few weeks ago I attended Justins Grade 3 Theory course where I learned knowledge about Major Scale Pattern one, how to move it, name the notes etc… I am still trying to get it under my skin.
Recently I bumped into “tenths”. I tried few chords with that and with fingerstyle slap it sounds just gorgeous!
I dont understand how it can sound so great even when I use open G string here everywhere.
I would like to ask you if learning tenths is core of something or “donkey bridge” to anything else in theory or it is just solo topic that is not related to anything. To clarify my question more… do this help in future understanding shapes, arpeggios, triads or something like that?
I find it really easy to move around with “one shape”… almost like I am cheating music.
I don’t want to teach you to suck eggs, but a tenth is just a third one octave higher. So if you are playing notes in the C major scale with their 10ths, then you are effectively playing small two note diatonic chords in the key (the root and the 3rd). The G note is the 5th of C (part of the major pentatonic of C), and so it won’t clash with any of those chords.
If memory serves, then The Beatles made good use of this trick with Blackbird
@mathsjunky So if it comes from major scale pattern… I can see on diagram I shared the pattern Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half…
Does it mean I can apply it for E string too for root? And play just open D with them?
Yes you can do the same thing starting on the E string, if you do, the pattern changes slightly as the tenth will be one fret lower each time (so for example in the key of G, if you play a G on the E string third fret, it’s tenth is the b note at the 4th fret of the G string, move to the A on the 5th fret of the E string and the tenth (minor) is the 5th fret of the G string etc. If you are in the key of G, then you can ‘safely’ play the open D string as it is the 5th of G).
By the way, the way I think about these 3rds (or 10ths) is based on 5th and 6th string root barre chords (if you are familiar with those).
If you look at the pattern you showed above, then each pair of notes can be taken from the relevant major or minor chord shape with 5th string root.
The same applies to the pair with the root on the 6th string - the notes are just taken from the 6th string root major or minor barre chord.
Michal.
10ths are wonderful.
Paul McCartney uses them in Blackbird.
Sam Fender uses them in Spit Of You.
James Bay uses them in Hold Back The River.
I did a Vintage Club dedicated to learning and using them. Appropriately enough Vintage Club #10. I need to find the archive recording as it has done a disappearing trick.
@mathsjunky Thank you very much! Cant wait to get home and mess around just shifting my fingers.
@Richard_close2u Thank you for writing down the names, I am gonna dig it more. If you find the recording please share here in this thread. Would love to see that session from you.
I just call em 3rds, but I can see why the 10ths terminology came about.
Check out Peter Frampton’s, " Baby I Love Your Way". The main riff beautifully illustrates these compound 3rd intervals, elegantly descending over an open G string pedal tone.
@CATMAN62 That sounds so lovely… I love how he slide the note and you can hear that. I have to find out how to do it properly.
Also this progression sounds really great on AMP with reverb. Thank you for sharing this song.
@sclay Thank you for recommendation. I will try to take something from everything and make something my own from that.
