What Are You Working On Right Now?

[TSJMajesty]

fun

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Pretty normal for a start.
Whatever, there's a bunch of things that helped me getting more fluent.
- Practice drop 2 inversions on the top 4 strings for all 4 main 7th chord types (maj7, dom7, min7, min7/b5).
- When doing so, move your hand in the air from one position to the next, so you have to pre-form the shape in the air before "landing". This will be pretty tough at first.
- Do the same with each chord adding a 9th. Then adding a 13th. Then adding an 11th. Obviously only whenever applicable. Maj11 chords don't work well, min13 chords only work in some contexts and min7/b5 chords with any extension usually make your brain/ear twist their function.
- Do chord movements between two of these chords. Say, from Cmaj7 to G7 and back. Always move to the closest inversion of the next chord to keep voice movements at a minimum. All inversions.
- Do the same with option notes. Cmaj7/9 to G7/13. All inversions.

These will be pretty tough at first. But they will be very efficient.

In case you don't have a quick overview, here's those 4 chord types as drop 2 voicings on the DGBE strings (root note in solid circles):
View attachment 26860

Is this a German music college thing? To go from closed position, drop and label it root position? Kinda like root position being called Septlage?

Cause in the English speaking world, inversions (irregardless of voicing) will be named for its bass voice.

As in your root position would be 2nd inversion, etc...

Also just as dropping the second highest voice (alto) of a root position closed voicing gives the drop 2 2nd inversion, there's a hack to keep root position intact.

Raise the 2nd note from the bottom (tenor voice) of a closed root position and end up with drop 2 root position.

Side note raise the 2nd lowest voice (tenor) of a drop 2 an octave and you have drop 3

As in say C△7 drop 2 root position to drop 3 root position

E-------3
B---5---5
G---4---4
D---5----
A---3----3
E---

Alternatively drop top note of drop 2 3rd inversion by 2 octaves and you get drop 3 root position...

A-7

E----5-------8---
B----5--5---8---8
G----5--5---9---9
D----5--5---7---7
A-------------------
E--------5-------8

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

I do. That’s why it’s frustrating. I should be able to just go to it but I’m having a traffic jam between my brain and fingers. At least i can hear when i get it wrong.

I’m trying to get the chord name into my head so that my fingers just go there and it’s like I have to count every time.

One of the issue is how guitar is taught usually started with triad on d g b string set.

That shape changes going one string up and change different going one string down.

Yet if we look at the way a guitar is tuned we can grok that one string up and 5 frets down is the same note. (Or 7 frets up on that string for the octave...5 and 7 makes 12)

So if we start with the lowest root position C triad on e a d string we have this c e g

8 7 5 x x x

Do the one string over 5 frets down we get

X 3 2 0 x x

Obviously we can't do the one string up 5 frets down since we're at the bottom of the neck.
So up and octave (12 frets)

X 15 14 12 x x

Now when we move this one a string up we have to accommodate the b strings different tuning than the rest of the guitar.

One string up, 5 frets down and the note that landed on the b string gets raised a fret

So one over 5 down would get thi

X x 10 9 7 x

Accommodate the b string

X x 10 9 8 x

Last string set
Again the note that lands on the b string needs to go up a fret

One over 5 down

X x x 5 4 3

Accommodate (raise the note on the ) b string

X x x 5 5 3


Same applies for 4 nite chords

Drop 2 A-7 in root position

5 7 5 5 x x

One over 5 down

X. 0 2 0 0 x

Raise the b string note one fret

X 0 2 0 1 x

Go up an octave

X 12 14 12 13 x

One over 5 down,
X x 7 9 7 8
Raise the b string

X x 7 9 8 8

 

[Sascha Franck]

Cause in the English speaking world, inversions (irregardless of voicing) will be named for its bass voice.

Yeah, it's actually the same here. But I always keep confusing myself because I find the naming to be very illogical. I mean, when you deal with these voicings, the most important part would be the top note - and calling it a different inversion because of the lowest note always seemed illogical to me. But as said, it's my fault.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Yeah, it's actually the same here. But I always keep confusing myself because I find the naming to be very illogical. I mean, when you deal with these voicings, the most important part would be the top note - and calling it a different inversion because of the lowest not always seemed illogical to me. But as said, it's my fault.

I used to name it the same way until it confused the hell out of a piano player I worked with.

So my hack for drop 2 was soprano voice gets bass a third below.
As in the one you have as root position it has the 7 on top (soprano) and the 5 on the bottom (bass)
That was until Ted Greene hipped me to his V system

 

[Sascha Franck]

To me, that, while plausible, still doesn't make it more accessible. I mean, I know how things work since ages already, and yet, for my "inner self" C-E-G-B and G-C-E-B are almost the same voicing and simply don't justfiy calling the latter 2nd inversion (because IMO the character is determined by the top note rather than the lowest note). No understanding of the theoretical background will ever help me out of that dilemma.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

To me, that, while plausible, still doesn't make it more accessible. I mean, I know how things work since ages already, and yet, for my "inner self" C-E-G-B and G-C-E-B are almost the same voicing and simply don't justfiy calling the latter 2nd inversion (because IMO the character is determined by the top note rather than the lowest note). No understanding of the theoretical background will ever help me out of that dilemma.

Hence me saying I remember them by melody note on top and the bottom is a10 (3rd) below

 

[Sascha Franck]

Hence me saying I remember them by melody note on top and the bottom is a10 (3rd) below

That's not the issue I'm having. I'm having an issue to actually *name* the inversions. And while it's not even an issue, it's just something not accessible for my poor little brain.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

That's not the issue I'm having. I'm having an issue to actually *name* the inversions. And while it's not even an issue, it's just something not accessible for my poor little brain.

And for that I gladly live with view from the lowest note

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

That's not the issue I'm having. I'm having an issue to actually *name* the inversions. And while it's not even an issue, it's just something not accessible for my poor little brain.

I heard you play and find this hard to believe

 

[Sascha Franck]

I heard you play and find this hard to believe

Totally different thing, really. It's how I "see" or rather "feel" chords vs. how they're organized in classical terminology. And especially as far as typical drop 2 voicings are concerned, *the* key element is the top note, so that's what I'd like to be the center of "how to explain/detect" inversions, too.
And fwiw, all of that doesn't get in the way of my playing anyway. It just does get in the way of me being able to explain things sort of intuitively.

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

If anyone is interested, putting "tab" stuff in one of these posts is best done in the "code" wrapper. It uses a fixed width font so the numbers don't get misaligned and are therefore easier to read ;~))

A-7

E----5------8----
B----5--5---8---8
G----5--5---9---9
D----5--5---7---7
A----------------
E-------5-------8

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Totally different thing, really. It's how I "see" or rather "feel" chords vs. how they're organized in classical terminology. And especially as far as typical drop 2 voicings are concerned, *the* key element is the top note, so that's what I'd like to be the center of "how to explain/detect" inversions, too.
And fwiw, all of that doesn't get in the way of my playing anyway. It just does get in the way of me being able to explain things sort of intuitively.

Well dude you have the 7th on top means you have the 5th on bottom, it's second inversion done.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Well dude you have the 7th on top means you have the 5th on bottom, it's second inversion done.

I know that. But in case it's not drop 2 but closed voicing, it's root position. That's not logical for my brain.

 

[TwistedTape]

I am working on my pedalboard....same as always!

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

I know that. But in case it's not drop 2 but closed voicing, it's root position. That's not logical for my brain.

You want logic go the other way around.

Let's use C△7 root position.
And for the purpose of this let's use the term for any voicing

Closed voicing 7th on top
Drop 2 3rd on top
Drop 3 5th on top
Drop 2/4 7th on top

 

[Sascha Franck]

You want logic go the other way around.

No, I don't. It's my brain's guts working that way automatically.

Fwiw, all that stuff would work just as well upside down (using the top note as a reference for inversion namings), and if the "naming system" was invented by jazz (or anything else but classical) musicians, it'd possibly even be upside down.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

No, I don't. It's my brain's guts working that way automatically.

Fwiw, all that stuff would work just as well upside down (using the top note as a reference for inversion namings), and if the "naming system" was invented by jazz (or anything else but classical) musicians, it'd possibly even be upside down.

Well don't they do it in Gernany anyways?
The drop2 you all root position is Septlage, no?

 

[Sascha Franck]

The drop2 you all root position is Septlage, no?

Gotta admit that I have forgotten pretty much all classical nomenclature (should theoretically know it from studying...).

 

[norminal]

Can someone tell me how YOU play this? I've heard this lick used a billion times, but never added it to my repertoire. I'm embarrassed to say that I can't seem to figure out the most efficient fingering (the bendy part):