Clarification on Accompaniment Lesson 3
Wed, 09/15/2021 - 17:04
Hi David,
When speaking of tones within chords, if I am referring to the second tone of the fourth chord of the G scale (the E within CEG), do I call it the sixth, because it is the sixth tone of the scale, or do I call it the second, because it is the second tone of the chord? Also, might you provide a real world example in which the band leader might ask the harp player to do something using this kind of lingo? Like if I were accompanying on the practice song for lesson 3, for example.
Best,
Matt
Wed, 09/15/2021 - 20:00
#2
Thank you, Dave. Took a
Thank you, Dave. Took a little for that to sink in -- now it makes perfect sense!
Hello Matt.
It's called the 3rd. E is the 3rd of the IV Chord. A chord is built of Root (C), 3rd (E... because it's the third note from C), and 5th (G... it's the 5th notes from C). Even though it's the second note of the chord, we give it the "3rd" name due to its distance from the root of the chord.
If there was a lick to a song that you couldn't figure out, you may ask, "What's the 4th note in that lick Bill?" The answer may be "5th," which would mean the 5th of the chord he's playing the lick over.
Another example would be something like... "Hey Matt, what you playin' there," and you would answer, "I start with the root and then play 6th, 5th, 2nd."
It's a common way of communicating what you or someone else is playing. You could use note names, but you would have to memorize every note of every key of harmonica (you can see why scale degrees are preferred by us harp players).