Swing Backup for Bluegrass Guitarists

 

This tutorial is aimed as a gentle introduction to jazz or swing chords for the bluegrass guitarist.

Nashville Number System

In any key, you are centred on the scale related to that key.  For instance in the key of C major you are centred in the scale of C major and predominantly use the notes within that scale.  The Nashville number system is a way of naming any chord within a particular key according to which root note the chord is built around.  The chords are named in roman numerals from I to VII.  For example, in C major the I chord is the chord built around the first note in the C major scale (C), the II chord is the chord built around the second note in the C major scale (D) etc, etc. The associated chords with three example keys G, C and D are therefore:

 

 

Each chord is assumed to be major.  However, each chord can be minor, diminished or major-seven.  These are distinguished by the symbols:

m = minor   ° = diminished  D = major seven  ^Æ = half diminished  ⁺ = augmented

 

Turnarounds Everyone Should Know.

V-I (The bluegrass, country, folk standard)

IIm-V-I (The jazz classic)

I-I°-IIm-V-I (The extended jazz classic)

IV-IV#°-I-VI-IIm-V-I (The full blown extended jazz classic)

Diatonic Triads                                                                

Diatonic triads can be used to determine what chords are sensible to play in a particular key.  Just using the major (Ionian) scale we can determine the three note chords that only contain notes within the scale.  We build each three-note chord (diatonic triad) from a chord root note and two notes further up the major scale (three and five notes up the scale from the chord root note).  For example, in the key of C major the diatonic triad starting with a chord root note of D also contains the notes F  (two notes further up the scale [3^rd]) and A (four notes further up the scale [5^th]).  This chord is D minor.   In the same key, the diatonic triad starting with a chord root note of E also contains the notes F (two notes further up the scale [3^rd]) and A (four notes further up the scale [5^th]).  This chord is E minor.

 

 

 

 

Example 1: D minor

 

C         D         E          F          G         A         B

 

 

           

                        Chord Root note          3^rd                    5th

                                    D                     F                      A                                D minor

 

 

Example 2: E minor

 

C         D         E          F          G         A         B

 

 

           

                                    Chord Root note          3^rd                    5th

                                                E                      G                     B                      E minor

 

This method holds true for all the seven diatonic triads in the C major scale. Using this method, the seven diatonic triad chords for the key of C major are therefore: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B^Æ.  However this is true for all keys.  The following table shows the diatonic triads for the Nashville numbering system with two example keys.

 

 

Using Diatonic Triads

In a bluegrass song or fiddle tune in a major key, the use of any chords based on the diatonic triads and their inversions will not sound “out” i.e. they wont contain any notes that aren’t in the scale.  However, to make them really useful in a swing context we need to put chords between them based on chord root notes not in the scale. In almost all cases, you are able to use diminished or half diminished chords for these positions.

 

 

Extensions:

In jazz and especially swing everyone tends to put a seventh note on every chord.

Also diatonic triads can be formed from other scales (such as the various minor modes)

Walking Chords

In bluegrass, chords tend to change every bar e.g. Old Home Place

 

Old Home Place Chords

|: G       | B7      | C        | G        |

|  G       | G        | D        | D      : |

 

The main idea of swing jazz is to walk the bass note around using moving chords and to play two chords in every bar. e.g. Leather Britches

 

Leather Britches (Bluegrass)                                         Leather Britches (Swing)

|: G       | G        | G        | D        |                                   |: G B^Æ| C C#° | D  G | Am D|

 

Bluegrass rhythm is usually: bump - chick, bump - chick, bump – chick with various up strokes of the right hand now and again. 

Swing rhythm is a more even 4/4 rhythm: nice, even strokes: bump bump bump bump!  With less up strokes!

 

Three Fingered “Gypsy Jazz” Chords

Made famous by Django Rheinhardt, who probably invented them because he burnt his hand.  Makes use of only the bottom E string and the D and G strings with all other strings muted.   They don’t necessarily include the root note of the chord.  Great for getting around the fingerboard with fast moving bass lines that appear in Texas and other types of swing.  This is because each chord can mean so many different things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four Fingered Chords

Here is a selection of four fingered chords that can be used to form a moving Texas swing type accompaniment.  There millions of others but these few seem quite popular, reasonably easy and fit together to create moving base lines like the one shown below.

 

Authentic Texas Swing: Historical Interlude

Benny Thomasson was an original Texas swing fiddler thought to pre-date the definitive Bob Wills band formed in 1929 (the Texas ploughboys).  He was accompanied by his brother Jerry Thomasson on the tenor guitar.  Jerry played simple chords with the occasional diminished and odd minor seventh.  However, he played a defined bass note sequence over these chords such as (for cripple creek in A):

This sequence or others very similar is the basic sequence of bass notes that a swing guitarist should follow (especially the first five notes) over a largely static chord progression.

 

Moving Chord Sequences

Example 1:  This example shows a moving bass line pattern with associated chords starting at the first position.

Example 2:  This example shows an almost identical moving bass line pattern with associated chords starting at the fifth fret.

Example 3:  Although almost identical to example 2 this is a Texas style backup for the first line of cripple creek, integrating the moving bass line shown above into four fingered chords

Example 4:  Taken from an Internet site, this is similar to example 1 but continues with chords that I can’t play: good luck.

example1 in PDF

example 4 in PDF

example 1 in Guitar Pro 4 format

example 4 in Guitar Pro 4 format

 

Sorry, I've managed to loose examples 2 and 3 (they're around somewhere)