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25 Oct 99 - 05:13 PM (#127889) Subject: Three chord songs in minor keys From: Marion Hello all. One of these days I'm going to get around to reading the "three chord songs" thread; it looks interesting. But to take a shortcut I'll ask my question here. OK, I know that when a song is a major key then the predominant chords will be 4 major, 5 major (and possibly seventhized), and 6 minor. I.e. if you start a song in G major then you expect to find C, D or D7, and Em. What I want to know is: is there an equivalent rule of thumb for songs in a minor key? Thanks, Marion PS. Oh, and well I'm at it, can anyone offer a definition of the words riff and lick?
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25 Oct 99 - 05:48 PM (#127899) Subject: RE: Three chord songs in minor keys From: Freddie Fox Minor chords [I'm trying to remember this without a guitar!]. If your root chord is Em, you would also use C and D, as if you were in G major. So... that would be root, minor 7th and minor 6th. I think. Go on, all you experts out there, put me right. As I understand it, a riff is a melody played by the lead instrument as a one off as part of being a show off. A lick is a sequence that is repeated over and over again. Hope that helps. |
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25 Oct 99 - 07:22 PM (#127930) Subject: RE: Three chord songs in minor keys From: Pete Peterson The first rule of thumb is to use Iminor IVminor and Vmajor so in Am your three main chords are Am, Dm and E MAJOR. This rule is not as useful or as general as the three-chords-in-major rule cause there are too many MODAL songs which only use two chords-- the tonic (minor) and the seventh-- the note below it-- thus you can play Shady Grove with an A minor and G major and nothing more hard to tell a minor song from a modal song but try those two patterns and see how they fit! and have fun! PETE |
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25 Oct 99 - 08:42 PM (#127951) Subject: RE: Three chord songs in minor keys From: Bill Cameron Freddie your understanding of a lick versus a riff is the opposite of mine. A riff is a repetitive chord pattern. A lick is a clever little phrase of notes, which may be played on its own as a fill or as part of a longer instrumental break. That's the way I was brought up anyway. Bill |
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25 Oct 99 - 10:51 PM (#128005) Subject: RE: Three chord songs in minor keys From: _gargoyle Pete is right....
The "confusion" (if there is such) lies in the similarity between a Major and Minor Key....
All "major keys"....have a "relative minor"...that is 3-half-steps lower...ie..!!!! if you take the key of "C" ...no sharps or flats (I,IV,V = C,F,G)....its relative minor is "Am"....and no sharps or flats (I,IV,V = A,D,F)....
This is F.U.N!.... thing to fool with...take each major key....drop it three half steps and play its minor.
A minor key.... is a major key....with the 3rd and 7th steps lowered half a notch....
It is easier when you realize that every major also has its 3-half-step-lower-minor.
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26 Oct 99 - 03:32 AM (#128091) Subject: RE: Three chord songs in minor keys From: bseed(charleskratz) And the correlative of that is that every minor has its three half-steps higher relative major, e.g., "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" in Dm (three half-steps above D is F): (Dm)With yer guns and drums and drums and guns Ha(F)roo, haroo, With yer (Dm)guns and drums and drums and guns Ha(F)roo, haroo, With yer (Dm) guns and drums and (A7) drums and guns The (Dm)enemy nearly (A)slew ye Oh (Dm)darling (A7)dear, ye (Dm)look so (A)queer, Oh, (Dm)Johnny, I (Gm)hardly (Dm)knew ye. --seed |
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26 Oct 99 - 08:16 AM (#128117) Subject: RE: Three chord songs in minor keys From: Freddie Fox Well, there's novel, Bill. Thanks for putting me right. At least I was on vaguley the right track, but I never claimed to be a guitarist... |
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27 Oct 99 - 03:48 AM (#128495) Subject: RE: Three chord songs in minor keys From: bseed(charleskratz) Oops, again. The Gm in the last line of "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" should be an Am. Sorry. --seed |