Finding Inversions: Chord Scales

Bruce Burhans · From: Bellingham, Washington, USA

For Scott Henderson, who wants more theory and less
'chitchat'.

I sure am with you. So are many others, although
the other is good too.

A heart without a brain is as bad as a brain without
a heart.

----------------------------------------------------

I've often thought that the most important thing to
know on the pedal steel (or any chordal instrument,
or if you are going to compose/arrange) are the chord
scales:

[ Using MSB (Major-Scale-Based) numbers here. ]

G#- = G#dim

The A Major Scale
-----------------

I II III IV V VI VII I

A Bm C#m D E F#m G#- A

II III IV V VI VII I II

Bm C#m D E F#m G#- A Bm

III IV V VI VII I II III

C#m D E F#m G#- A Bm C#m

and so on around the circle of modes.

These give you the scales/modes, the chords, the
harmony scales, and the inversions.

"??" you say?

If you want the next inversion up of the chord you are
playing, A in this case:

A Bm C#m D E...

Simply move up to the C#m and raise the 5th a
half-step.

C# E G# becomes C# E A, the 1st inversion of A.

Then move up to F#m and lower the root a full-step.

F# A C# becomes E A C#, the 2nd inversion of A.

Starting with Bm:

Bm C#m D E...

Move up to D and raise the 5th a full step.

D F# A becomes D F# B, the 1st inversion of Bm.

Now move up to G#- and lower the root a full step.

G# B D becomes F# B D, the 2nd inversion of Bm.

[ V/5+2 = Go up to the V chord and raise its 5th a full
step ]



      1st Inversion  2nd Inversion





I        III/5+1       VI/1-2





II       IV/5+2        VII/1-2





III      V/5+2         I/1-1





IV       VI/5+1        II/1-2





V        VII/5+2       III/1-2





VI       I/5+2         IV/1-1





VII      II/5-2        V/1-2

There are, of course, other similar patterns, but these
are the simplest to remember and find.

I've just added this to my web page, and thought it
might be of general interest. Certainly it is old hat
to many of you, even if you have never thought of it in
these exact terms before.

Bruce in Bellingham

------------------
Sho-Bud S-10 Pro-I 3+5 -- http://tinyurl.com/65rcv

Wooden Steels Rock!

[This message was edited by Bruce Burhans on 24 May 2005 at 10:02 PM.]

[This message was edited by Bruce Burhans on 27 May 2005 at 12:02 PM.]

Adrienne Clasky · From: Florida, USA

This is extremely helpful. Thanks!

bob grossman · From: Visalia CA USA

Bruce, I recall some tapes by Paul F. from long ago. I finallylearned some theory from them. For the "harmonized" scale - a scale in chords - he uses a dim. for the VII, G# dim. in your example.

Alan Shank · From: Woodland, CA, USA

"For the "harmonized" scale - a scale in chords - he uses a dim. for the VII, G# dim. in your example."

I think he used a minus sign (G# -) to indicate a diminished triad.

Here's how I think of chord scales:

in a major key, you can build three diatonic triads on each scale degree, with the note playing the part of root, third or fifth. Of course, you can keep going to 7ths, 9ths, etc.

So, taking G as an example:

1 3 5 G major I
1 3 6 E minor VI
1 4 6 C major IV

I do an exercise, on both guitar and steel, where I start with the I chord and the tonic note on the highest string (4, 5, 6 at the third fret, no pedals), then raise the 5th to the 6th with the A pedal, then raise the 3rd to the 4th with the B pedal. For the 2nd degree, we have:

2 4 6 A minor II
2 4 7 F# dim VII
2 5 7 D major V

At each note of the scale, I play all three chords, raising one note at a time. It's sort of like the "itsy bitsy spider" going up the scale.

Then I do this in C on 3, 4 and 5 with pedals-down positions, and on 4, 5 and 6 with the AF-lever positions. The idea of the exercise is to be aware of what notes you're playing, where they fit in the scale, where are the root, 3rd and 5th, etc.

After you have all those down, add in the V7 chords in various inversions and the dom. 7th forms of the tonic (V7 of IV).

Once you learn all these, you can play various different harmonized scales, like:



I II III IV V VI VII I


G  A   B  C D  E  F# G (melody note)


I VII I IV I IV V  I


G   A B  C  D   E  F# G


VI II VI II III VI V7 of VI(B7) VI


G  A  B  C  D    E F#            G

Cheers,
Alan Shank

[This message was edited by Alan Shank on 27 May 2005 at 10:27 AM.]

Alan Shank · From: Woodland, CA, USA

To clarify the "V of IV":

If you play in C major, all the notes in the scale are "natural," i.e. white keys on the piano. However, in most music in C you will still see some sharp and flat signs, notes that do not occur in C major. Many of these are due to "borrowed dominants." The "up four," "down five," or dominant-to-tonic change is the strongest chord change, combining a strong root progression with the melodic progression leading-tone-to-tonic (B to C in C major). Add the 7th to the dominant chord and you add the additional element of dissonance-to-consonance, as the tritone (B-F in C major) resolve to a major third (C-E in C major).

Dominant harmony is so strong that its use is often expanded to the tonic-to-subdominant change, where a C7 chord often precedes an F major. Since the Bb does not occur in C major, but does occur in F major, I interpret this chord as the "dominant of the subdominant," like a very temporary modulation to F major. This principle can include all the different forms of dominant harmony, 7ths, 9ths, diminished 7ths and half-diminished 7ths. You just borrow notes from another key.

The next most common "borrowed dominant" is the V of V, the dominant-7th form of the II chord. In C major, this is D7, which usually then resolves to some form of G. While the chord is D7, you're really playing in G major, which is where the F# comes from.

Other borrowed dominants are somewhat less common, but the "circle of fifths" is just a series of "dominant of the dominant of the dominant of the..."

I am not suggesting anyone adopt this system of notation, especially in the studio (Paul and Herb), but I feel it emphasizes what is really going on in the music.
Cheers,
Alan Shank

Bruce Burhans · From: Bellingham, Washington, USA

I edited this line, a mistake, in my original post:

II IV/5+2 VII/5-2
(corrected to VII/1-2)

--------------------

Adrienne Clasky,

Thanks. Be sure to study Alan Shank's concepts. They
are the same as mine only more evolved.

Bob Grossman,

G#- is G#dim. G#+ would be G#aug. I should have
made that clear and have corrected the mistake.
Thanks.

Alan Shank,

Scott Henderson · From: Camdenton, Missouri, USA

I'M DIGGIN IT KEEP IT COMING.
ENLILGHTENMENT IS A NECCESITY FOR GROWTH!!!
i GOT INTO INVERSIONS WHEN i WAS YOUNGER NEED TO SET DOWN AND TAX MY BRAIN AND SEE HOW MUCH OF WHAT IS BEING SAID HERE THAT I DO.
THAKS SO MUCH GUYS..I'VE BEEN IN A RUT AND THIS IS A GOD SEND

------------------
Steelin' away in the ozarks and life,
Scott
www.scottyhenderson.com

Alan Shank · From: Woodland, CA, USA

The "inversion" of a chord is really determined by what note is in the bass. If you are playing the steel (or any instrument) by yourself, then you are determining the inversion. If the lowest note is the root of the chord, then that's "root position." If the 3rd is the lowest note, that's "first inversion," etc. You can have as many inversions as there are notes in the chord, but it's quite rare to have the 7th or 9th in the bass.

That brings up another point: if you are playing with other people, the "overall" inversion is determined by the lowest note, usually the bass player. If the bass player is playing the root of the chord, this "frees up" the steel player and others to play partial chords and inversions that might otherwise sound quite odd.

On the steel, you get different inversions by playing different string groups at the same fret and pedal combination, or by moving up/down the neck and changing the pedal combination on the same string group, or some combination of the above.

Perhaps more important, on the steel, than the inversion is the top note, which tends to be perceived as the melody. Many players think of chords more in terms of the top note than the bottom one.

Another important difference in chords is between "close" and "open" voicing. "Close" position is when the chord notes are as close together as they can be, usually within an octave. The standard chord grips 3-4-5, 4-5-6, 5-6-8 and 6-8-10 are "close" position. If you "skip" a chord tone, you get an "open" voicing, which has quite a different effect. Grips like 3-5-8 and 4-6-10 are "open" voicings. (I use a B 9th string and G# 10th, so I can also get a 5-8-10 grip). Herb Steiner, in his excellent "12 Gospel Favorites" instruction book, uses both types of voicings in some of the tunes, and the effect is quite different.
Cheers,
Alan Shank

Bruce Burhans · From: Bellingham, Washington, USA

Alan,

Nice.

Really funny that you should bring this up. I was
thinking along these lines earlier...

quote:
Perhaps more important, on the steel, than the
inversion is the top note, which tends to be perceived
as the melody. Many players think of chords more in
terms of the top note than the bottom one.

That's because the melody is often the best handle
on the harmony/chord that's available. Any note
in the melody that falls on a heavy beat, or is
sustained across one or more, IS a part of the
chord, whether it is mentioned in the given chord
name/description or not.

If the chart says C Major, and the vocalist or
instrumental soloist plays a sustained A, then
the chord is really C6.

(that would include any harmony lines accompanying
the voice or instrument too)

With a knowledge of inversions, you can often use
the melody to write out an accurate chord chart
(mentally or physically) in short order.

It's a matter of determining whether the dominant
note of the melody is the 1, 3, or 5 of the
chord (and it usually IS one of those, as you
intimate in your article).

The harmonized scale exercise you offered earlier
in the discussion would be excellent ear training
for this.

Bruce in Bellingham

------------------
Sho-Bud S-10 Pro-I 3+5 -- http://tinyurl.com/65rcv

Wooden Steels Rock!

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