OK - So What Would This Chord Be?

[Brucebubs]

I don't read or write music.
I tune my Gibson in 'open E' (strumming with all the strings open plays the E chord) a 1/2 step down.
I believe this means,

1E becomes D#
2B becomes A#
3G becomes G
4D becomes D#
5A becomes A#
6E becomes D#

So what would you call this chord .. it sounds glorious on this guitar

[Steve DeRosa]

EbMaj7 - the open fifths in the bass and close voicings on top are what gives it its magic , and I think the fact that you listed the open-string pitches as sharps rather than their enharmonic equivalent flat tones (Eb-Bb-G-Eb-Bb-Eb) added to your initial confusion...

[rick-slo]

Ebmaj7 among one possible name.

[string1399]

Amaj11#5 I'm guessing?

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

EbMaj7 - the open fifths in the bass and close voicings on top are what gives it its magic , and I think the fact that you listed the open-string pitches as sharps rather than their enharmonic equivalent flat tones (Eb-Bb-G-Eb-Bb-Eb) added to your initial confusion...

Thanks Steve, I just read the symbols off my chromatic tuner - I have another tuner that reads Eb and not E# - I wasn't aware of the difference.

[Brent Hutto]

Major 7ths are one of my favorite sounds when playing guitar.

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Brent Hutto

Major 7ths are one of my favorite sounds when playing guitar.

Yep not to be confused with Dom7 which many do.

[Brucebubs]

It's funny guys, none of my other guitars pulls it off the way my SJ-200 does - it's a warm guitar and that bottom end is huge, it makes me smile every time I play it.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Thanks Steve, I just read the symbols off my chromatic tuner - I have another tuner that reads Eb and not E# - I wasn't aware of the difference.

I think in the present case you meant D# - E# translates enharmonically as F natural...

Originally Posted by string1399

Amaj11#5 I'm guessing?

He's in open Eb tuning, not standard EADGBE: actual pitches (low to high) are Eb-Bb-G-Bb-D-G, hence most logically an EbMaj7 - in standard tuning it would be a variation of an A13b9, built on intervals of fourths and dropping the third (C#)...

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

I think in the present case you meant D# - E# translates enharmonically as F natural...

All way over my head Steve but I really appreciate your input, thanks.

[Steve DeRosa]

My pleasure, Bruce, but as a former teacher (as well as freelance orchestral/vocal/small-group arranger back in the '80s) who started his guitaristic journey as a nine-year-old would-be jazzer, I can't emphasize enough the necessity of at least a minimum working knowledge of traditional notation reading and music theory. Having faced first-hand the subtle (and not-to-subtle) contempt toward the guitar - even in its classical form - in so-called "serious" music circles during my college/grad-school years, and turned away a number of prospective students who insisted on "only-tab" or "by-ear" instruction, I've long since come to the conclusion that, in many cases, it's a state of affairs we bring upon ourselves; lest my statements be misconstrued, dabbling has its place in certain contexts - my wife and I have made some great friends at the local senior center's uke group - but for anyone truly serious about this game, speaking/reading the common language of music is job #1. FYI it's not as difficult as one might be led to believe: every guitar method worth its salt contains sufficient theoretical material to allow for basic harmonic analysis and scale/chord construction - and if you're of a singer/songwriter persuasion, understanding the mechanics allows you to break the cliches of the genre and add some real harmonic/melodic interest and complexity...

[Brucebubs]

The good thing about not being able to read & write music and using a non-standard tuning is the material I play is my own, it comes from me.

The bad thing is I can't play other peoples material or play along with others and 9 times out of 10 they can't play along with me.

I'm coming up to 66 now and I'm OK with it, I've never been bogged down or frustrated in theory, the guitar has stayed fresh for me, I never know what might happen each time I pick it up.

[Russ C]

Delete .. didn’t notice the open strings. How embarrassing.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

The good thing about not being able to read & write music and using a non-standard tuning is the material I play is my own, it comes from me.

The bad thing is I can't play other peoples material or play along with others and 9 times out of 10 they can't play along with me.

I'm coming up to 66 now and I'm OK with it, I've never been bogged down or frustrated in theory, the guitar has stayed fresh for me, I never know what might happen each time I pick it up.

Precisely my point (BTW we're in the same age bracket), in that you're depriving yourself to some extent of being able to collaborate - even in an informal setting - with other musicians. Similarly, there's the old proverb about there being nothing new under the sun: historically there are very few true musical innovators - even the major figures in the classical and jazz world built on the legacy and lexicon of their predecessors, and I strongly doubt that their extensive understanding of theory and compositional techniques made it any less fresh or exciting for them. I'm also reminded of an account of one of the early Beatles recording sessions, where they inserted this (to them) "never-heard-before" vocal harmony at the end of "She Loves You" - only to have George Martin inform them it was a major-sixth chord, a common device in Big Band-era horn arrangements (of which, interestingly enough, Paul may have had some personal memory, his father having been a working musician during that time)...

By the same token, as an American and an Australian I think we both understand our common national roots of rugged individualism - even if, as our British cousins are wont to state, we're all divided by a common language ; that said, the "happy wanderer" approach only goes so far when you're getting into uncharted territory, be it musical or geographic: you're either going to find yourself going in circles, retreading long-since-discovered and well-worn old pathways (the aforementioned EbMaj7 chord), or in over your head with no reasonable way out - in the words of an old Southern US proverb, "you can't know where you're going till you know where you've been." There's also the concept of repeatability, from which extrapolates the ability to share one's own music with others and vice versa - admittedly a source of frustration for you; with a common written language - pitch, dynamics, tempo, timbre (tone quality) - IME it facilitates the communication process as well as enhancing the playing experience for all parties concerned. Finally, if what you're doing is genuinely "your" music (and I have no reason to think otherwise), to paraphrase the late Dr. Seuss you'll never be any less "you" - and the written language of music allows more of us to share more of "you" as creator...

[Brucebubs]

I totally understand your point of view Steve but I'm quite happy not playing with others - I've been doing it most of my life. I'm also terribly introverted musically and find it extremely difficult to play in front of others. I'm not really frustrated by anything, it is what it is and I accepted that's the way I am many, many years ago... a below average player with some above average guitars.