1 Topic by Headcase (edited by Headcase 2008-12-09 18:00:03)

  • Registered: 2008-06-20
  • Posts: 139

Topic: Am I going up the wrong street?

Ok, here's the problim I have, (If it is a problim) when I play a song using chords I tend,
to play the C Major chord as C/G, now if I'm fingerpicking, I can easely play the standard,
C chord.  So do I have a problim?
Also, I play mostly in the Key of G as it suits my voice, (everyone laughts here) and most of,
the songs are 1 4 5, Now the fifth chord is a D7, but sometimes I will play a D Major it sometimes sounds better, at least to me.  I have seen songs using the G Key and the 1 4 5 and yet the fifth chord is played D Major, what is the right way to both these qustions?
I hope this is the right area, I have posted this on.

Luck and Health to all!!!

  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: Am I going up the wrong street?

The answer to either D or D7 is yes to both of them.   By just building triads (three note chords), you'll play D major.  If you're playing 7ths, it's D7.

Let's take a look at that.

G major:

G A B C D E F# G

So from the 5th, we're in myxolidian mode.    So the scale we build the D major from is

D E F# G A B C D

and D major is D F# A

If we add the 7th of that modal scale it becomes D F# A C, or D7.

A couple of things to take away from this. 

1.  This is why myxolidian modal scales play so well over 7 chords.

2.  This is primarily why we play dominant 7ths (flatted 7) chords rather than the pure maj7 chords.  The D major scale has a C# in it, so a Dmaj7 would reflect that.

So you can play the D major or the D7 in the key of G, and you'll still be harmonically correct.  They both fit.

Someday we'll win this thing...

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