But if you’re a stickler for correct spelling, you probably dread when you see “there” used in place of “their” or “they’re.”<\/p>\n
“They’re” different words and each has its specific usage.<\/p>\n
In the same way, a Cb is not the same as B.<\/p>\n
E# is not the same as F.<\/p>\n
But here’s the thing.<\/p>\n
If no one ever wrote “they’re,” “there,” or “their” on paper, you’d have NO IDEA which spelling they’re thinking in their head when they speak it.<\/p>\n
IT ALL COMES OUT THE SAME.<\/strong><\/p>\n When a master musician – regardless of whether “they’re” thinking C# or Db <\/em>– plays a tune that gives you goosebumps, the end result speaks for itself.<\/p>\n Just as much as I hate to hear a note named incorrectly, I equally hate some anonymous “internet” music theorist who probably can’t play a lick (based on their youtube upload count of “ZERO”), correcting a professional musician who could likely play circles around them. [Rant done].<\/em><\/p>\n So with both perspectives covered, let me give you a few rules to ensure you’re naming notes correctly.<\/p>\n That means there must be an A in the scale (any kind of “A.”). At this point, it doesn’t matter whether it’s an A natural, A#, or Ab… as long as an “A” is used.<\/p>\n There must be some type of B.<\/p>\n There must be some type of C.<\/p>\n E.<\/p>\n F.<\/p>\n And G.<\/p>\n PERIOD.<\/strong><\/p>\n So when people use “F” instead of E# in the key of F#, here’s how this incorrect spelling is breaking rule #1.<\/p>\n This scale was going smooth until we got to “F.”<\/p>\n Noticed what we skipped?<\/p>\n Alphabet letter F. Check.<\/strong> Alphabet letter E.<\/p>\n “Umm, alphabet letter E… can you hear me?”<\/p>\n [Clears throat].<\/p>\n “Alphabet letter E… going once, going twice…”<\/p>\n By using F, we skipped E.<\/strong><\/p>\n And that’s a big “no-no.”<\/p>\n There you are, “E.”<\/p>\n …Which leads me to Rule #2<\/p>\n This is pretty much the same thing as rule #1 but I just thought I’d emphasize it again here.<\/p>\n When you skip an alphabet letter, you’re always using another letter twice.<\/p>\n Because if music has 7 alphabet letters and major scales have 7 unique notes, to skip a letter means you’re using 6 letters to make up 7 notes. One of those letters must be used twice. And that’s wrong.<\/p>\n In our example, since we’re already in the key of F#, we’ve already used the alphabet letter “F.” To use it again on the 7th degree breaks the rules and makes us skip the alphabet letter “E.”<\/p>\n To raise a degree of the scale is to raise THAT alphabet letter, not magically replace it with another letter of your choice.<\/p>\n It’s like changing the word “fly” to “fli” just because you feel like it. (I don’t know, maybe you never liked “y” as vowel!)<\/p>\n For example, consider this C7 (#9#5) chord.<\/p>\n Some musicians don’t understand why I mixed sharps and flats.<\/p>\n Somewhere in their musical journey, they learned that either chords are sharp-based or flat-based (similar to how major keys either have all sharps or all flats). But this is wrong when it comes to sharping and flatting degrees.<\/p>\n Just remember:<\/p>\n That means, you can’t sharp a “G” and get “Ab.”<\/p>\n Sharping a “G” gives you “G#.” ALWAYS.<\/p>\n You can’t flat an “Ab” and get “G” either.<\/p>\n Sure, “G” is easier to say but you can’t flat an “Ab” (which uses the alphabet letter “A”) and get another alphabet letter.<\/p>\n Flatting an “Ab” gives you “Abb” (“A double flat”).<\/p>\n As painful as it is to say “A double flat,” I’m sorry but that would be the correct and only correct way to say it.<\/p>\n (That’s, however, when my slang usually comes in. I’d just rather say G and teach G to a beginner than have to open up this can of worms. Feel me?<\/em>)<\/p>\n I once heard a great musician say:<\/p>\n “Learn the rules. Then forget the rules.”<\/p>\n Can’t agree more.<\/p>\n [Tweet “Musicians: Learn the rules. Then forget the rules.”]<\/p>\n But back to why I mixed sharps and flats in this chord:<\/p>\n Here’s the wrong way to think about this C7 (#9#5):<\/p>\n Sure, you kept everything in “flats.”<\/p>\n But if this chord has a “5” that is supposed to be sharped, where is it?<\/p>\n Let’s look a the number system for C.<\/p>\n *Extended to next octave, thus the “8” and “9”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To have a “5” in this chord, we must use the alphabet letter G.<\/p>\n Where is G in this incorrectly spelled chord?<\/p>\n “Caller are you there?”<\/p>\n It’s been incorrectly replaced.<\/p>\n This chord also calls for a 9th that is sharped.<\/p>\n When it comes to moving beyond the first octave and counting the next octave as 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,<\/em> we learn that the 2nd tone of the scale played higher is known as the 9th.<\/p>\n That’s D.<\/p>\n Where is D in this incorrectly named chord?<\/p>\n It’s not there.<\/p>\n That’s why we must use G# to reference the #5 and D# to reference the #9.<\/p>\n You are literally taking whatever the 5 is and raising it. Likewise for the 9.<\/p>\n What you aren’t doing is taking the 5 and replacing it with the 6. Or taking the 9 and replacing it with the 10.<\/p>\n Sharping and flatting doesn’t always mean adding a # or b to an alphabet letter either.<\/p>\n This same 7 (#9#5) played on Db simply takes flatted notes (“Ab” and “Eb”) and raises them to their natural notes, “A” and “E” respectively:<\/p>\n (Don’t be scared of the “Cb” either. It’s gotta <\/em>be there unless you want to talk in slang<\/em>).<\/p>\n So there you have it…<\/p>\n Remember these 4 rules, learn to apply them in real situations, and you’ll likely never spell a chord wrong again… unless you want to! \ud83d\ude42<\/em><\/p>\n Until next time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many musicians spell chords incorrectly. Discover 4 rules to ensure you’re naming notes correctly and never make any of these blunders again!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1749,1746,1747,1748,1750],"class_list":["post-9895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-announcements","tag-flatting-notes","tag-naming-notes-correctly","tag-note-identification","tag-raising-notes","tag-using-sharp-or-flat-name","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\nNaming Notes Correctly: Major Scales<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
\nAlphabet letter G. Check.<\/strong>
\nAlphabet letter A. Check.<\/strong>
\nAlphabet letter B. Check.<\/strong>
\nAlphabet letter C. Check.<\/strong>
\nAlphabet letter D. Check.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Naming Notes Correctly: Altered Chords & Sharping\/Flatting Notes<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nD is 2.
\nE is 3.
\nF is 4
\nG is 5.
\nA is 6
\nB is 7.
\nC is 8.
\nD is 9.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n