Rockmaster Chord Change Formula 1: Relative Chord Method
Learn to change chords by moving 1, 2 or 3 fingers UP or DowN
Chord Change Formula 1 Relative Chord Method
Many of the songs that you play will use only diatonic chords, so get good at diatonic chord changes
and you will be able to play many songs.
When you change chords you need to know two things.
1. How many fingers to move
2. In which direction to move the fingers.
In diatonic harmony each finger will move UP (+) to the right ( →) one tone or 1/2 tone
or
DOWN (-) to the left ( ←) one tone or 1/2 tone.
In diatonic harmony you always move to the next scale tone and all fingers move in the same direction,
(+) UP or (-) DOWN.
In diatonic harmony:
You move three fingers up (+3) or down (-3) to get to adjacent chords,
M M You move two fingers up (+2) or down (-2) to get from a Major chord to another Major chord,
m m You move two finger up (+2) or down (-2) to get from a minor chord to another minor chord,
M m You move one finger up (+1) or down (-1) to get from a Major chord to a minor chord,
m M You move one finger up (+1) or down (-1) to get from a minor chord to a Major chord,
d You move one, two or three fingers up (+ ) or down (- ) to get to the diminished chord.,
D When you change to the Dominant chord for that key (B7 in E) you use the triad a
third up to substitute for the Dominant (D# dim in E.)
Use the interval of the substitute chord to calculate the finger movement.
Chord Change Formula 1 Summary
If the next chord is a 3rd up you move one finger DowN (-1) eg. C – Em
If the next chord is a 5th up you move two finger DowN (-2) eg. C – G
If the next chord is a 7th up you move three finger DowN (-3) eg. C – Bdim
If the next chord is a 3rd down you move one finger UP (+1) eg. C – Am
If the next chord is a 5th down you move two finger UP (+2) eg. C – F
If the next chord is a 7th down you move three finger UP (+3) eg. C – Dm
The following chord change examples are from the I Chord to other chords,
but the formula works from any chord to any other chord.
You may use the following table to determine the finger movement to get from one diatonic chord to any other diatonic chord. Many of the songs that you play will use only diatonic chords, so get good at diatonic chord changes and you will be able to play many songs.
Rockmaster Chord Change Formula 1
Chord Change Formula 1 Relative Chord Method
