12 weeks. 12 Keys. TRIADS!

[zak borden]

Hey folks.

I'm inviting folks to join me on a little trip across and around the circle of 5ths. I'm picking a different major key to focus on every week. Pick your own if you wish. I've been teaching, recording and performing for many years and this strategy has helped a ton to iron out some weak spots in my playing. In an effort not to scare folks away, here is a hand out of the 3 basic triad inversions for major, minor and dim. If you haven't learned these, they are very fun, simple and useful. These are just shapes they can go anywhere on the neck. Only play the 3 notes leaving one string available for later extensions. The notes can either be placed on the G D & A or the D A & E strings. The idea is to find a note on the mandolin and then instantly grab the harmony notes (the 3rd and 5th) because you simply recognize the shape and how it surrounds around the root. Once you learn these, you can make your own chords with simple recipes. For instance, build yourself a dominant by either lowering the root a whole step or raising the fifth by a step and a half (or minor 3rd). Or building an augmented by sharping the 5th a half step. But first, master these shapes. P.S. I'm available for Skype lessons and find me on Facebook. : ) Have fun!

[zak borden]

One more note. A nice way to apply these shapes is to 'lead' with the appropriate finger. For the root inversion, find a note (and thus the name of the chord) with your first finger, then just add on the rest of the shape: the 5th (barred with the first finger) and then add the 3rd up top. For the major chord with a '3rd in bass' (1st inversion) find the 1 or root note with your 3rd finger (barring root and 5th with your ring) this leaves your middle open for useful stuff later. Then, for the '5th in bass' shape (2nd inversion), find the root you want with your pinky and add the other notes up from there . Cheers, z

[catmandu2]

I imagine you're enjoying some very wonderful insights and, more importantly--musical moments on this journey! Maybe you'll be inspired to write/record a song cycle...or lay down some inspired improv at your next jam..

Nice structured approach. I like this approach of finding a tonic center, then harmonizing/using it as basis for improv/study. It's a most enjoyable way to undertake such study. It's (interval training) very fundamental to my bass playing/study aproach--which tends to be more "technical" (studied?) and less oh, free flowing...as I noticed this morning playing a bunch of different styles/elements on the banjo in the garden. Probably more thinking while playing bass, for me...although, yes it would be nice to put this much thought into all my playing too..

And, the more I study this--the more apt I am to create with it on other instruments...which I am truly enjoying lately, especially, on winds. Harmony singing (and harmonizing with instruments) is some of the most fun about playing instruments.

[zak borden]

Thanks for the feedback. Yes it's a blast. I'm starting to feel a little evangelical about the triad approach. Like you said, great for ear training and harmony singing. I'm coming up with vocal stuff I couldn't hear as easily before. It also really allows for slowing down and really listening to what the notes within any chord change are actually doing and why. The ultimate goal for me is to have the 'chords pull me' to the next change instinctively. Most of us spend too much time imposing our will on music. This sure seems to make for a long, hard road. "Freeing the improviser" and letting the chords "pull on your harmonic ear" as Mike Marshall says. That's where it's at. Or as brilliant Brazilian musician Yamandu Costa says of the 7 String guitar: "It's an instrument that suggests possibilities". All instruments are like this if we can manage to slow down and listen instead of just trying to make them talk.

[Loretta Callahan]

I'm all over these triads, or as Jethro Burns calls 'em: three finger chords .... like a bad suit. I especially like how you put the the note number of the chord on your sheet. I printed out Jethro's .... and I'm gonna write down the note number, ala Zak, as a way to help me learn the structure of the chords and to also to help me learn the notes on the fretboard.

Plus, I have ridiculously tiny hands and I'm not gonna play that closed G in first position in this lifetime .... ain't gonna happen, and I'm not a BG chopper anyway.

["Umm, fish?"]

You know, I had never played the G chop before and finally tried it a few days ago. It works fine for me, but I didn't really see what all the fuss is about. It's a G chord. I know a lot of G chords that I can chop on and they all sound pretty much the same (with some allowances for inversions). If that one's a pain for you then just play something else.

[SincereCorgi]

You know, I had never played the G chop before and finally tried it a few days ago. It works fine for me, but I didn't really see what all the fuss is about. It's a G chord. I know a lot of G chords that I can chop on and they all sound pretty much the same (with some allowances for inversions). If that one's a pain for you then just play something else.

I basically agree with you, but I think the counterargument is that chop chords are as 'close position' as you can get on a mandolin fretboard (hence the little finger's extension) which leaves more space above and below for other instruments to breathe. They also 'sound bluegrass' the way guitar power chords 'sound rock', so it's an easy recipe for accompaniment. In practice, though, I agree that the spacing doesn't seem to matter all that much as long as it's not too wide. My favorite players usually change inversions quite frequently.