Changes

The '''G Major major chord ''' consists of the G, B, and D notes. Again, the major chord consists of a root note, and its major third and perfect fifth above.

In the key of C Major, G is the 5th note of the scale, and the G Major chord is thus called the '''V chord''' (that's the roman numeral five, not the letter 'v'). It's Its notes are the perfect 5th, major 7th, and major 9th (octave of the major 2nd) above the tonic note of the key ((G B D) for the key of C Major). ''Note: like all major chords, it consists of a root and the M3 and P5 above the root. G is the root; B is a M3 above G; D is a P5 above G.''

The V Chord is unambiguously a <u>dominant function</u> chordThat last paragraph may be confusing. This means Rather than try to do all the distance math in our heads, it produces a large amount of tension and "wants" 's simpler to resolve to a tonic-function chord. The 7th note say that the root of the major scale V chord is called the leading tone because it naturally "wants" to resolve up a half step to P5 above the tonic note. The B note in , and that the G V chord is a major chord . That is the leading tone of the key of C Major and wants enough to resolve a half-step up to Cquickly determine its member notes. The root note of And given that the V chord is also diatonic to the fifth major scale and that all basic triads consist of every other note from the I chordroot, making its transition from we can simply skip the V chord A and C to get (G B D). At this point it may be easier to simply memorize the I chord seamlessnotes. The G in Later, you'll see why the G chord becomes intervallic relationships matter, start to understand all the 5th of patterns, and see how multiple methodologies point to the C chord (C E G)same results.

The 5th of the V chord is the 9th or 2nd of the scale, which isn't in the I chord. For a C G chord, this is the B D note. - Notes It can descend one wholeB--1----8----12---15- |-P5-| \ |--step to -M7----| > distances from the root tonic note of the I chord (C) for a very peaceful resolution or ascend one wholeMajor key |------M9----step to --| / U \ |-M3-| > distances from the major 3rd root note of the I G major chord (E) for a richer harmony. |---P5----| /

This makes the The V Chord is unambiguously a ''dominant function''' chord ideal to lead into , also called the I '''dominant chord'''. This is called an [[Music_Theory_means it produces a large amount of tension and "wants" to resolve to a tonic-_Diatonic_Chord_Progressions#Authentic_Cadence|<u>authentic cadence</u>]]function chord, which such as the harmonic equivalent I chord. The 7th note of the major scale is called the leading tone because it naturally "wants" to resolve up a half step to the tonic note. The B note in melodythe G major chord is the leading tone of the key of C Major and wants to resolve up a half-step up to C. The root note of the V chord is also the fifth of the I chord, making its transition from the V chord to the I chord seamless. The G in the G chord becomes the 5th of the C chord (C E G) without changing. However, it can alternatively descend from G to the E of C major. The 5th of the V chord is the 9th or 2nd of the scale, which isn't in the I chord. For a G chord, this is the D note. It is can descend one whole-step to the root note of the strongest way I chord (C) for a very peaceful resolution or ascend one whole-step to establish tonalitythe major 3rd of the I chord (E) for a richer harmony.

The V chord - I progression is also called an [[Music_Theory_-_Diatonic_Chord_Progressions#Authentic_Cadence|'''authentic cadence''']], which the <u>dominant chord</u>harmonic equivalent of the leading tone to tonic note in melody. It is the strongest way to establish tonality, moving from the strongest tension to the strongest resolution.

The third measure has a note duration we haven't talked about yet. This is a '''dotted half note'''. '''Any note that has a dot behind it gets 1.5x its normal lengh.''' So a dotted half note lasts as long as one half note + one quarter note. A dotted quarter note lasts one quarter note + one eighth note. In this case, the dotted half note takes up the first 3 beats of the measure. The final measure is just a whole note on the C Major chord.

''NOTE: I'm saying quarter ''"note'' " and half ''"note''", but really you are strumming multiple notes that make up the chord. Saying "quarter note" is really just short-hand for saying "each note of the chord is has the same duration as a quarter note in length".''

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Sometimes to make simple rhythms a little more interesting, musicians employ a '''swing feel'''. Basically, it takes two notes of equal duration and makes the first one a little longer and the second one shorter. The most typical rhythm uses a triplet, which we will cover [[Applying Rhythm to Chords|later]]. However, a swing feel does not have to be strict. For now, consider a swing feel as though two quarter notes sound more like a dotted quarter note and an eighth note. This creates a rhythm similar to an accented downbeat with a leading upbeat rhythm, but it does so for ''every'' beat.

The above tab demonstrates visually how a swing feel impacts timing. Strict time plays directly on the beat, while swing time delays every other note a bit. Swing feel 3 is the dotted quarter/eighth note feel, which really emphasizes the swing. Feel 2 is the triplet approach - dividing the beat into 3rds and playing on the 1st and 3rd divisions. Feel 2 1 falls somewhere in between this and strict time and would actually be a bit difficult to notate.

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Another way to make simple chord progressions more interesting is to play a '''bass/strum pattern'''. This is where you play the bass note on one beat, then strum the rest of (or whole) chord on the next.

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* Practice the open position G Major major chord shapes including inversions.* Know that the G major chord consists of (G B D).* Know that the chord based on the 5th note of the major scale is called the Dominant or V chord, and it's primary harmonic function is to resolve to the Tonic or I chord. * Practice strumming in swing time, using an upstroke-strum for the shortened backbeat, although at this point the swing is up to you to determine. It should feel comfortable and musical.** When playing to a metronome, use two strokes per beat, so your down-strum is always on the beat, with the upstrum a bit before the next beat. This will keep you from having confusing clicks near your upstrum.* Practice playing the C and G Major chords using a bass/strum pattern.

{{crumbs|red|13top}}|Guitar Parts and Functions|Parts{{Beginner Lesson Crumbs|Holding the Guitar and Pick|Playing|Basic Technique|Technique|Tuning and Harmonics|Tuning|Music Theory Basics|Theory|Position|Position|1st String|1st String|1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals|Intervals|2nd and 3rd Strings|2nd/3rd Strings|4th, 5th, and 6th Strings|Other Strings|C Major in Open Position and Alternate Picking|Alt. Picking|C Major Chord|C Major|G Major Chord|G Major|F Major Chord|F Major|E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor Chords|Minor Chords|Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions|Progressions13}}