Tag Archives: fifth

Chord

Chord: (n) a group of three or more notes sounded together, as a basis of harmony.

Mrs. Bosley never told me.

She was my piano teacher when I was a boy. I took lessons from her for two years–and she never mentioned that music is very mathematical.

For instance, making a chord. You have a root note–like a C. You go up two steps to get your third and another step-and-a-half to get your fifth. There. You’ve got a chord. And it works with any key.

Once I discovered this magic, I realized any song could be played in any key as long as the chords could be attained by using my mathematical little formula.

My theories were put to the test when the music group I put together lost our piano player because her father thought it wasn’t good for her to be hanging out with a bunch of boys. He was also pissed at us because he insisted our hair was too long. So he told us that she was no longer allowed to play piano for us.

He thought that would be the end of our little group.

But instead, I grabbed the kid brother of our tenor singer, sat down with the mathematical formulas aforementioned–and in six weeks, taught this kid how to “chord out” five songs.

You cannot imagine how surprised people were when this boy walked to the piano and started playing.

Honestly, we kind of did this on a lark–but it ended up being a transforming experience for him. He went from being human wallpaper to decorating rooms with his talent. Within five years, he was in demand from every group in Columbus, Ohio.

All because he learned his chords.

We do a disservice when we try to complicate the good things of life, and make them seem inaccessible. Music especially needs to be available for all of us.

If it is, maybe we can all live in one a-chord.

 

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Alto

dictionary with letter A

Alto: (n.) a voice, instrument or musical part below the soprano and above the tenor

It’s called a triad.

I’m not trying to give you a music lesson. It’s a simple blending of two notes that creates a cohesive and usually very pleasant harmony.

It was the staple of music for generations, but in the past thirty years it has been forsaken in favor of harmonies which stress the fourth and fifth instead of thirds.

Now, understanding that this is much too technical for anyone who does not pursue bass and treble clefs, let me personify it better by saying that if you’ve ever heard a women’s trio sing in a church or civic organization, one of the ladies always carries a harmony which clings to the melody so faithfully that it is almost like a twin.

It is beautiful. It is gorgeous. But for a generation of musicians and composers who favor a bit darker sound to their tunes, it is probably quite annoying.

Matter of fact, the most common way to end a song in today’s market is on the major seventh or with a dangling fifth.

Once again, I’m getting too technical. But understand this: sometimes it’s just lovely to hear a melody accompanied by a triad tripping faithfully along behind. It is a union that reminds us that the universe is not meant to be strident, but is intended to have a soprano … accompanied by a well-tuned alto.