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If the For F{{s}}{{dim}} , use the ring finger to mute the open D on the D string. If the shape is too difficult to reach , you can leave off the F{{s}} on the high E string, you can leave it offusing the pinky in place of the ring finger on the 2nd fret of the G string, and using the ring finger solely to mute the open D string. <pre>||-|-|-|-|||i|-|-|-|||-|p|-|-|||-|-|-|-| - use ring finger to muteo|-|-|-|-|||-|m|-|-|</pre>
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{{Intermediate Lesson Crumbs|9}}
The '''key of G Major scale ''' consists of the notes G A B C D E F{{s}}. G is a 5th above C, or one clockwise movement along the [[Circle of Fifths|circle of fifths]] above C. It shares all the same notes as [[C Major in Open Position and Alternate Picking|C Major]], except the F{{s}}, which is the leading tone in G Major.
'''E Minor ''' is the [[Music Theory - Minor Keys|relative minor]] of G Major, sharing all the same notes. E is the 5th of A, and A Minor is the relative minor of C Major. Just as we traverse the circle of fifths clockwise to go from C to G, we can do the same for A to E. ''E Minor is a rather popular key for guitar, having a tonic note as the lowest note of the standard-tuned 6-string guitar.''
== PreReqs ==
=== Diatonic Chords ===
G Major contains the following diatonic chords:
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Here are open position chord voicings for G Major and E Minor. Notice that 4 of these are already well-known from C Major. D is already known from the [[Other Open String Chords#D Major|other open string chords]] lesson. The only new ones are Bm and F{{s}}{{dim}}. Bm is difficult to make use of open strings(unlike its [[7th Chords|7th chord]]), so it uses the [[Barre Chords#5 String - A Shapes|common 5-string barre shape]]. Really only F{{s}}{{dim}} is new, and unfortunately diminished triads can have some nasty shapes. The [[7th Chords#Half Diminished|7th chord varieties]] actually make more sense, but we haven't gotten that far quite yet.
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Notice there's nothing special about the different keys. Notes may change and chords may need to be voiced a little differently, but ultimately what matters is the pattern. A I - IV - V - I progression will sound feel the same in G Major as it does in C Major. The ascending G Major scale melody above uses the following notes from the scale: 1 2 3 4 3 4 5 6 7 8. Using the same relationship of notes in C Major would produce an identical effect.
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So if everything is relative and any major key is going to be roughly the same as any other major key, what's the point of using different keys? Why not write everything in C Major?
We have not yet gotten to the topic of [[Modulation|modulation]], which involves changing keys inside a song. This can have a profound effect on the piece as a whole. It requires we know all the different keys used, which is must be at least 2. Modulating isnWe won't always going to be modulate to the current key's 5th, either. While one song may modulate from C Major to G Major, another song may modulate from C Major to E Major.
While many songs have sections devoted to a modulation, it doesn't need to be so obvious. We may want to modulate out of the key for just a measure to play a certain melody we think will sound good over the current chord.
Even if a song does not modulate to another key, it may require being written in a certain key so that it fits the range of a certain instrument. For instance, consider a piece written for clarinet, whose range is E3 to G6. The piece features an ascending 3 octave arpeggio run of the tonic chord, ending on the root note 3 octaves above the original note. There are only a few possible notes that this will work for without exceeding the clarinet's range: E, F, F{{s}} and G. If C Major is the key, the clarinet will not be able to play the piece. So the piece is written in a different key, such as E Major.
Even if an instrument's range is not the concern, timbre might be. For instance, many songs written for guitar are written in E Minor. Even though the guitar could play the song in any minor key, the composer chose E Minor because the low E is the lowest note of the guitar. He had conceptualized hitting that low E in mind when he wrote the piece, which is deeper and more impactful than hitting the A or E{{f}} above low E.
If a song is written in one key for a certain instrument, but we want to play it with a different instrument, we may consider '''transposing''' the song to a different key. This simply means moving all the pitches/notes uniformly higher or lower. All the relative pitches between notes remain intact. However, now the piece may fit the instrument's range or desired timbre. For guitar, the easiest way to do this is to use a capo. All the chord fingerings will be identical.
== Homework ==