A major, minor? Why these names?

Hello,

Could someone explain to me when we apply the "major" or "minor" notation? What does this mean in sund effects?

Is there any logic behind these names in order to memorize the chords? A major means that we begin strumming the A string or that we use the middle finger in the second fret of the G string?

The difference between a major chord and a minor chord is that in a minor chord, you flat the third.

Major and minor chords are made up of 3 notes. Major chords are made up of the root note (the tonic), 3rd, and 5th. So, an A major chord is made up of A, C#, and E. If you look at the A major chord shape, you will see it is made up of only these notes.

To make it a minor chord, you take the third (C# in this case) and flat it. In terms of the guitar, this means the note is played a fret lower. So rather than fretting the B string on the second fret, it is fretted on the first fret, giving you a C note.

So an A minor chord is A, C, and E.

As far as tonality goes, minor chords have a more somber sound whereas major chords are more "happy" and uplifting sounding.

Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by: maggiorThe difference between a major chord and a minor chord is that in a minor chord, you flat the third.
[/QUOTE]

You mean that in a minor chord you always flat the third string or just in the A chords?

[QUOTE=maggior]
Major and minor chords are made up of 3 notes. Major chords are made up of the root note (the tonic),

And this can be in any of the 3 strings, correct?

[QUOTE=maggior]
3rd, and 5th. So, an A major chord is made up of A, C#, and E. If you look at the A major chord shape, you will see it is made up of only these notes.

To make it a minor chord, you take the third (C# in this case) and flat it. In terms of the guitar, this means the note is played a fret lower. So rather than fretting the B string on the second fret, it is fretted on the first fret, giving you a C note.
[\QUOTE]

So I believe that in each chord the flattened string can be any, isn't it?

Thank you very much for your reply! ;)

You can use any of the 3 strings, as long as they are the correct notes. If you look at many open chords (G major is a good example), there is a lot of redundancy. Though you are strumming all 6 strings, there are only 3 notes in there. The G note is in there 3 times (6th string, 3rd string, and 1st string).

What I say "you always flat the 3rd", it is the 3rd note in the scale. For a A major chord, that note happens to be on the 2nd string.

To make a minor chord, you can't flatten any string, it has to be the string (or strings) that provide the 3rd of the scale.

I hope that makes sense. I hope I'm not confusing you.

I learned guitar through chord and scale shapes and learned some theory later on. So I like to translate theory into what it physically looks like on the fretboard. So when I want to make a minor chord, I look at the major chord shape, identify the 3rd, and know I have to move it down a fret to make it minor.

Hello Maggior,

I think I quite understand what you mean, but I have difficulty in undersatnding what you mean by the third note of the scale.

So if we have A, B, C, D, E, F and G

With A Major we fret to obtain A, C# and E. Shouldnt the third note among these 3 note E?

With E Major we fret strings 3, 4 and 5 obtaining respectively: G#, E and B, but we flatten G# to obtain a G. In this case the third of theses notes is G, so it complies what you say.

Thus, I believe I don't understand what you mean with the "third note", unless you mean the third note to sound when you perform a downstroke. Do you mean this then? Most surely... ;)

Nevertheless, in the case of C an Cminor the note we change is the second... from E to D# and the strings that sound change...

Sorry bor being a nuisance. I just enjoy learning with some detail, but I know I can be a pain in the neck.. :P

The notes you list are for the C major scale starting at A.

The A major scale is:
A, B, C#, D, E, F#, and G#. Look up how the major scale is derived and this will make sense. Wikipedia is a good source (it's where I found quickly the notes of the A major scale). It is defined by intervals starting from a root note.

The A major breaks down like this:
1 - A
2 - B
3 - C#
4 - D
5 - E
6 - F#
7 - G#

So, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th of the A major scale are A, C#, and E. Flat the 3rd and you get C.

This all has nothing to do with which string we are talking about or in what order they are strummed. You can use this idea to play an A and an A minor chord on a piano.

Hope that helps! It actually helps me trying to explain it to somebody else :-).

Rich

:D

Sorry about this, but now I am more lost than before... I am too a beginner to understand "scales" and such concepts. I have no music theory background I am afraid.

Does this mean that I must know every chord's scale by heart? :S

Maybe I am trying to bite too much in my beginnings... ;)

Sorry I've confused you.

No, not at all. Starting out, you can just learn the chord shapes and know the names of them. You can safely forget about scales. In the future, it may be good to understand how chords are put together and how they relate to scales.

To answer your original question though (the difference between major and minor chords), I had to get into some of that.

So, if you are just starting out, I would say you can safely memorize the chord shapes (major and minor) and their names. Once you have that down, you can come back to this if your curiosity gets the best of you.

I've been playing for 30 years and I had to look up what the notes of the A major scale are, so don't feel like you have to memorize anything. You can get a lot of mileage out of just know chord (and eventually scale) shapes. Though it does help to know where the shapes come from one you become interested in either song writing or improvisation.

Enjoy!

Maggior did a great job here.

I suggest you watch the introductory video to Guitar Fundamentals 2 found here, http://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=2 . Then go through at least Chapters 1 and 2.

Fundamentals 1 and 2 are excellent...they provide a basic foundation without which, IMO, progress will be slowed...

Thank you very much to both of you... 30 years playing the guitar... Wow... What have I done with my life ? :D

Okay I will wait until level 2 And " I'll be back " ;-)

Originally Posted by: RagonichaFulvaThank you very much to both of you... 30 years playing the guitar... Wow... What have I done with my life ? :D

Okay I will wait until level 2 And " I'll be back " ;-)

No problem :-). John's suggestion is a good one (thanks for the kudos John).

Note that 30 years of playing doesn't mean 30 years of progressing :-). When I think of how good I could be if I started lessons earlier and stuck with them...but better late than never.

Originally Posted by: maggiorNo problem :-). John's suggestion is a good one (thanks for the kudos John).

Note that 30 years of playing doesn't mean 30 years of progressing :-). When I think of how good I could be if I started lessons earlier and stuck with them...but better late than never.

That's what I hope... it's been years since I have wanted to learn how to play de guitar.

Originally Posted by: maggiorNote that 30 years of playing doesn't mean 30 years of progressing :-). When I think of how good I could be if I started lessons earlier and stuck with them...but better late than never.

I never, ever had any regrets about the past...until I went back to guitar.

After a 35 year break I'm back into guitar with lots and lots of practice time. I'm satisfied with my progress and really happy about what's happening between me and my guitar(s) and Guitar Tricks. But I so much regret the time lost...particularly the 15+ years before joining when I had lots of time but I didn't even think about picking up the guitar again.

Opportunity and time lost forever...I coulda been a charter member of Guitar Tricks..! I won't let that happen again...this site and I have a committed, long-term relationship!! ;)

Originally Posted by: john of MTI never, ever had any regrets about the past...until I went back to guitar.

After a 35 year break I'm back into guitar with lots and lots of practice time. I'm satisfied with my progress and really happy about what's happening between me and my guitar(s) and Guitar Tricks. But I so much regret the time lost...particularly the 15+ years before joining when I had lots of time but I didn't even think about picking up the guitar again.

Opportunity and time lost forever...I coulda been a charter member of Guitar Tricks..! I won't let that happen again...this site and I have a committed, long-term relationship!! ;)

Good for you!!! Certainly better late than never.

As for me, I've always managed to have a guitar on hand through the years since I started learing back in 81. Time for my career, marriage, and kids have been a priority for the last 20 years or so, but now that the kids are getting older, I'm getting some time back! Guitartricks is great because I can use it whenever I have time.

No regrets...and trying to keep it that way :-).