Chords in relation to key

I won't speak for Noteboat, but for myself knowledge of theory and how to apply it is somewhat sperate from being able to play well.

Playing well tends to focus more on the ear and finger coordination. Theory is more mental.

I do know guys who know theory very well because they "see" it as they play, and for them theory is more tightly linked to performance. But they are all keyboardists. I think it has to do with having a nice linear, color-coded instrument :)

I think theory is an intellectual pursuit, and playing is an artistic pursuit. So there's a natural division.

But if you've ever taken a drawing class, they teach perspective - and drawing those lines to the horizon is a sort of intellectual/mechanical side to the creative expression of drawing. Once you've learned it, you internalize it and you don't need to actively draw the horizon line, or think about the points in perspective... but your drawing still reflects what you've learned.

I think music theory works the same way. You study it, you internalize it, and it plays a role in shaping the way you play without thinking about it.

You dont know how nice it is to have a place for me to ask these questions and to not feel like Im bugging some one. Ive known some realy good guitar players but they allways blew me off when I asked about theory or thier playing they just said practice and play it will come to you, and I have but I think that in order to become a well rounded musician you have to have a solid foundation on which to build upon.So I have found this place and I ask questions by the way thank you for all the input what ever it may be.

Here is another question that you have all ready touched on, but when deciding upon chords from a parallel key what are the common rules,practices,or general guidlines to use

The general rule is:

A chord can substitute for another if they share 2 notes or more

(and no note in the chord clashes too badly with a melody note being used)

Why the caveat? Well, basically the melody rules and the chords are for harmonising it. On a dominant chord (V) you want a little tension and so the melody note need not always fit the chord well.

The worst clash is when notes are a semitone (half step) apart.

It might be nice to have some "tricks" up your sleeve. Here are a few:

- try using the same chords but with different base notes, so instead of G7 -> G7/B (little changes but with big impact)
- try using chords from the Moll Dur scale (major scale with a b6, in C: C, D, E, F, G ->Ab<- B (MAJOR keys trick)
- try substituting subdominants (IV) with altered subdominants (diminshed, half diminshed, double dim, hard dim, etc.), also add them after a subdominant
examples in C: F#dim, F#half dim, F# double dim. etc.
- try the same thing with a tonic lasting one or two bars -> try inserting a sub dominant (so instead of only C -> C F C or C F#dim C, but keep C as a bass note!!)
- add secondary dominants before a dominant (adding D7 before G7)
- try substituting dominants with their tritone sub (dominant three whole steps up: D7/Ab7, G7/Db7)
- try inserting deceptive cadences (V -> VI) instead of V -> I
- try inserting the "jazz cadence" bVII - I (Bb7 - C) (MAJOR KEYS TRICK)
- experiment with using different modes of minor (melodic, harmonic, natural) (MINOR KEYS TRICK)

Here's a beautiful example, let's say we have a piece which ends:

G7 C and back to the beginning which again is a C chord
now a substitution:
G7 E7/G# Am G7/B (so last three chords substitute C)

What happened: I substituted V -> I with a deceptive cadence:
G7 Am, then I added a dominant before the Am:
G7 E7 Am, then I put a different bassnote in the dominant (the third)
G7 E7/G# Am, then I added a dominant because we're going back to C again and put a third in the bass as well:
G7 E7/G# Am G7/B

Nice progression and an ascending basseline as a bonus!
There are many more tricks but this is a start ,
Hope this helps!

Owwww, my poor fingers! :|

Sounds mighty fine though Niliov, cheers :)

Haha,

thanks, but if your fingers hurt maybe you're trying to play two "thirds" in the chords with the third in the bass? Always make sure you do not double the third when it is already in the bass since this clouds the function of the chord, so a suggested fingering for the above progression would be:

G7 E7/G# Am G7/B

G7 : 3X343X (fingering: 1243)
E7/G#: 4X243X (fing: 3142)
Am : X02210 (fing: 231)
G7/B: X2X031 (fing: 241)
and back to C

Aye, I was just tinkering really - my girls are asleep, and I can really do wihout the mood they get into if they don't have a good night's sleep :mrgreen:

I'll give those fingerings a go when I next get 5 minutes piece :)

If you have a minor 7th flat 5th, you can substitute the minor 7th a minor 3rd above. For example sub F-7 for a D-7b5. Then of course, you can sub the relative major, so Ab7 can sub for F-7.

You can go the other way as well. If you have a G7, sub the relative minor (E-7) then sub the -7b5 a minor 3rd below that (C#-7b5.)

Tritone substitutions are always a good trick to have in your arsenal.