The Chord Change Hurdle - 4
 By Jack Hatfield
(Click for Hurdle-1 Hurdle - 2 Hurdle -3) YES, SOME PEOPLE HEAR CHORD CHANGES innately better than others. No, nobody is unteachable. Learning strictly from tab will do very little to hone your skills in figuring out chords. Tab is a great way of preserving and communicating a melody, and it shows graphically the ‘shape’ of rolls, aiding in learning a Scruggs-style banjo arrangement quickly. Regarding the teachability of learning chords by ear: Chords are combined to form progressions in very predictable ways. There are a few ‘generic’ progressions that keep resurfacing in different songs. If you can play Roll in my SBA you can play New River Train or Truck Driving Man... you have to listen for certain things. There are three basic chords, namely the 1, 4 and 5 chords (e.g. G, C and D in the key of G), All other chords can be viewed as (functionally) either substitutes for or transitions to these three. Start by figuring out the key (listen to the last chord in the choruses and verses), then determine the ‘basic three’ for that key, then start guessing. You’re playing one chord, so if you hear a change, it has to be only one of the other two (or a substitute for, or a transition to, them)... You have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. A simple way to identify chord types: Pay attention to the emotional response they evoke. A major chord is a ‘happy’ chord. A minor chord is a ‘sad’ chord. A seventh chord is a ‘nervous’ chord. Then, go into the probability thing (the 1-chord is used most often, so guess it first, followed by the 5-chord, followed by the 4-chord. The minor 6th (6m) is the most used minor chord, so if your ear detects a minor type, guess the 6m first, followed by the 2m, followed by the 3m... ) In formal music, the 1, 4 and 5 are typically major types. The 2, 3, and 6 are typically minor or sevenths. The true 7-chord is rarely used at all, though the flatted seventh is used in all forms of music, functioning (substituting) as a 4- or 5-chord. Use logic and your ear. I have written a book that deals with all aspects (that can be used) of chords - from the number system to scales, to chord construction, to identifying chord type by ear, to simplifying the trial-and-error procedure by using the laws of probabilities. This book is not for weenies. It is music theory for the non-formally trained (but you can’t put the word ‘Theory’ on the cover of a book - people assume they can’t understand it and run the other way while beating their brains out trying to use pure trial-and-error). The accompanying tape makes you listen to examples and identify chords and progressions. It is called How To Play By Ear (not to be confused with “You Can Teach Yourself Banjo by Ear”, which I wrote for Mel Bay... the former has much more theory and is not instrument-specific.) Internet-enabled readers can check it out on my website: http://www.hatfieldmusic.com There is no substitute for using trial and error in identifying chords and progressions but knowing the theory can cut your time in half. Jack Hatfield, (Write to: hatfield@tdsnet.com
Hatfield Music, 325 Laurelwood Dr. Pigeon Forge,
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