Chords

[mikethecoug]

Okay, i love the sound of chords on the bass, but i want to figure out this one thing, how do i know if a chord is a major, or minor, or a seventh chord or something?

[bassistuvdoom731]

Ill do a lesson for ya' . As a matter of fact, i'll get started on it right now.

[thelowsoundofbass]

umm i have no idea, but chords shure are cool. i love pinched tapped harmonic chords (not near as hard as it sounds)

lowsound

[naut]

what?

[thelowsoundofbass]

what?

you fret a chord, then tap the harmonics 12 frets higher. it souds really sweet

lowsound

[naut]

so it's just a tapped harmonic chord...

[bassistuvdoom731]

http://www.8notes.com/theory/

There is a site that explains how chords are constructed.

[thelowsoundofbass]

so it's just a tapped harmonic chord...

ya, but they are pinched harmonics

lowsound

[ToughGuyMcGee]

dude pinch tap hamonics = love

<3 emo john the bassist

[Manticore Guy]

How would they be pinched? Your just tapping

[Riouken]

^
He was just trying to make it sound more complicated than it really is by adding in "pinched" - needless to say it didn't work, but that's the way of the wisher.


JOKE! ;)

[ToughGuyMcGee]

its just like... idk its the way u explain it. Pinch harmonics have to be pushed 12 frets down from the fretted fret (wtf) and so do tap harmonics... so i call them pinch tap harmonics...

i think

- john

[Riouken]

Neither of them have to be done 12 frets above the notes you are fretting.


You can tap harmonices without fretting any notes. And you can do the same with pinched harmonics.

You can do them anywhere almost.

[ToughGuyMcGee]

yeah but it is a diffrent sound... u can fret the lets say... 2nd fret move it 7 frets down to the 9th... and it will still make a harmonic but a pinch harmonic is what...harmonics an octave down right? and isnt that what ur goin for anyways?

[Riouken]

No, I'm going for a particular sound. there is a piece I do where I slap a bassline and tap open harmonices over an AREA of the fretboard, I don't know what I'm tapping, but it sounds nice.

So, no, a tapped harmonic is a tapped harmonic and a pinched harmonic is a pinched harmonic.


At least the way I see it.

[ToughGuyMcGee]

well...u get the same sound out of tapped and a pinched harmonic...welll with a tapped one u get a loud ping of sorts when u hit the note but thats about it

[Riouken]

And you get a more percussive sound...

So, no, they are not the same at all lol.

[ToughGuyMcGee]

lol

dude idk...im more of a straight forward bassist...

i mean i use harmonics but they are not a major part of my reprotoir...not at all

If i play a song and its like dur dur dur da PING thats when i tap harmonics...

wow that mad no sense

[Purple Alien]

Okay, i love the sound of chords on the bass, but i want to figure out this one thing, how do i know if a chord is a major, or minor, or a seventh chord or something?

the notes of the [major] scale that are used for the chord

Major:
1-3-5

Minor:
1-4-5 (not completely sure)

7th
1-3-5-7

there is also a pattern in how you hold the chord lucky for us bassists we're tuned completely by 5ths.

[Riouken]

Ok then.

[Riouken]

the notes of the [major] scale that are used for the chord

Major:
1-3-5

Minor:
1-4-5 (not completely sure)

7th
1-3-5-7

there is also a pattern in how you hold the chord lucky for us bassists we're tuned completely by 5ths.
By 4ths.

But, you can tune yourself to 5ths if you like.

CGDA.

[ToughGuyMcGee]

seriously i wish i new half as much theory as you guys did...

some one needs to teach me

-john

[naut]

ya, but they are pinched harmonics

lowsound

...

they're tapped harmonics. that's it.

if i'm doing a pinch harmonic i don't say i'm doing an artificial pinch harmonic, it's just a PINCH HARMONIC.

[thelowsoundofbass]

...

they're tapped harmonics. that's it.

if i'm doing a pinch harmonic i don't say i'm doing an artificial pinch harmonic, it's just a PINCH HARMONIC.

if there is a note fretted and you make a harmonic such as

g|---3<15>---|

it is a pinched harmonic, if you tap the note to get it to ring out, it is a tapped pinch harmonic.

/end discusion

lowsound

[naut]

oh my ****ing god.

IT'S A TAPPED HARMONIC.

:lol: you don't even know what a pinch harmonic is.

going back to my original example...

look, an artificial harmonic and a pinch harmonic are essentially the same thing, right? but do you know why they have different names? THE WAY YOU PLAY THEM.

with an artificial harmonic, you fret a note, and then hover your finger over another. then, plucking the string should produce an artificial harmonic.

pinch harmonics, (on bass, using your fingers), are done by "pinching" the string. most commonly done with the index finger and thumb.

THUS, they are different because of the applied technique.

get over it, you're wrong. the only leg you stand on is the fact that you're just trying to make something sound more complicated then it is.

[Gravaged]

supernaut wins, IMO.

thelowsoundofbass should have been aborted, also IMO

[ignignok]

^ Agreed.

[mikethecoug]

So notes 1,3 and 5 of the major scale make a major chord and notes 1,3 and 5 of the minor scale create a minor chord....

(according to 8notes.com)

So this is a C major chord?

G|-0-|
D|-2-|
A|-3-|
E|---|

And this is an E minor chord?
G|---|
D|-4-|
A|-5-|
E|-9-|

[FunkMetalBass]

the notes of the [major] scale that are used for the chord

Major:
1-3-5

Minor:
1-4-5 (not completely sure)

7th
1-3-5-7

there is also a pattern in how you hold the chord lucky for us bassists we're tuned completely by 5ths.

Wow. Way wrong.

Major:
1-3-5

Minor:
1-3b-5

Diminished:
1-3b-5b

7:
1-3-5-7b

M7:
1-3-5-7

m7:
1-3b-5-7b

º7:
1-3b-5b-7bb

+7:
1-3-#5-7b


Also, we're tuned fouths.

[mikethecoug]

What does b mean? Flat?

[sinister]

^ yup.

I did chords in my lesson last week and when I played a 7th chord I didn't fret the 5th.

[mikethecoug]

So notes 1,3 and 5 of the major scale make a major chord and notes 1,3 and 5 of the minor scale create a minor chord....

(according to 8notes.com)

So this is a C major chord?

G|-0-|
D|-2-|
A|-3-|
E|---|

And this is an E minor chord?
G|---|
D|-4-|
A|-5-|
E|-7-|


Is this right?

Or if its not, what is?

[sheephead]

The second chord there is a B minor. Still up for some lessons, mike?

[Phalanx]

oh my ****ing god.

IT'S A TAPPED HARMONIC.

:lol: you don't even know what a pinch harmonic is.

going back to my original example...

look, an artificial harmonic and a pinch harmonic are essentially the same thing, right? but do you know why they have different names? THE WAY YOU PLAY THEM.

with an artificial harmonic, you fret a note, and then hover your finger over another. then, plucking the string should produce an artificial harmonic.

pinch harmonics, (on bass, using your fingers), are done by "pinching" the string. most commonly done with the index finger and thumb.

THUS, they are different because of the applied technique.

get over it, you're wrong. the only leg you stand on is the fact that you're just trying to make something sound more complicated then it is.

so they allow you to fret a note, then play it 1 or two octaves higher as a harmonic right? So basically, Jaco Pastorius and Steve Bailey style?

[Sade]

so they allow you to fret a note, then play it 1 or two octaves higher as a harmonic right? So basically, Jaco Pastorius and Steve Bailey style?

NO.

Jesus christ you people are ****ing stupid. Go listen to a Power Metal band for chrissake. THEY do Pinch Harmonics. You know that little squeely sound they make? PINCH HARMONIC.

[Phalanx]

NO.

Jesus christ you people are ****ing stupid. Go listen to a Power Metal band for chrissake. THEY do Pinch Harmonics. You know that little squeely sound they make? PINCH HARMONIC.

I thought people were talking about them in a different context on bass.

Pinch harmonics are what Vai, Satriani, Petrucci and the like do

Geez Sade, even when you try to sound clever you're an idiot

[Naminator]

i ahte how chords sound on bass...too muddy

[Purple Alien]

Wow. Way wrong.

Major:
1-3-5

Minor:
1-3b-5

Diminished:
1-3b-5b

7:
1-3-5-7b

M7:
1-3-5-7

m7:
1-3b-5-7b

º7:
1-3b-5b-7bb

+7:
1-3-#5-7b


Also, we're tuned fouths.

I was close...and you didnt need to post it...4 times lol...

[Sade]

I thought people were talking about them in a different context on bass.

Pinch harmonics are what Vai, Satriani, Petrucci and the like do

Geez Sade, even when you try to sound clever you're an idiot

You thought wrong.

Who the **** is trying to be clever? I'm being blunt for your dumbass.

[FunkMetalBass]

I was close...and you didnt need to post it...4 times lol...

I hate my internet. After it stupidly posted it 4 times, it wouldn't allow me to go back and edit them. MX is always so slow for some reason. Stupid Casual...

[FunkMetalBass]

So notes 1,3 and 5 of the major scale make a major chord and notes 1,3 and 5 of the minor scale create a minor chord....

(according to 8notes.com)

So this is a C major chord?

G|-0-|
D|-2-|
A|-3-|
E|---|

Correct.



And this is an E minor chord?
G|---|
D|-4-|
A|-5-|
E|-9-|



No. Actually, that's a C# minor chord. Look at the bottom note (9th fret, E-string). That is C#. For that basic minor chord pattern, that is how you know which chord it is.

[Left Shoe]

thats not C# minor funk bass
those notes are
C# D and F#

d major 7 if you want to call that anything

[FunkMetalBass]

thats not C# minor funk bass
those notes are
C# D and F#

d major 7 if you want to call that anything

An akward inversion is what I'd call it.

Yeah, I totally missed that. In his earlier post, he had a Bminor chord posted, and when I saw the |-9-|, I just naturally assumed that he had shifted the whole chord up.

Thanks LS for pointing out my dumb mistake.

[Left Shoe]

An akward inversion is what I'd call it.

Yeah, I totally missed that. In his earlier post, he had a Bminor chord posted, and when I saw the |-9-|, I just naturally assumed that he had shifted the whole chord up.

Thanks LS for pointing out my dumb mistake.
its ok, i love you anyway

[naut]

I thought people were talking about them in a different context on bass.

different context? a pinch harmonic is a pinch harmonic, on guitar or bass.


Pinch harmonics are what Vai, Satriani, Petrucci and the like do

not to mention...just about every other guitarist around...

[naut]

so they allow you to fret a note, then play it 1 or two octaves higher as a harmonic right? So basically, Jaco Pastorius and Steve Bailey style?

what are you talking about?

[fingerstyle]

phalanx is thinking of the normal method of playing false harmonics where you fret the note, find the node (the mid-point between the bridge and fret, easily found by just loacting its octave on the same string), place your thumb on the node and pluck the string with your index or whatever.

[HaVIC5]

Pinch and tap harmonics are both ways to achieve artificial harmonics. The third way is to extend with your pinky, like Jaco does in Portrait of Tracy, while your index finger frets another note.

Yes, you can do pinch harmonics on bass, that's what they're technically called when you do the thumb/index finger method.

[fatbandit]

You know what...

I think there's some confusion on lowsound's point about the 12 frets above too. Tapped Harmonics CAN be played 12 frets up, for the octave, but you can do them anywhere. If we're using examples, Cliff Burton uses 12 <19> and other tapped harmonics with 7 fret intervals.

A pinch harmonic is usually done by guitarists and the like without moving the picking hand too much, seeing as they can produce harmonics at many spots along the strings. In this case, its usually somewhere above the pickups which are used. There's nothing stopping you playing it 12 frets above or whatever, its just terribly inefficient.

And yeh, they're different. One taps, and one pinches. Clue is in the name...

:smash:

[Sade]

I consider myself quite knowledgable of the fretboard tapped harmonic locations. I've discarded all theoretical knowledge of the technique, and just explored. I've found with different tunings several "sweet spots" for tapped harmonics on different notes.

I feel, that with different basses, different harmonics are possible in different locations. Just screw around fretting notes and tapping harmonics higher on the string. I also tap harmonics without an anchor note; Manring style, but it's much more difficult to ring correctly. Takes a very precise touch.

[fatbandit]

Tis true, different basses have different properties. Just like if you talk to a guitarist, they'll probably tell you that if they have more than one guitar, their 'sweet spots' for pinch harmonics are slightly different on each guitar they own.

:smash:

[mikethecoug]

thats not C# minor funk bass
those notes are
C# D and F#

d major 7 if you want to call that anything
It was a typo the A|9 was meant to be an A|7 but i couldnt edit it because the forums was being veryyy slow.

I think i get it now ;)

[HaVIC5]

Theoretically, all basses have all the same harmonics, and also theoretically, there are literally an infinite number of harmonics, as there are an infinite ways to physically divide a piece of string. Pragmatically speaking, the clarity of the harmonics depends greatly on how new and bright the string is, the tension of the string, the quality of the pickups and the amount of midrange frequency you boost in the signal. Compression and distortion help too. That's how Billy Sheehan gets those crazy awesome tapped harmonics - it's as much in the compression and distortion as it is in the technique.

[FunkMetalBass]

Since we're discussing harmonics, I used the harmonic frequency formula and started a list of harmonics in their locations rounded to the nearest hundredth and also the names of the notes given on the G-string harmonics.

12.00 G
07.00 D
05.00 G
03.96 B
03.05 D
02.90 F
02.79 G
02.02 A
01.92 B
01.83 C#
01.73 D

Obviously you can play many of these in different spots because of the formula. These are just the closest locations to the nut for the first 12 in the series.