How Many Notes Does it Take to Make a Chord?

[leftybassman392]

1 hour ago, SpondonBassed said:

It might have looked like I was trying to discredit your earlier reference to this book.  I am sorry if it appeared so.  That was not my intent.

I am now thinking laterally about it.  If you try to draw a shape (call it a chord for this example) using only two straight line segments (notes, if you will) you will not have enough lines to make a two dimensional drawing of a shape.  You can imply some of the dimensions of the intended final shape but until three or more lines are present, you wont know whether you are looking at two sides of a triangle or a quadrangle or a pentagon.

Interesting thought SB, and I think I can see why you make the point. Unfortunately the analogy doesn't carry over. As an anecdote to support the argument it has a certain cachet, but it really is no more than that.

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

If you put those line parallel in contact along their length you have a square or rectangle depending on their relative length to width. 

 

2 or more is a chord. 

Pedantic response:  A line segment is one dimensional.  There is no width only length.  You've missed my point.

Friendly response; go pick holes in someone else's metaphor, mine's leaky enough ta.  Heeheehee.  Don't feel you have to take TimR's place in these sorts of discussions my friend. 

Speaking of... does anyone know where he's gone?  I trust he's well wherever he is.

[SpondonBassed]

41 minutes ago, leftybassman392 said:

Interesting thought SB, and I think I can see why you make the point. Unfortunately the analogy doesn't carry over. As an anecdote to support the argument it has a certain cachet, but it really is no more than that.

Thanks for that (I think).  Heeheehee.

[DJpullchord]

‘Tis all just labels anyway.

[stingrayPete1977]

1 hour ago, SpondonBassed said:

Pedantic response:  A line segment is one dimensional.  There is no width only length.  You've missed my point.

Friendly response; go pick holes in someone else's metaphor, mine's leaky enough ta.  Heeheehee.  Don't feel you have to take TimR's place in these sorts of discussions my friend. 

Speaking of... does anyone know where he's gone?  I trust he's well wherever he is.

I hope he's well, I miss him. 

I think you are playing chords and so do many other people in the world, go and enjoy playing them

[SpondonBassed]

42 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

I hope he's well, I miss him. 

I think you are playing chords and so do many other people in the world, go and enjoy playing them

Bless you Pete.  Just don't tell any guitarists in case they get the union rep out to me over demarcation issues.

[Hellzero]

Tell any classical conductor, composer or teacher that a chord is made of two notes and you'll get three options : he will die immediately, he will tell you that it's the best joke of the year or he will smash your face with his desk three times to help you understand the music theory !

And if your minor or major third sounds odd it's because of the tempered tuning (say hello Bach). If  you want to hear all your notes precisely and exactly in tune : play fretless !

[Hellzero]

And stop referring to Monkeypedia : read real books made with paper !

[BigRedX]

Why is so important that a chord has at least 3 notes?

 

[leftybassman392]

16 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Tell any classical conductor, composer or teacher that a chord is made of two notes and you'll get three options : he will die immediately, he will tell you that it's the best joke of the year or he will smash your face with his desk three times to help you understand the music theory !

And if your minor or major third sounds odd it's because of the tempered tuning (say hello Bach). If  you want to hear all your notes precisely and exactly in tune : play fretless !

First off, given the difficulties with transposition and modulation with a just intonation system I suspect you'll find most musicians will take equal temperament as the lesser of two evils. (Not to mention that the vast majority of people don't know the difference - generally because ET is so ubiquitous that they wouldn't know a pure interval if they heard one. Even if they did, they'd most likely think it was the pure interval that was off.)

Second, if it's all the same to you I'll wait until somebody gives me a convincing reason why it has to be three notes. Just telling me it is won't do the trick I'm afraid.

Edited January 14, 2018 by leftybassman392

[leftybassman392]

25 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

And stop referring to Monkeypedia : read real books made with paper !

And just so we're clear: you do have some idea how patronising this sounds...?

Edited January 14, 2018 by leftybassman392

[EssentialTension]

It seems to be the case that there is, rightly or wrongly, some disputation as to whether a two note dyad constitues a chord in the fullest sense.

But if the musical director said 'I would like a two note chord played there please, C-G, if you don't mind', I wouldn't question his use of the word chord. I'd just play the notes.

[Spoombung]

On 1/12/2018 at 10:16, xgsjx said:

Yes.
It could be root & 3rd, but if there's another musician in the band, even a singer, then they're going to complete the chord.

Yep this it. What notes are the other goons in your band making?

 

[stingrayPete1977]

1 hour ago, Hellzero said:

And stop referring to Monkeypedia : read real books made with paper !

Like one the many "Chords for violin" books I mentioned earlier? 

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[lowdown]

10 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said:

I would suggest that there is no such thing as an ambiguous chord

What about that ambiguous, ominous final, 'James Bond Chord' (Em/Maj9), favoured by John Barry? ***

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[EssentialTension]

4 minutes ago, lowdown said:

Em/Maj9

A very tasty five note chord.

[lowdown]

2 minutes ago, EssentialTension said:

A very tasty five note chord.

Indeed, it should bring a bit more tension into the thread.

[Hellzero]

2 hours ago, leftybassman392 said:

2 hours ago, leftybassman392 said:

3 hours ago, Hellzero said:

And stop referring to Monkeypedia : read real books made with paper !

And just so we're clear: you do have some idea how patronising this sounds...?

Yes, and it's about time as this Monkeypedia is nothing but an anticiclopedia !

[lowdown]

Name that chord.....

 

 

[leftybassman392]

1 hour ago, Jus Lukin said:

 

I've already referred to the theory of it. C and E together in isolation give no reference to any other tones to make it a chord. All you have is a major third, which is an interval. This is the reason it is called (wait for it...) an interval.

Add a G, and you have a C major chord. Add a G#, and you have an C aug chord. Stick an A under it and you have an A minor.

To extend that, a Cmaj is not a Cmaj7- unless you add the B to the chord. If the B isn't there, it is not a maj7 chord.

I will gladly listen if anyone would like to use music theory to describe how an interval is also a chord- not a harmony or a shape on the fretboard, both of which it definitely is, but an actual musical chord. Otherwise this all smacks of science vs faith.

Allowing the patronising little remarks to pass, I suspect that we're going to have to agree to disagree. My argument (as I've also already stated) is that what is happening here is to do with naming a chord, which (the argument continues) is subsequent to playing it. As has been said on BC many times before by folk who clearly know what they're talking about, music theory has been developed in order that we can describe what we are playing. Seen in that light, the absence of the reference you describe does not countermand or preclude the idea that any combination of notes played simultaneously can count as a chord. In my lexicon, an interval is simply a musicological term that describes the difference in pitch between two notes. And while I'm at it, 3 notes doesn't guarantee an unambiguous reference either.

It has bugger all to do with Science v. Faith, and if I may say so I think that kind of cheap shot has no place in this discussion.

[prowla]

Is one string with a harmonic ping a chord too?

[EssentialTension]

17 minutes ago, lowdown said:

Name that chord.....

Asus(flat2) ... maybe.

Do I win?

Edited January 14, 2018 by EssentialTension
Can't speel...

[Hellzero]

If you want the scientific explanation of a chord, here it goes : any sound produced by anything is made of natural harmonics, if you take the first 6 natural harmonics and delete the repeated ones, there stays only 3 natural harmonics which are in musical theory intervals of thirds, so it's the root followed by the third (minor or major) and the fifth. And according to a guy called J-S Bach that's the reason why a (perfect) chord is made of 3 "notes".