Well you have as your answers are correct. It is always good to work these things out for yourself and not be spoon fed all the answers. That way it sticks with you.
But to clarify using the Key of E.
The Open E string is the root or I.
The A string is below the E string and the A note is root of the IV, ergo the IV is below the I ie same fret one string down.
Fret 2 of the A string is B. So if the A is the root of the IV the B is root of the V, ergo the V is 2 frets up from the IV.
Just to be clear, do you understand the use of Roman numerals for scale intervals when referring to diatonic chords ? I ask to avoid giving a patronising example but a lot of folks struggle with the conversion of scale intervals
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
to the relative chord references
I ii iii IV V vi viio
Uppercase being Major chords, lower case being minor and the 7th vii being diminished o.
Hope all that helps if not I or someone will clarify but I need my zeds !
I understand roman numerals but the use of them here. Had to Google diatonic chords and found…
“Diatonic chords are the chords that are derived from the notes of a key.
You should think of diatonic chords as a family of chords all tied to one another by the notes of a key. They all sort of share the same gene pool.”
…and still don’t understand it! How vital is it that I know about this?
Lets take the key of E You mentioned in your post
Key of E notes E F# G# A B C# D# E these notes make up all the chords in the Key of E. Like a family of notes
Chords E(I), F#m(ii), G#m(iii), A(IV), B(V) C#m(vi) D#diminished(vii)
All the chords with Capital Roman Numerals are Major all the chords with small Roman Numerals are minor. I’m not going to get into how all the chords in this key are made with just these 7 notes
You want to play a 1 4 5 or I IV V in E all the chords will be Major
A diminished chord has a minor 3rd and a diminished 5th but you don’t really need to know that.
Go into Google and search for “Chords in a Key” chart. Find one you like the look of, print it out, and stick it up in your workspace. When you come across a I- IV-V in E, or a I-V-vi -IV in C etc, just look at your chart. Over time, it’ll build up familiarity with which chords go to together. You can even noodle around with it, and you’ll discover familiar sounding chord progressions that form the basis of most music.
And keep reaching out here. We’re all just here enjoying guitar, and helping each other out.
@stitch Thanks for this. To be honest this is getting way too confusing at this point.
I do have one last question though. Why do you have to play certain chords in a key? Why can’t you play E A C for the key of E? Who makes the rules for this?
You’re right in that if it sounds good, it is good. Some of the best music made manipulates and even breaks these frameworks.
The thing is though, chords in a particular key are built from the scales of that key; its the whole foundation of their existence. They form the harmony of that key. They are part of the family, and “belong” together.
The chords for the key of A are shown starting at 1:40 in the video (the standard progression), the chords for the key of E are shown starting at 5:02 in the video (quick change), and the chords for the key of G are shown starting at 7:40 in the video (slow change). Justin doesn’t call particular attention to the fact that he’s going through the I-IV-V chords for each key, one key per progression (standard, quick-change, slow-change), but that’s what he’s doing!
The idea of chords in a key shows up in Grade 2 Module 10 “Major Scale Improvisations” and idea of numbering the chords shows up a little later in “5 Common Chord Progressions”. If you explore Justin’s Music Theory course it shows up much more explicitly.
Yep, you’re right, scales are particular notes played one after the other, in various ways.
But we also want to play more than one note at the same time, because they sound good together. Hence we get chords, by combining some of these notes. Logic suggests we combine these single notes in the scale to get these chords.
On the 3rd fret, play the G Major scale, then play a G barre chord. Can you see how that G chord sits right over that scale? The notes you’re playing in that G chord, are the exact same notes inside that G major scale.
Of course, you can play a G chord, any chord, in lots of different ways and in different parts of the fretboard. The above just highlights that a chord comes into existence directly from the scale.
I get that but had never got the relationship between scales and chords. Not sure this is really covered in the beginners courses.
Going to have to take your word for that as the G Major scale and the G barre chord are not covered in the beginners courses. saying that I do know and can play the G barre chord. Will try and find details of the G Major scale.
Still not sure what to consider sufficient progress in this lesson. The basic shuffle, 12 bar progressions and the riff get easy relatively fast, but when it comes to learning songs, most of them feel way too hard when trying to adding to the basic rhythm. I’m considering just moving on and tackle on those things after I delevop more fluency and speed to really nail those flairs, because right now if feels a bit too distant.
My experience with this module was similar to yours. @jpedro_AM. While I had fun with it (the shuffle feels cool to play!), there are many things that hold more interest to me than blues. I figure I’ll return to this huge topic at a later date.
Hi Stuart, I know that I am answering an old question, but I wasn’t completely satisfied with all the responses you received and I thought that others might also be confused. The reason you might be confused is that it sounds like people are saying that there are 3 chords in the key of A. What they mean is that there are 3 Major chords in the key of A. If you have been following the course then you know that there are only 7 letter names for notes A to G. The key of A starts with the letter name of A. A is the first letter and assigned to the first note in the scale or note sequence. B and C do have chords assigned in the key of A, but they are minor chords. Then D and E are major chords and F is a minor. (Technically in Key of A the Cmin and Finn are sharped (raised one semi-tone in pitch) but you would need to know some music theory to understand why). G is a diminished chord and is G# in the key of A, but like Justin says, we won’t worry about the 7th chord in the scale. Also, in blues progressions, you will actually be using the A7, D7 and E7 chords.
All that is needed at first is to know the chords used in a progression. If you actually are trying to know why, then you would need to spend a year studying music theory. It is easier to understand if you learn theory for the piano first. So get a beginning piano book.Also, get Justin’s Theory Course where all of this is explained. Also if anyone is interested I put a summary in my learning log: Chords in Keys in SteveL learning log
I hope that you found your answer, but more important, that you are having fun.
@stitch Rick, thanks. I was a little loose with my language because I was assuming that many would not have much understanding of theory and explaining the exact names of the chords would be lost on them. My point was to say that the 3 chords were the major chords.
Upon further reflection, I think that anyone who is a little fuzzy on these concepts should probably go back a review the lesson What Does Chords in a Key Mean? in Module 9. I also think that anyone from Grade 2 would benefit from looking ahead at the first 5 minutes of the Grade 3 Module 20 lesson Chords in Keys (Super Easy!). From the 4 minute to the 5 minute mark, Justin shows why chords in keys is easier to understand on the piano, using the key of C as an example.
