G Scale and a Bluegrass Lick

Take a look at the G scale ascending and descending. Notice the rhythm is an 1/8 followed by six 1/16's in each of the first 2 measures. I kept this same rhythm going in measures 4 & 5. Notice the time signature is 2/4 and the center of the # sharp is on the "F" line which designates the F is always played as a sharp. The first measure starts on a "G" note; the second measure starts on a "G" note an octave higher; and the third measure starts on a "G" note.

Notice the musical staff. This one has a treble clef placed on it. The “curly-cue” of the clef encircles the “G” line and so it is called the “G clef”. Look at the lowest line of this staff. This lowest line is the “E” note. It is followed by spaces and lines above it. The next line above this “E”, we have learned is a “G”. To learn the lines in succession, think of this saying “Every Good Boy Does Fine”. Now to learn the spaces, start at the space directly below the “E” line and memorize this saying: “Do Find All Cows Eating Grass. The “D” is the space below the “E” line and the “G” space (at the top of the staff) is the space above the “F” line. So if we identify the lines and spaces in succession starting at the lower “D” space, we’ll have D E F# (because of the Key we’re in) G A B C D E F# G.

The 2/4 Time Signature

Now let’s discuss rhythm a bit. In Bluegrass, for the most part, there are a couple of time signatures: 2/4 and 6/8. There are others, obviously, but for now let’s stick to these two.

Starting with 2/4, we’ll take the measure apart and learn the mathematics behind it.

A “2/4 time” means there are two beats per measure (the 2/_ part of the fraction) and each beat (of the two beats) is equivalent to a ¼ (one-quarter_/4) note. There are two ¼ notes in a measure, thus 2/4.
A quarter-note lasts for one beat and is counted: “1”. A full measure consisting only of quarter-notes would count this way:”1 2”. Eighth-notes occur twice as fast as quarter-notes, thus, a full measure of 1/8 notes would be counted: “1 & 2 &”. Notice that in 2/4 time, there are two quarter-notes or four eighth-notes or their equivalent in each measure. There can also be eight sixteenth-notes. A vocalist may be singing one “half-note” which lasts for two beats while the banjoist is playing eight sixteenth-notes and the fiddler sawing out four eighth-notes. There are endless combinations to the rhythms available. How many thirty-second notes are possible in a 2/4 measure?

If you’re tapping your foot to the time, “1” would occur on the down beat (this is when your foot touches the floor, on the accent,) and “and” would occur on the upbeat; “2” would occur on the down beat and “and” would occur on the upbeat, and so forth throughout the tune.

Tap these rhythms out:
/ * ^ * ^ / = 1/8 note, followed by 1/8 rest also equivalent to an 1/8 beat (on upbeat), 1/8 note, followed by another 1/8 rest (nothing sounds at this mark ^)

/ * * * * / = 1/8 note on down beat, 1/8 note on upbeat, 1/8 note on down beat, 1/8 note on up beat

/ **** * * / = two 1/16 notes on down beat and two 1/16 on up, followed by 1/8 on down and 1/8 on up

/ **** **** / = two 1/16 on down and 2 1/16 on up followed by two 1/16 on down and 2 1/16 on up

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The Flatted Seventh Chords

The 7th chord has a tension that requires resolution. On a tonic, root position, major triad, we learned that the bottom interval was a major third which was made from two whole-steps and the top of the triad was a minor third comprised of a half-step and a whole-step. If we add another minor third (we’ll end up with 4 notes) to the top of this - in other words a half-step and a whole-step - we’ll have a chord that consists of a major third interval followed by a minor third interval and followed by another minor third interval. This is the flatted-seventh chord, commonly referred to as a 7th. So a G7 chord is made using these notes:

G7: G B D F (notice the F is not an F#). The F# is the actual 7th pitch in the G scale, so to form a major G7 chord we would have to use the F# note. Flatting this 7th note “minors” it. This F# is rarely used in bluegrass in a 7th chord, as the more “bluesy” flatted seventh note, F, is preferred.

Often times the tonic chord will add the flatted seventh note creating tension just before a chord change to the subdominant. In the key of G, sound G B D F and notice the tension the F creates wanting to resolve to the color tone of the 4th chord (subdominant). Now form a D7 chord (dominant 7 in the key of G) comprised of the notes D F# A and C. Notice how this C note wants to resolve to the color tone note B in the tonic triad G B D. Switch keys for a moment, and in the Key of C, form a G7 chord and sound these notes and listen to the tension: G B D F. Notice how the F note wants to resolve to the E note which is the color tone of the C chord.

Now play some 7th chords in their inversions starting with root, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd:
G: G B D F, B D F G, D G B F, F G B D
C: C E G Bb, E G Bb C, G C E Bb, Bb C E G
D: D F# A C, F# A C D, A C D F#, C D F# A

Try others.

2nd Inversion Chords

The next inversion is the 2nd inversion. This chord is built on the 5th scalar note of each root position triad. For example: a G scale (GABCDEF#G) has as its’ 5th tone the D note. Starting on this D, you build a triad above it by using the next G and then the B above that. D G B. Notice how the “color” tone ends up on top.
Other 2nd inversion chords are:
C: G C E
D: A D F#

Now try working with sounding the root position, 1st inversion and then 2nd inversion notes in succession:

G: G B D B D G D G B
C: C E G E G C G C E
D: D F# A F# A D A D F#

Practice with all the bluegrass chords.

A 5-string banjo is a great example of chord inversions. When it is tuned in normal G tuning, the open 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings sound a 2nd inversion triad; when the 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings are sounded, they make up a root position triad; when the 2nd, 1st and 5th strings are sounded, they sound a 1st inversion triad.
Interestingly, a resophonic guitar tuned in normal G position has two root position tonic triads, one above the other, used as its’ tuning. G B D G B D. Mandolins, fiddles, and basses are not tuned in chords, generally. Although there are many examples from Bill Monroe tuning his mandolin in an open chord; and history is full of interesting chordal tunings for fiddles.

The 1st Inversion Triad

Now let’s have a little fun with chord inversions.

We’ve learned earlier about “root” position chords, i.e. chords built on the tonic note.
Now let’s learn about inverting the chord position. For example, a G chord in root position is G B D. Now let’s invert the chord to its’ 1st position: B D G. In this voicing, the B note is on the bottom, the middle note is now a D note and the octave G is sounded for the third note of the triad. We now observe the “color” tone is at the bottom. Let’s build a few 1st inversion triads.

C: E G C
D: F# A D
E: G# B E
F: A C F
A: C# E A
Bb: D F Bb

Now sound the notes from a root position followed by the 1st inversion:
G: G B D B D G
A: A C# E C# E A
Play with this until you can easily perform this in the “bluegrass keys”.

Interesting Musical Links

My 5-string banjo pickin' hangout is here: http://www.banjohangout.org/my/wbalsam1/
My fiddle hangout is here: http://www.fiddlehangout.com/myhangout/home.asp?id=401
My resophonic guitar hangout: http://www.resohangout.com/myhangout/home.asp?id=3199
My flatpickin hangout: http://www.flatpickerhangout.com/myhangout/home.asp?id=3538

Lots of music and music lessons available on these sites and their links. Enjoy!

The Color and Leading Tones

The middle note of a root position triad is referred to as the “color” tone. It has the ability to lower one half-step to create a darker minor quality (minor triad) or to raise one half-step from the darker quality to a brighter feel, (major triad). To make a major chord a minor chord, lower the color tone. To make it major again, raise it.

The “color” tone of the dominant root position chord is also the “leading” tone. It leads back to the tonic note by raising one half-step. An example is the B note in a dominant chord of G B D. In the C scale, (CDEFGABC) the B note “leads” back to the tonic note that is an octave above the starting note.

The color tone for an F chord is the note A. To make an F major chord into an F Minor chord, simply Flat (lower by one half-step) the color tone. Major: F A C. Minor: F Ab C. The leading tone in the key of F is an E note. F scale: FGABbCDEF. The note E is also the color tone of the dominant root position triad in the key of F. (The C chord is C E G).

It is because of the strong tension in the leading tone to want to resolve to the tonic that the dominant chord is the 5 chord and almost always resolves to the tonic chord in bluegrass.

Minor chords in their root position:
Fm: F Ab C
Gm: G Bb D
Am: A C E
Bm: B D F#
Cm: C Eb G
Dm: D F A
Em: E G B
Bbm: Bb Db F
Ebm: Eb Gb Bb

Write an Abm root position triad:_______ Now a Dbm:________ F#m:________

Dave "Grizzly" Warner

My brother "Grizzly" recently finished his new CD, recorded, mixed and mastered by Bob Carothers at Harvest Recording in Ohio. To order one or to get in touch with him, visit his site at http://www.myspace.com/grizzlyofbears

I've been a fan of my brother since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. If you close your eyes, you'll swear it's Willie Nelson singing.

Tonic, Subdominant and Dominant Chords

Let’s go on to the way chords are formed and how to use them in bluegrass music.

A “Triad” consists of three notes. A triad formed on the “home” note of a chord is a “root position” triad. In the key of G major, a root position triad consists of the three notes: G B D. If you refer to the G scale, (GABCDEF#G) you will see that the major triad is based on two intervals; one constructed with a major third on the bottom and the other a minor third on the top. The major third is figured: G to A is a whole-step and A to B is a whole-step. Thus, two whole-steps make a major third. The top third – the minor triad- is formed by the interval B to C, one half-step, followed by the interval C to D, a whole-step.
To review: A major third with a minor third on top is a major triad and a minor third with a major third on top is called a minor triad. So then, a G chord is built by the notes G B D and a G Minor chord is G Bb D.

In bluegrass, many of the tunes and songs are constructed using the 1, 4 & 5 chords. Again, think of the G major scale. GABCDEF#G. The G is the 1 chord, the C is the 4 chord and the D is the 5 chord.
The key a piece of music is written or played in is called the root or “Tonic” chord. The 4th chord is called the “subdominant” and the 5th chord the “dominant”.
The subdominant root position triad in the key of G is formed on the 4th note of the G scale which is C. Looking at the G scale again, (GABCDEF#G) we see that if we start on a C note and build a lower half using two whole-steps, we’ll need to use these notes: C & E (C to D is one whole-step and D to E is another whole-step). Then for the top of the triad, we’ll need a G (E to F is a half-step and F to G is a whole step). Our C chord, in its’ root position will be CEG.
The dominant chord in its’ root position will be the three notes: D, F# and A.

Key of G:
G chord G B D
C chord C E G
D chord D F# A

Key of C:
C chord C E G
F chord F A C
G chord G B D

Try building the following chords all in their root position using triads:

Key of D:
Key of A
Key of F

Now build a C Minor root position triad.

Building other major scales

Now let’s construct a “C” scale using the “Two whole-steps and a half, three whole-steps and a half” pattern.
C to D to E make up our first two whole-steps. Now E to F is our first half-step and followed by F to G to A to B as our next three whole-steps and final it out with a half-step of B to C. CDEFGABC. This makes an octave, meaning the interval of 8 tones. Our “C” scale ended on the octave above the C note it started with or it began on a C note an octave below where it ended.

Note the scales below that are all major scales and used in Bluegrass:

G: GABCDEF#G
A: ABC#DEF#G#A
B: BC#D#EF#G#A#B
C: CDEFGABC
D: DEF#GABC#D
E: EF#G#ABC#D#E
And a couple of major scales using Flats rather than Sharps:
F: FGABbCDEF
Bb: BbCDEbFGABb

Now practice building scales in different key signatures with your instrument of choice or build the scales on paper. It’s better if you use an instrument since your “ear training” will develop faster.

Did you notice that the Key of G has one sharp?
The Key of F, one flat?

How many sharps in the Key of E?

How many flats in Ab?
If you said 4, you are correct. Count them.
Ab: AbBbCDbEbFGAb (Ab, Bb, Db, Eb)

The G Scale

So I'll begin with the Key of G major which is founded on a "G" scale. Notice I said "Major". There is also a "Minor".

I'll describe the "major" for now. Beginning on G, move one full step above in pitch to the note "A". Notice that there is a note between G and A. This note is a half-step from our beginning note G. It is called "G Sharp". "G Sharp is enharmonically the same as "A-Flat". So now we've determined that there are half-steps and whole-steps in a scale. A "Major" scale is built by combining whole -and half -steps together in a certain sequence.

I like to remember the sequence this way: "Two wholes, a half, three holes, a half." So the first half would be "two wholes and a half", or G,A,B (The interval G to A is the first whole and A to B is the second whole) and the half is from B to C. The concluding part to the G scale would be "Three wholes and a half" or C, D, E, F# and the half up to G. (C to D is a whole, D to E is our second whole, E to F would only be a half step and our scale calls for a whole step here, so we have to raise this note (Sharpen) to an F# to get the required spacing of that whole note and then we finalize the scale with a half step from the F# to the G. The G scale ends up: G A(B C)D E(F# G). (half steps shown in parenthesis)