Unit 2: Harmonising

Diads

When we harmonise a key or a scale, we start by working with diads. This is the concept of two notes that harmonise together to create a chord, and we generally start by adding the 3rd. Using the notes of the scale, and ONLY the notes of the scale, we gradually build up the chords. For example, let's start with the root note of G.

When you put G and B together, you get the sound of a major chord. So there we go, we have our first chord in our harmonised Ionian scale! Let's do the same process with the next note along, A.

We now have our second diad, which is notes A and C. When you put these two notes together, in that order, we have the basis of an A minor sounding chord. Let's follow this process now for each of the notes, moving up the E string.

This is a great exercise that you can do over and over again, in as many different keys as you can think of! It's a really good idea to do it all on one string as well, and these same "shapes" apply to the E, A and D string notes. So, for example, if you wanted to do the C major scale in diads, simply start on the 3rd fret of the A string, and you're away!

Barre Chords

Let's now take the time to learn the complete triad version of the harmonised Ionian scale. All we need to add, to make the triad, is the 5th degree. This works very much the same way as the Diad. We choose the note from the scale and add the third above and 5th above, using ONLY the notes of the scale. Let's take a look at how this works for the G chord, the first note of the G Ionian mode.

When we put these three notes together anywhere on the fretboard we get the full G major chord. We repeat the same process for each degree of the scale. So let's pretend we've already done the A and jump up to the B and see what we get:

So, there we have it! We would repeat this process for every note of the scale. We end up with the following chords:

We can play all of these chords as barre chords - You can view these on the low E String in the fretboards section.

So, now we have the diads and triads for G major, get these practised, and in the next lesson, we'll formalise this approach so that you can start applying it to every single key!

...maj, min, dim?

By harmonising the major scale in triads we get three types of chord, major, minor and diminished. But how do we know which is which? This is covered in detail in our Essential Theory course, but we'll give a quick breakdown here too.

All chords are built using their own formula, you simply have to memorise them! The numbers refer to the scale degree relative to the major scale. This also tells you the gaps between the notes. Here are the rules:

By checking the distance between the notes we get when harmonising the scale we can make sure we're labelling the chord with the correct name. Let's check a couple from the above example:

The distance from G to B is 4 frets on the guitar, which in music theory is 2 tones. This is called a major 3rd. The distance from G to D is 7 semitones which are a 5th. So we end up with 1 3 5 ie a G major chord.

The distance from B to D is 3 frets on the guitar, which in music theory is one tone and one semitone - a minor 3rd. The distance from B to F# is 7 semitones which is a 5th. So we end up with 1 b3 5 ie a B minor chord.

Feel free to take our word for it, or if you prefer you can create every triad (G B D, A C E, B D F# etc and check the intervals for yourself!

Roman Numerals

Let's start by tackling the functionality of Roman numerals. As we discovered in lesson 1 of unit 1, the Ionian formula consists of TTSTTTS starting on the root note. This combination of 7 notes is what makes the Ionian the Ionian. Below is how we would number these notes (1 will always be the root note).

Each note in this scale can be translated into its own particular chord. In this case, the notes making up each chord will also be from the Ionian. When referring to these chords, whilst verbally we may still refer to them as "one chord, two-chord" etc, they will actually be written in Roman numerals (as shown below in red).

As you can see, some of these numerals are in lower case and some are upper case. Upper case means major and lower case means minor (or anything else).

Major or Minor?

Each triad consists of three notes, using every other note of the scale from the note you are starting on. This means whether each chord is major, minor (or anything else) is already determined. In other words, each numeral has already been assigned its own function within the Ionian. For example - chord ii (two) of the Ionian is always minor. This means that the seven Ionian chords will always go like this:

Let's take that concept and apply it to a particular key, for example:

As you can see, using the Ionian in any key always plays the same role. It will treat whatever key you choose with the same harmonic structure.

Each Roman numeral will have a particular feel to it in the context of the Ionian. For example - If we have a sequence that goes ii, V, I, it doesn't matter what key we are in, I will always feel satisfied as it is our home chord. Equally, if we progressed to an IV, that will feel like it's leading somewhere, regardless of whether IV is an F or a B. The combination of chords and notes in the Ionian is what allows us to identify with a key and a feeling. NOT the specific chord letter.

How Do I Use This To Compose?

The Ionian has a satisfying feel to it and plays a huge role in popular music. When it comes to Pop, Rock, Motown, Dance, etc, most of what we hear will be based on the Ionian or the Aeolian (another mode which we will be covering). It certainly has a likability and a sensibility to it and it plays a very important role in composing the music everyone loves.

Try writing a few sequences and have fun with it! to really think about how each chord feels based on its relationship to the other chords. Does it feel like it's leading somewhere? Does it feel sad? Does it feel unresolved? Try your sequence in different keys and ask yourself if it still has a similar effect as the key you originally tried it in.

Ionian Track

With our newfound knowledge of how to harmonise the Ionian scale, we can now take a look at the chords behind our Ionian solo, as well as that final part of the solo. The chords are as follows:

So, if we describe this track based on the Ionian mode, we would say this is a 1, 6, 5, 4 progressions in the key of G major. Which in Roman Numerals, would look like this:

With that understood, can you transpose this progression into another key, for example, the key of D major? Give it a try!

We're now ready to tackle those final two bars of the solo, which we've shown below. These final two bars spell out these 4 chords. We start on the G and play the root, fifth and then third, then the same on each chord going down the neck. Take a look:

So, before the end of this unit, your task is to complete that solo by adding in this rhythm guitar part! Good luck, and have fun!

Reunited!

In this lesson, Dan takes a short walk back to Studio B to continue the conversation with Dion! We all have a bit of fun here to really dive into this theory and test our ear training to see if we can work out each others Ionian progressions, do some Ionian jamming, and basically have a lot of fun! You'll be surprised by the extra information that comes out when we all start chatting, so you'll love this lesson!