I've started a Bluegrass Music Theory page for those visitors who are interested in learning the theory behind this music we love so well. The newest additions are entered all the way at the bottom of this page. Use your "Page Down" key to speed travel up a bit. Hope you enjoy this theory page and return many times. I will continue to post lessons and information frequently. If I have not been clear or factual, please email me at adirondackcomposer@hotmail.com and I will do my best to resolve any issues. Thanks.

So I'll begin with the Key of G major which is founded on a "G" scale. Notice I said "Major". There is also a "Minor".

I'll describe the "major" for now. Beginning on "G", move one full step above in pitch to the note "A". Notice that there is a note between G and A. This note is a half-step from our beginning note G. It is called "G Sharp". "G Sharp" is enharmonically the same as "A-Flat". So now we've determined that there are half-steps and whole-steps in a scale. We've also determined that there are notes called "sharps" and other notes called "flats". A "Major" scale is built by combining whole -and half -steps together in a certain sequence.

I like to remember the sequence this way: "Two wholes, a half, three holes, a half." So the first segment would be "two wholes and a half", or G,A,B (The interval G to A is the first whole and A to B is the second whole) and the half is from B to C. The concluding segment of the G scale would be "Three wholes and a half" or C, D, E, F# and the half up to G. (C to D is a whole, D to E is our second whole, E to F would only be a half step and our scale calls for a whole step here, so we have to raise this note (Sharpen) to an F# to get the required spacing of that whole note and then we finalize the scale with a half step from the F# to the G. Thus, the "G scale" ends up: G A(B C)D E(F# G). (half steps shown in parentheses) See the post UNDERSTANDING A MAJOR SCALE'S PROPERTIES below for additional assistance.

Now let’s construct a “C scale" using the “Two whole-steps and a half, three whole-steps and a half” pattern.
C to D to E make up our first two whole-steps. Now E to F is our first half-step and followed by F to G to A to B as our next three whole-steps and final it out with a half-step of B to C. CDEFGABC. This makes an octave, meaning the interval of 8 tones. Our “C” scale ended on the octave above the C note it started with or it began on a C note an octave below where it ended.

Note the scales below that are all major scales and used in Bluegrass:

G: GABCDEF#G
A: ABC#DEF#G#A
B: BC#D#EF#G#A#B
C: CDEFGABC
D: DEF#GABC#D
E: EF#G#ABC#D#E
And a couple of major scales using Flats rather than Sharps:
F: FGABbCDEF
Bb: BbCDEbFGABb

Now practice building scales in different key signatures with your instrument of choice or build the scales on paper. It’s better if you use an instrument since your “ear training” will develop faster.

Did you notice that the Key of G has one sharp?
The Key of F, one flat?

How many sharps in the Key of E?

How many flats in Ab?

If you said 4, you are correct. Count them.
Ab: AbBbCDbEbFGAb (Ab, Bb, Db, Eb)

Let’s continue on to the way chords are formed and how to use them in bluegrass music.

A “Triad” consists of three notes. A triad formed on the “home” note of a chord is a “root position” triad. In the key of G major, a root position triad consists of the three notes: G B D. If you refer to the G scale, (GABCDEF#G) you will see that the major triad is based on two intervals; one constructed with a major third on the bottom and the other a minor third on the top. The major third is figured: G to A is a whole-step and A to B is a whole-step. Thus, two whole-steps make a major third. The top third – the minor triad- is formed by the interval B to C, one half-step, followed by the interval C to D, a whole-step.
To review: A major third with a minor third on top is a major triad and a minor third with a major third on top is called a minor triad. So then, a G chord is built by the notes G B D and a G Minor chord is G Bb D.

In bluegrass, many of the tunes and songs are constructed using the 1, 4 & 5 chords. Again, think of the G major scale. GABCDEF#G. The G is the 1 chord, the C is the 4 chord and the D is the 5 chord.
The key a piece of music is written or played in is called the root or “Tonic” chord. The 4th chord is called the “subdominant” and the 5th chord the “dominant”.
The subdominant root position triad in the key of G is formed on the 4th note of the G scale which is C. Looking at the G scale again, (GABCDEF#G) we see that if we start on a C note and build a lower half using two whole-steps, we’ll need to use these notes: C & E (C to D is one whole-step and D to E is another whole-step). Then for the top of the triad, we’ll need a G (E to F is a half-step and F to G is a whole step). Our C chord, in its’ root position will be CEG.
The dominant chord in its’ root position will be the three notes: D, F# and A.

Key of G:
G chord G B D (Major triad on bottom with Minor triad on top)
C chord C E G  (Major triad on bottom with Minor triad on top)
D chord D F# A ( same as above)

Key of C:
C chord C E G (same as above)
F chord F A C (same as above)
G chord G B D (same as above)

Try building the following chords all in their root position using triads:

Key of D:
Key of A
Key of F

Now build a C Minor root position triad.

The middle note of a root position triad is referred to as the “color” tone. It has the ability to lower one half-step to create a darker minor quality (minor triad) or to raise one half-step from the darker quality to a brighter feel, (major triad). To make a major chord a minor chord, lower the color tone. To make it major again, raise it.

The “color” tone of the dominant root position chord is also the “leading” tone. It leads back to the tonic note by raising one half-step. An example is the B note in a dominant chord of G B D. In the C scale, (CDEFGABC) the B note “leads” back to the tonic note that is an octave above the starting note.

The color tone for an F chord is the note A. To make an F major chord into an F Minor chord, simply Flat (lower by one half-step) the color tone. Major: F A C. Minor: F Ab C. The leading tone in the key of F is an E note. F scale: FGABbCDEF. The note E is also the color tone of the dominant root position triad in the key of F. (The C chord is C E G).

It is because of the strong tension in the leading tone to want to resolve to the tonic that the dominant chord is the 5 chord and almost always resolves to the tonic chord in bluegrass.

Minor chords in their root position:
Fm: F Ab C
Gm: G Bb D
Am: A C E
Bm: B D F#
Cm: C Eb G
Dm: D F A
Em: E G B
Bbm: Bb Db F
Ebm: Eb Gb Bb
Abm: Ab Cb Eb  (the note Cb is enharmonically the same as B natural, just as the note Fb is enharmonically the same as E natural)

Now let’s have a little fun with chord inversions.

We’ve learned earlier about “root” position chords, i.e. chords built on the tonic note.
Now let’s learn about inverting the chord position. For example, a G chord in root position is G B D. Now let’s invert the chord to its’ 1st position: B D G. In this voicing, the B note is on the bottom, the middle note is now a D note and the octave G is sounded for the third note of the triad. We now observe the “color” tone is at the bottom. Let’s build a few 1st inversion triads.

C: E G C
D: F# A D
E: G# B E
F: A C F
A: C# E A
Bb: D F Bb

Now sound the notes from a root position followed by the 1st inversion:
G: G B D B D G
A: A C# E C# E A
Play with this until you can easily perform this in the “bluegrass keys”.

The next inversion is the 2nd inversion. This chord is built on the 5th scalar note of each root position triad. For example: a G scale (GABCDEF#G) has as its’ 5th tone the D note. Starting on this D, you build a triad above it by using the next G and then the B above that. D G B. Notice how the “color” tone ends up on top.
Other 2nd inversion chords are:
C: G C E
D: A D F#

Now try working with sounding the root position, 1st inversion and then 2nd inversion notes in succession:

G: G B D B D G D G B
C: C E G E G C G C E
D: D F# A F# A D A D F#

Practice with all the bluegrass chords.

A 5-string banjo is a great example of chord inversions. When it is tuned in normal G tuning, the open 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings sound a 2nd inversion triad; when the 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings are sounded, they make up a root position triad; when the 2nd, 1st and 5th strings are sounded, they sound a 1st inversion triad.
Interestingly, a resophonic guitar tuned in normal G position has two root position tonic triads, one above the other, used as its’ tuning. G B D G B D. Mandolins, fiddles, and basses are not tuned in chords, generally. Although there are many examples from Bill Monroe tuning his mandolin in an open chord; and history is full of interesting chordal tunings for fiddles.

The 7th chord has a tension that requires resolution. On a tonic, root position, major triad, we learned that the bottom interval was a major third which was made from two whole-steps and the top of the triad was a minor third comprised of a half-step and a whole-step. If we add another minor third (we’ll end up with 4 notes) to the top of this - in other words a half-step and a whole-step - we’ll have a chord that consists of a major third interval followed by a minor third interval and followed by another minor third interval. This is the flatted-seventh chord, commonly referred to as a 7th. So a G7 chord is made using these notes:

G7: G B D F (notice the F is not an F#). The F# is the actual 7th pitch in the G scale, so to form a major G7 chord we would have to use the F# note. Flatting this 7th note “minors” it. This F# is rarely used in bluegrass in a 7th chord, as the more “bluesy” flatted seventh note, F, is preferred.

Often times the tonic chord will add the flatted seventh note creating tension just before a chord change to the subdominant. In the key of G, sound G B D F and notice the tension the F creates wanting to resolve to the color tone of the 4th chord (subdominant). Now form a D7 chord (dominant 7 in the key of G) comprised of the notes D F# A and C. Notice how this C note wants to resolve to the color tone note B in the tonic triad G B D. Switch keys for a moment, and in the Key of C, form a G7 chord and sound these notes and listen to the tension: G B D F. Notice how the F note wants to resolve to the E note which is the color tone of the C chord.

Now play some 7th chords in their inversions starting with root, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd:
G: G B D F, B D F G, D G B F, F G B D
C: C E G Bb, E G Bb C, G C E Bb, Bb C E G

As we've learned, a key signature with one sharp (F#) is the key of G. We know that the F# is the leading tone which raises 1/2 step to the tonic note. In the G Scale remember the notes G A B C D E F# leading into G. So if the key of G has 1 sharp and the key of D has 2 sharps (D E F# G A B C# leading into D) we see there's a pattern to this.
An easy way to remember sharps is this little saying: Fat Cows Go Down An Easy Bank.
An easy way to remember flats is: Be Earnest And Don't Get Cold Feet.

So when you run into a key signature with 5 sharps, you can say Fat Cows Go Down An (and stopping right there at 5 words of our saying, you'll know the A# is leading 1/2 step to the tonic, which is B, therefore 5 sharps is the key of B.

With flats, it's a slightly different formula. Say your music has 3 flats. The saying is: Be Earnest And (right here at the 3rd flat, you "stop and drop". So Bb Eb and Ab, you simply go back to the previous flat for the proper key signature.
1 flat = F; 2 flats is Bb; 3 flats is Eb; 4 flats is Ab; 5 flats is Db; 6 flats is Gb and 7 flats is Cb. Also notice how they climb by fourths. F to Bb is a fourth; Bb to Eb is a fourth and so on. Sharps climb by fifths.

Practicing a circle of fourths is great for ear-training and for remembering flatted sevenths. On your bluegrass stringed instrument of choice, sound out a C7 chord like this: C E G Bb. Notice the tension in the Bb note and how it wants to resolve to the A note which is the color tone of the Four chord: F A C. Now form an F7 chord: F A C Eb and notice how the Eb wants to resolve to the D note which is the color tone of the Bb chord. Here are the chords in the circle of fourths:
C E G Bb; F A C Eb; Bb D F Ab; Eb G Bb Db; Ab C Eb Gb; Db F Ab Cb (enharmonically the same as a "B" note); Now switch to sharps instead of flats to make it easier: F# A# C# E; B D# F# A; E G# B D; A C# E G; D F# A C; G B D F; and now you're back to the C chord.
Try this exercise over and over until it becomes second nature to hear these tensions and resolutions.

In Nashville, many pickers call this chord the "2" chord and write it as a large Roman Numeral 2. But really, it's the five of five chord in music theory circles.
Most often times it appears in a tune either after the Tonic chord or after the Dominant chord. For example: in the key of "G", play a G chord (Tonic)and follow that with a C chord (Sub Dominant) then back to the G chord, then up to the A chord (Five of Five)and then to the D chord (Dominant, also called the "Five" chord). You can then resolve this by Playing these chords: G chord, C chord, G chord, D chord and finally, G chord.
Another way the Five of Five is used is: in the key of "G", play a G chord (Tonic)and follow that with a C chord (Sub Dominant) then back to the G chord, then to the D chord (Dominant, also called the "Five" chord)and then to the A chord (Five of Five) and back to the D chord. You can then resolve this by Playing these chords: G chord, C chord, G chord, D chord and finally, G chord.
The Five of Five chord works this way: The color tone of the Five of Five has a tension that resolves nicely to the base note of the Five chord. For example: think in the key of "G" again, the color tone of the Five of Five is a C# note which resolves nicely to the "D" note in the D chord. Or, it could resolve nicely, creating a little tension (which can later be resolved to the color tone of the Tonic), by going to the flatted seventh note of the Dominant chord (D chord in this example) which would be the "C" note. (This "C" note would eventually resolve to the "B" note which is the color tone of the G chord).

Another well used chord progression is from the Tonic to the Sub Dominant to the Five of Five to the Dominant and back to the Tonic.
Yet another neat chord pattern is to go from the Tonic to the Five of Five of Five ( think of this one as a relative minor chord made major by raising the color tone) then to the Five of Five then the Five and return to the Tonic. For Example in the key of "G": G; E (not minor, but major); A; D; G.

Now find and resolve the Five of Five chords for these four keys: D; A; F; C

One of the many reasons why music flows so smoothly together is the use of common tones. Take for example the following: Pick the Key of C. The Tonic chord is comprised of the notes C E and G. Two of these notes also belong to the minor third triad in the key of C. They are the notes E and G. The minor third in its root position is E G B. This forms an E Minor chord. Dropping the C note down to a B note while leaving the E and G note still being played creates a 2nd inversion E Minor chord, B E G.
Another chord formed from the Tonic C E G, is the relative minor chord in the Key of C, called the A Minor chord. This is comprised of the notes A C and E. So from a C chord in its Tonic root position C E G, raising the G note to an A note creates a 1st inversion A Minor chord.
Take the Sub Dominant chord in the Key of C, the F chord, comprised of the notes F A and C. What could we do with this chord? How about going to an A minor? To do this, we would simply drop the F note to an E note. This would create a 2nd inversion A Minor chord: E A C.
I'll post more of these beautiful chords later. In the meantime, experiment.

So let's continue on the common tones of the F (Sub Dominant) chord in the Key of C. The notes are F A and C. But now, lets drop the F note to an E note which makes it a 2nd inversion A minor (E A C), and instead of that, let's raise the C note 1/2 step to a C# note (E A C#). This 2nd inversion A chord ends up wanting to resolve to a D Minor chord very nicely. The D Minor chord is comprised of the notes D F and A. The E note would resolve nicely 1/2 step to the F note, the A note would remain a common tone and the C# note would have a tension that would resolve nicely 1/2 step up to the D note. So this 2nd inversion A chord (not A Minor, but A) resolves nicely to a 1st inversion D Minor.

Or try this: Take the root position C chord, C E and G and raise the C note 1/2 step to C#. This makes a chord comprised of the notes C# E and G. This is a 1st inversion A7 chord. This resolves very nicely to the D Minor chord. This can also resolve nicely to the D chord (D F# and A) because the 7 note which is a G will resolve nicely to the F#. So C# E G resolves to D F#.

Notice that two tones of each chord stay the same:
C7 chord modulating to an A7 chord: C E G Bb
A C# E G
Now the A7 chord to the F# 7 chord: A C# E G
F# A# C# E
Now the F#7 chord to the Eb chord: F# A# C# E
Eb G Bb Db
Note: It is easier to think in terms of Eb rather than D#. The Bb and Db notes are enharmonically the same as the A# and C# notes.

Can you take this progression further?

One chord progression that is actually quite common in Bluegrass is the one that drops a whole tone from the Tonic chord and then to the Dominant chord. For example, in the key of "G", take the Tonic triad of G B D and drop to F A C then to the Dominant 7 chord D F# A C. Notice how the A and C notes of the Dominant 7 chord (D7) are also found in the F chord. The ear hears an abrupt change from the G chord to the F chord, but this tension resolves when the F chord resolves to the D7 chord, and when the tension of the D7 chord resolves to the G chord.
Try this in the common Bluegrass keys.

Any Major scale has a Major Tonic chord as it's root,  Major Subdominant and Major Dominant chords, respectively, and the rest are minor chords and one diminished chord built on the leading tone. For example, I (Major), ii(Minor), iii(Minor), IV(Major), V(Major), vi(Minor), vii(Dim) and I(Major) to end the scale an octave higher than it's beginning point. So if we take a Major G Scale and work with those triads, we would start with our Tonic (I) comprised of the notes G, B and D and move up a whole step to the next Minor (ii) A, C and E and move another whole step to the next Minor (iii) comprised of the notes B, D and F#. Our next chord is a Major chord, the Subdominant (IV) triad formed one-half step above the last chord. This new chord has the C, E and G notes within it. Now go another full step to the Dominant chord (V) comprised of the D, F# and A notes. Our next chord is another full step above and is a Minor chord (vi) E, G and B and now, another full step away comes our Diminished chord (viidim) comprised of the notes F#, A and C. The next chord would be the Tonic (I) chord appearing one octave above our starting triad. If you now look back to the starting note of each triad you will see that we have completed a G Major scale: G A B C D E F# & G. Did you also notice that we used the "Two wholes, a half, three wholes, a half" method for spacing our chord intervals?
 I    G B D  (Major 3rd and Minor 3rd)
ii    A C E   (Minor 3rd and Major 3rd)
iii   B D F# (Minor 3rd and Major 3rd)
IV  C E G    (Major 3rd and Minor 3rd)
V    D F# A  (Major 3rd and Minor 3rd)
vi   E G B     (Minor 3rd and Major 3rd)
viiDim    F# A C  (Minor 3rd and Minor 3rd) (Note: a Diminished triad in root position is a minor 3rd topped with another Minor 3rd)
I    G B D  (Major 3rd and Minor 3rd)

Did you also notice that the three tones found in the root position Diminished chord triad are all found in the V7 chord? The only tone missing in the Diminished chord was the "D" note which is the root of the Dominant chord in the Key of G.
From this, you can see how closely related the common tones are.

Guitars are fascinating in the way they are tuned. Take a standard tuning from 6th string across to the 1st string: EADGBE. Note that from E to A is a perfect fourth; so is the interval from A to D, and from D to G. But now, note that the interval from G to B is a Major Third (not a perfect fourth). This was purposefully standardized to make chords easier to play. Finishing up with the last interval, we note that the interval from B to E is again a perfect fourth. So there's just this one little deviation from an otherwise perfect fourth pattern.

THE KEY OF "G"
G CHORD
It's very interesting to study the inversions as they relate to "Bluegrass" chords. Let's solve a few. Take the "Open G" position which is 3rd fret stopped on the 6th string, 2nd fret stopped on the 5th string, 4th string, 3rd string and 2nd string open and 3rd fret stopped on 1st string. This makes up the following notes from lowest to highest: GBDGBG. The first (lowest) triad is a straight-forward root position triad and the next (highest) triad is a Major Third with the next interval being a sixth. E F# G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G
Many bluegrassers will play the "Open G" chord with the 2nd string stopped at the 3rd fret. This makes the G chord very powerful. It is very effective in songs and tunes to build emotion. This is voiced as such: E F# G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G
Note the highest triad has an interval of a perfect fifth (not a perfect fourth which is strong, but not as strong) followed by an interval of a perfect fourth. That's two very strong intervals on top of each other. Why are these intervals strong? The answer is because there is no color tone involved. The only color tone in the "Strong Open G" is the low "B" note whereas the "Standard Open G" has two "B" notes voiced an octave apart. These color notes "soften" the chord. Color notes, properly used can create tension but try not to confuse tension with strength.

C CHORD
Still remaining in our G scale (all F's are sharped #), now let's examine a "C chord" and see how it's voiced. 3rd fret stopped on the 6th string and again on the 5th string, 2nd fret stopped on the 4th string, Open 3rd string, 1st fret stopped on the 2nd string and an open 1st string. This forms two triads. G C E  &  G C E . This is interesting in the sense that it is two second inversion triads an octave apart. E F# G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G. Please refer to the lesson on 2nd inversion triads above if necessary. So, this chord isn't as strong because of two color tone notes positioned within it. It is a beautiful sounding chord and creates some tension to resolve back to the Tonic ( in this key it would be G) chord.
An alternate way of playing this four chord known as the Sub Dominant chord is to play a 9th note with it. This is also common in Bluegrass Music. To voice it for a C9 chord place your fingers as such: 3rd fret stopped on 6th and 5th strings, 2nd fret stopped on the 4th string, open 3rd string, 3rd fret stopped on the 2nd string and again on the 1st string. E F# G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G
Now this voicing becomes strong, since it drops one of the color tones and picks up the note "D" which has tension to resolve to "C".

D CHORD
Now, while still in the key of G and using the G scale, let's look into the mechanics of the Dominant chord which in this key is "D". To form a full-figured "D" chord, 2nd fret stopped on 6th string, 5th string and 4th string left open, 3rd string stopped at 2nd fret, 2nd string stopped at 3rd fret and 1st string stopped at 2nd fret. This is pictured scalarly: E F# G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G. The lower triad forms a 1st inversion "D" chord and the upper triad forms a 2nd inversion triad. The F# note of this upper triad has a strong tension to resolve to the "G" note located 1/2 step above it when the chord is actually resolved from the Dominant back to the Tonic. Altering the chord position to a "D7" by lowering the 3rd stop on the 2nd string to a 1st stop on the 2nd string increases tension to resolve; this time the "C" note will resolve to the "B" note (2nd string open) when the Tonic (G) chord is finally played.

In the last twenty years or so a ton of differing styles of banjo tablature has been invented; each with it's own "simplified" way of trying to convey information to the end user, namely the banjoist who may not know how to read music, let alone decipher tablature created by someone with perhaps only a wee bit of music structure background. The result is always predictable: the student is unable to advance due to confusing or missing information. Information necessary for developing rudimentary elements. Back when I was a young adult preparing for an education in music college, I conceived an idea to write the actual music notation with rhythmic stems, bar lines, measures...the whole shooting match; but to write it over the five strings of the banjo rather than the five strings of a musical staff. Instead of putting a clef sign, I wrote the word "TAB" followed by the Time Signature. In place of notes, I wrote the string, "0" for open, "2" indicating a string was stopped at the 2nd fret, etc. At the end of each measure I placed a bar line and at the end of the piece I either placed a double bar line indicating the end of the tune, or I placed a "Repeat" sign indicating go back to the beginning and play again.
I took this idea around to people with no background in banjo and they immediately caught on. I then wrote a book of 50 transcriptions of famous banjoists playing breaks. Chapparell Music Publishing Company in New York City was unable to obtain mechanical rights to reproduce the banjo breaks and so I never went further with the book. Chapparell offered me an opportunity to compose 25 banjo tunes and share a book with an up-and-coming artist back then, but I had never heard of him and I was heading off to college so I declined. His name now is a household word: Jim Stafford. Hindsight is always 20/20. Anyway, let's have a look at the banjo break to "A Memory of You" as I transcribed it 40 years ago from the playing of Jim and Jesse. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Notice the "pick up" or "lead-in" measure is full and starts with a very common "Pinch" which is where the first note (the open 3rd string G) is followed by a chord  -two notes picked at the same time. This is called a "Pinch". The 1st measure of the tune (not counting the "pick up " measure) , where the G chord is indicated at the beginning of the measure, is a forward roll: T I M T (Thumb, Index, Middle, Thumb) and begins with a 1/32 second note "B flat" sliding down to another 1/32 note "A". On the upbeat part of the 2nd beat in this measure, the thirty-second note "lick" repeats and again on the 2nd beat of the next measure. This "lick" of sliding or pulling off from a "B flat" note to an "A" note is highly characteristic of bluegrass banjo style. The flatted "B" note ("B flat") is a "bluesy" note just as is the flatted seventh note ("F natural"). Remember, in a G scale, the "F" is normally # (sharped) and thus flatting it gives it a bluesy feel.
As the tune rolls on into the C chord, note than it's played with an open "D" string sounding. This makes the chord a C9 and gives it a strength common in bluegrass banjo. Few banjoists I know play a full C chord with the 2nd fret stopped on the 1st string since they all seem to gravitate toward this 9th tone; both for the strength and beauty.
 
Note the recurring 3-2 slide throughout the tune.

Years ago, when I spelled my name with two "d's" (lol) I also created a banjo roll recognition scheme that helped immensely with learning the basic rolls. I still use it today when I instruct banjo. The first four rolls were named well before my time: 1) the finger pattern of T I M T is called a "forward roll", 2) the pattern T I T M is called an "alternating roll"or "alternating thumb roll", 3) the pattern MITM is a "backward roll" and 4) a "forward" and "backward" in series is called a "reverse roll". Where my rolls came in handy were like this: in explaining the "pickup" measure, I would describe a "pinch" followed by an "Imtim". An "Imtim" is the phonetic pronunciation of I M T M. Following along the music, the 1st measure after the "pickup" measure would be comprised of a "forward" followed by an "Imti" (Index, Middle, Thumb, Index) (pronounced "Imtee"). The next measure would start with a "Timti" (Thumb, Middle, Thumb, Index) (pronounced "Timtee") and end with an "alternating roll". When the C chord arrives in the 3rd measure (not counting the "pickup" measure), we see another "forward roll" followed by an I M T (this finger sequence intentionally not named). The fourth measure is a "forward" and an "Imti" and the next measure the same rolls using slightly different notes. Pick through the tune and identify different rolls and patterns. When you're committing tunes to memory, these shortcuts sure help.

Years ago, I was working at an outdoor auction held at a horse barn in Keene, NY, in the heart of the Adirondacks when this tune just kept declaring itself to me over and over until I finally went back to the car and wrote the first few measures down in an effort to retain the tune long enough to eventually finish it. I did finish the tune within the month. There was an old tin can that I bought at the auction that day that reminded me of cans I would see on our farm in Upper Jay, NY when I was a little boy. So, I named this tune "The Old Tin Can". It "toggles" back and forth into interesting modalities with a recurring theme of 1/16 notes having the same tone being repeated which, incidentally, makes for some challenging bowing.
As with all my fiddle tunes, I leave the bowing directions up to the reader. Click on the picture to make it large enough to read. You should be able to right-click your mouse and print the tune. I copyrighted it in 1992 when I wrote it. I've intentionally left embellishments out of the score to make it easier to get the basic tune. You can add trills and cuts to suit your playing style.

The root of the relative minor chord will have its color tone doubling as the root of the Tonic Major chord. Said another way, in the key of C, the relative minor is A Minor. The A Minor triad is A C E. The color tone is the C Natural which is also the root of the C Major triad. A triad built on the sixth tone of a major scale using the notes appearing in that major scale will be a minor chord. This particular minor triad is the relative minor of the Major key. It's relative because the notes are related. Take the C Scale C D E F G A B & C. The Tonic C triad is C E & G; the Sub Dominant triad is F A & C; the Dominant triad is G B & D. These notes all occur in the C Scale. The relative minor Scale is A Minor: A B C D E F G# A. The notes A C & E are found in the C Scale and are common with the A Minor Scale. The notes D F & A which form the A Minor Scale's Sub Dominant (D Minor) chord are also found in the C Scale. In fact, the only note that is "accidentalized" is the G natural which is "sharped" as the color tone of the Dominant chord (E Major) in the A Minor key. The Major E chord is the root position triad E G# & B. The color tone of the E chord is also the leading tone of the A Minor Scale.
Let's take another scale. Let's work with the A Major Scale. A B C# D E F# G# & A. The Tonic triad is A C# & E; Sub Dominant: D F# & A; Dominant: E G# & B. The relative minor in the key of A is the F# Minor chord. (Count up to the sixth note). The Sub Dominant chord in an F# Minor scale is B Minor: B D & F# and the Dominant chord is C#: C# E# & G#. Right now, you might be asking yourself where on earth the E# note is on your piano, guitar, banjo, etc. The E# note is enharmonically the same as the F Natural, but in actual music theory it is called an E# note. The F# Minor Scale is built around the same notes as the A Scale with the exception of the color tone of the Dominant chord in the relative Minor having to be "accidentalized". Let's try the scale: F# G# A B C# D E# & F#.
Here's a little homework: Build Major and Minor chords on the G Major Scale. (Hint: E Minor is relative Minor). Now try the key of B Flat and it's relative minor. If you have questions, just email me at adirondackcomposer@hotmail.com

Here's an interesting and fun to play (and hear) modulation around the standard five of five chord progression: Take the key of D for example. Sound a D chord, then a G chord then another D chord then go up to your five of five, the E chord, now instead of going directly to your five chord, go to a minor five chord which is A Minor, then go to an F chord and then the major five chord A. Finish it up with a return to the D, G, A and D.
Can you identify what's happening with the A Minor? The A Minor has two tones that are shared within an F Major chord, the A note and the C note. The modulation from this F Major chord is easily heard since the F note resolves by lowering down one-half step to an E note and the C Natural note is resolved when it's raised up one-half step to a C#. This five chord - A C# E - has the color tone of C# which is also the leading tone in the D major scale. It's helpful to remember that the color tone of the 5 chord is the leading tone of the Major key. For example, if a G chord - G B D - is the 5 chord, then the B note is the leading tone which resolves 1/2 step to a C Natural. So G is the 5 chord in the Key of C.

Go ahead now and experiment with these patterns using different key signatures to sharpen your ability to transpose keys.

Here's a tuning scheme I've used for many years. It makes tuning a piano a lot easier. The photo below may be enlarged by clicking on it:

Click on the sheet music above to enlarge for better viewing.
 I composed this tune 3 miles into the Adirondack Mountain wilderness back in September of 1992 while I was camping for a period of eleven days alone. I originally penciled the piece on the inside of a discarded macaroni & cheese box for lack of any other paper. This tune just relentlessly kept going over and over in my head until I finally got it down. I'm happy that I took the time, because I've enjoyed playing it over the years.

For the fun of it, I composed the harmony line I was hearing at the time (same cardboard box) and now, all these years later, I think it would be fun to examine the piece for structure and harmony and dig right in to it. So here we go:

I extracted the 1st fiddle and 2nd fiddle out of the score rather than show the piano and bass lines. I also stopped (muted) the bass after the first few measures to make it easier to listen to the harmony fiddle which I turned up in volume slightly louder than the lead fiddle to better pronounce the harmony line.

The first thing you may notice is the structure. It's written in straight 8-bar form. The first full measure is measure number 1 and measure number 8 is the end of the first half of Part One. The tune then repeats from measure 1 and when it gets to the end of measure 7, it jumps over the measure marked with the ending of the first part (called the "Thesis") and goes to the second ending for the "Thesis". This second time through is called the "Anti-Thesis". In other words, the first part (first half of Part One) asks a question, and the repeated first part (with a different "Thesis" ending now called the "Anti-Thesis) answers the First Part question. At the end of this  "Anti-Thesis" are the pick-up notes for the beginning of the second part of the tune, i.e. Part Two. These Parts are often called A & B rather than 1 & 2. The second part of the tune also has a "Thesis" and "Anti-Thesis" (Question and Answer). The first full measure of the 2nd part is at measure number 10.

OK. So that's the structure. Now, on to the harmony line. Notice the harmony fiddle is notated below the top stave which is the lead fiddle.
The piece is in the key of D Major which has two sharps (#). Every time the note F or C is played, it is sharped (F#, C#) unless otherwise directed. Notice in measure number 5 the C# note is "naturalized" when the chord progression goes to a C Chord. This is called an "accidental".
The first chord in measure number 1 is a D Chord on beat number one and right away, on beat number 2, the chord changes to the Sub-Dominant Chord - the G Chord. Let's look at the first two beats to understand the harmony. The melody note is "A" and the harmony note is "F#" above the melody "A" note. These two notes sounded together are both notes that are found within a D Chord (D, F#, A) and are said to be consonant. Notice the next two notes are F# in the melody and "D" in the harmony. What happened here? The tonal movement was from a Major Sixth (A -F#) to another Major Sixth (F# -D). The third melody note into the tune is a "D" note with the harmony playing an "A" above that. This interval is a fifth. The notes within this fifth are also notes found within the D Chord as are the next two notes, F# melody and D harmony a Major Sixth above. Notice the second and fourth notes in both fiddle parts are identical.
 
So then, one of the most important things to remember when arranging harmony parts is to use notes that compliment the melody notes. These notes are typically ones that are found in the chord(s) the melody line is found within. Let's look at measure number 12 where the melody modulates to the five-of-five chord before going to the five chord. Notice the first note of the melody line is a B note which is harmonized with an E note by the 2nd fiddle. On the 2nd beat of this measure the melody note is an E note and the harmony above is the interval of a third, a G# note. This "third", by the way, is a Major Third. It's a Major Third because the G# tone is the "Color Tone" of the five-of-five chord which resolves to the "Tonic Tone" of the five chord which is an A note.
Listen to the tune very carefully and try to pick out the G# note when it sounds. Can you hear it? When you hear this type of modulation, it is usually the progression from five-of-five to five.

Note: you can ignore the very last measure on the page. It is not used in this study or in the recording. (The piece goes on to variations).

To recap a bit, notes found in the Tonic Chord are D F# & A, the Sub-Dominant chord are G, B & D, the Dominant chord are A C# & E and the five-of-five chord are E G# & B.

Common tones in the D scale are:
D found in D chord, G chord, E7 chord (five-7-of-five-7 chord)
E found in Dominant A C# & E chord and five-of-five chord E G# B
F# found in D chord
G found in Sub-Dominant G B & D, Dominant 7 chord A C# E G
A found in D chord D F# & A and Dominant A C# & E
B found in Sub-Dominant G B & D
C# found in Dominant chord A C# & E. (C# is the leading tone of the D Major scale and the "Color Tone" of the Dominant chord A C# E ).

Here's a new tune I wrote on the 26th of April, 2010. I haven't been playing much fiddle for quite some time and just recently a dear friend gave me a beautiful old fiddle made back in 1916 by a local violin maker back in those days, so I've felt like playing again. So yesterday, the day after the Long Lake Fiddle Jamboree, I sat down in the kitchen with my "new" fiddle and played for a while, when this tune came to mind. It's written in a very familiar style using the 5 of 5 chord and even the 5 of 5 of 5 chord. You'll hear what I mean when you listen to it. I was just jamming along and I looked down on my fiddle and there lay a beard hair........thus the idea to compose a tune called "Beard Hair on the Fiddle". I've scored it for harmony, too. So I'll present it first as the melody line, then secondly as the harmony line and thirdly as both the melody and harmony lines together. You can click on the score to enlarge it and right-clicking the mouse should allow printing the tune. Feel free to ad lib on the tune as I intend for fiddlers to "clown around" on the part that "goes around the horn" as is said in fiddle circles.

Melody fiddle

Harmony fiddle

Twin fiddles

Scored for guitar below is a progression utilizing the Neopolitan 6th chord. The Neopolitan chord is built on the second tone of the scale after being flatted a semitone. The 6th refers to the Neopolitan being in it's first inversion. Take the key of C and take the second tone of the C scale which is the note D and flatten it a semitone to Db. Now build a major triad on this Db, which will consist of these notes: Db F and Ab. Now take the 1st inversion of this which is: F Ab and Db. This is called the Neopolitan 6th. It's especially beautiful (to me, anyway) when used with a Major Tonic and Minor Subdominant. But it can be used with both Major or both minor Tonics and Subdominants, respectively.
You may want to use a capo up the neck to shorten the finger and wrist stretch as you learn to form this chord. As always, be sure to experiment with different chords in front of and in back of the N 6th.

Below is a general discussion about the chordal progression and how it is handled by the different instruments in a quintet.

Notice the Bass staff below. The lowest whole note shown is the pitch "C" 131 which is the lowest note on the Viola. The Cello hits a "C" 65, an octave lower (two more ledger lines lower than the lowest line shown on the Bass clef). The Viola is tuned (from lowest to highest) C G D A. (In perfect 4ths if you start on the highest string and work to the lowest, and in perfect 5ths if you start on the lowest string and work toward the highest).
The 88 key piano keyboard covers a range of notes having soundwave frequencies from low "A" 27 Hz all the way up to high "C" at 4,186 Hz. (Hz, i.e., Hertz, is a measurement in cycles per second).
 The frequency of a sound wave determines its pitch. Humans can detect frequencies from approximately 20, to 20,000 Hz.