note of the scale, just like above) and we start on different notes of the scale, we get different types of thirds, in different orders, which results in different chords.
Why?
The major scale is not symmetrical, which means that if we move the pattern of thirds to start on different notes of the scale, we will get different results because the major scale has a mix of whole steps and half steps, organized in a non-symmetrical way (not an evenly repeating pattern), which also means that the major scale has a bunch of minor and major thirds in a non symmetrical way. When you move to a different scale degree and play the scale starting there, you get a different sound (mode) which is created from the different order of intervals produced. Which means that you also get different chord qualities! Starting a scale on different notes of that scale, gives us a mode, and each mode has a unique chord that is implanted inside of it. Read the article from last week for further explanation.
If you have questions, email me at tetyanahar@gmail.com
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