What Is a Fingerpicking "C" Chord?

[magicspeller]

Hi,

I've seen this several times in fingerpicking classes and have always been frustrated because nobody ever explains this. For example, today we were picking just the top three strings (not the first A string). The instructor said to press the third fret on the second string (not the first string, which we've been taught gives the basic C chord), and said, "That's a C chord." (Hope I'm remembering this right.) Next, he said to press the fifth fret on the fourth string, and that "That's a C chord, too." HOW ARE THESE C CHORDS?

I assume that part of the explanation for this is that we're not including the A string in our picking. If we were, we would get a 6th chord. However, when I look at the strings we ARE picking (hope I'm doing this right):

In the first case, I get GCG.
In the second, I get CCE.

In other words, either the E note (in the first case) or the G note (in the second case) is missing from a C chord. Again, how can we call these C chords?

 

[man0a]

I'm not sure if the numbers you are giving us are correct. You can try playing with this: https://ukebuddy.com/chord-namer

 

[robinboyd]

I assume he means the E string, which gives you the notes GCG, which is a G5 chord. Of course, if you didn't fret any notes and just plucked those 3 strings, you would get a full C chord.

 

[Jan D]

I agree with you, magicspeller. Of the two scenarios you present, I don’t consider either of them to be a full C chord. Yes, the resulting notes are part of a C chord, but they only represent a fifth, and a third, respectively. If your A string was broken and all you had to work with was the remaining three strings, then one could use either of the two examples to suggest a C chord. But I think it’s misleading to say either of them is a proper C chord. IMHO.

 

[Canada Jim]

A chord is defined as, three or more single pitches heard simultaneously.
"Dyads", or "double stops" are sometimes called "power chords" or "five chords" if they contain the root and the five of the chord. They can imply a major or minor chord, but they are partial chords. A common partial chord used by ukulele players is sometimes called a "Hawaiian D7". This is a 2020 (ACF#A) combination of notes that implies the D7 chord, but has no root.

 

[merlin666]

What was the context that teachers were providing this info? Usually there are two reasons to mention chords for finger style: 1 to indicate the chord that can be played to accompany the piece, or 2 the chord shape for the left hand that is useful as a base for next few notes. Tabs often indicate chords for both purposes.

 

[Wiggy]

I often leave a note out of a chord if the singing or melody line covers that note. It also works when the chord is used quickly in passing.
A chord can be missing the root note. This is called a "rootless" chord. In both cases, your brain will fill in the blank.

<TMI> We only have 4 strings, so when forming more jazzy* chords it may be impossible to finger and play all the notes of a chord.

[*(6,9,11,13, m7b5,dim,dim7)]

This site can be very handy: https://www.scales-chords.com/chordid.php

<edit> Yes, Mike $ (comment below), diminished 7ths do have another key's dom7 equivalent. Much too late, after agonizing over diminished, I figured that out.

Another tip is that it's mostly OK to play a dim7 instead of a true dim. Sometimes not though, as it depends on the melody line.

 

[Mike $]

That hawaiian D7 chord is really an F# diminished triad filling in for a D7 because it has the flu.

 

[clear]

Hi,

I've seen this several times in fingerpicking classes and have always been frustrated because nobody ever explains this. For example, today we were picking just the top three strings (not the first A string). The instructor said to press the third fret on the second string (not the first string, which we've been taught gives the basic C chord), and said, "That's a C chord." (Hope I'm remembering this right.) Next, he said to press the fifth fret on the fourth string, and that "That's a C chord, too." HOW ARE THESE C CHORDS?

I assume that part of the explanation for this is that we're not including the A string in our picking. If we were, we would get a 6th chord. However, when I look at the strings we ARE picking (hope I'm doing this right):

In the first case, I get GCG.
In the second, I get CCE.

In other words, either the E note (in the first case) or the G note (in the second case) is missing from a C chord. Again, how can we call these C chords?

I think your instructor has it wrong; it needs to be the 3rd fret on the first string. Sometimes people who don't play the uke get roped into teaching uke. Seems like you didn't get a chance to ask in person; but if you have the teacher's contact info, you can send your question his/her way and see what the response is.

 

[clear]

I assume he means the E string, which gives you the notes GCG, which is a G5 chord. Of course, if you didn't fret any notes and just plucked those 3 strings, you would get a full C chord.

A G5 would have G, D notes. A C5 would have C, G notes. The second note is the 5th degree from the root. Also, strictly speaking, they aren't chords as a chord, by definition, has at least 3 notes.

 

[robinboyd]

A G5 would have G, D notes. A C5 would have C, G notes. The second note is the 5th degree from the root. Also, strictly speaking, they aren't chords as a chord, by definition, has at least 3 notes.

Oops. That was a typo. I meant C5. And yes, you are correct about everything else, too.

 

[ksiegel]

Sometimes I think I'm very lucky that I don't know theory, can't read notation or tab, and play strictly by ear.

To quote Duke Ellington (by way of Professor Peter Schickle), "If it sounds good, it is good."

-Kurt​

 

[rainbow21]

There is a C major chord, which has the notes C E G. This is so common it can be called "the C chord".

Then there are all the other C chords. They are chords which have the root note C, often the lowest note,

For example: A C5 chord has the notes C and G, no E. C5 is a C chord. It does not have the note at the Third interval, which is the E note in this case.

So in a progression, say C F G, you can have "the" C chord and it does not have to be C major, it can be any one of a number of C chords.
...

Context matters. And here it appears as if the instructor said "C chord" and not "C maj chord". Those with the viewpoint that a C chord is 0003 might consider that any ukulele instructor knows that this is one version of the C maj.

So if the instructor says that a C5 is also a C chord then one might ask for further explanation. But this is dependent on the context at the time, the level of students, whether strict music theory should be adhered to, etc. That will give the instructor to explain further, which is what the OP is asking.

So I googled whether C chords other than a C maj can be called a C chord. On this site for guitar chords, there are 50 (!) chords listed under "C chords".

All Guitar Chords

All guitar chords chart.

www.all-guitar-chords.com

 

[ksiegel]

So if the instructor says that a C5 is also a C chord then one might ask for further explanation. But this is dependent on the context at the time, the level of students, whether strict music theory should be adhered to, etc. That will give the instructor to explain further, which is what the OP is asking.

Of course, this is assuming that the student knows to ask. I wouldn't have known, when I was a beginning players (And even after 40 years of guitar, at that time) what a C5 (or any 5th chord) was. I knew generic chords and 7th. The other things I played that sounded pretty - suspended, augmented, and diminished chords - I never knew the names of; I've picked them up from other people discussing them in informal environments, and I've come to realize I've been playing that stuff for years without knowing there was an actual name.

-Kurt​

 

[magicspeller]

I've been late getting back to this thread; I'm trying to learn too many things at once.

Thank you so very, very much, everyone. I've learned an awful lot from your posts, and I believe I have my answer.

merlin666, the context in which the comments were made was that he just mentioned them in passing. The names of the chords were really irrelevant to what we were learning. I'm one who tends to get "theory bound in the technical stuff," Bill1, even when it doesn't matter. When I'm trying to learn and something doesn't make sense, I just have to know why. And by the way, Bill, normally the first thing I would have done was to ask the teacher -- but when I went to look for a comment thread I couldn't find it. (I just did, though, so I don't know what the problem was. Anyway, after everyone's input here, I don't think I have to ask.)

I appreciate your lengthy explanation, Bill. It helped a lot with my understanding, as did Jan D's comments and others.

And Jim Yates, thanks for mentioning power chords. I'd forgotten about them, but this is a great example! I'm also glad you and Wiggy brought up the Hawaiian D7 as a rootless chord. I looked into it a while ago, wondering why it had that name, and I was shocked when I realized that the root was missing! But it usually works just fine, showing that missing notes in a chord may not be an issue.

rainbow21, that was an amazing example with the guitar chords. You're right; he didn't say C major,

ksiegel, I'm just very envious. Seven years of piano in my youth, and I have never been able to play by ear.

man0a, I love UkeBuddy, but it names the chords including all four strings, so it didn't help in this case, since we're only picking the other three strings. I know; I had tried it.

Wiggy, Mike $, clear, robinboyd, and anyone I haven't mentioned, I appreciated your comments as well. Everybody has helped me to learn a lot about ukulele chords. I think I have found a forum home at Ukulele Underground.

 

[ploverwing]

man0a, I love UkeBuddy, but it names the chords including all four strings, so it didn't help in this case, since we're only picking the other three strings. I know; I had tried it.

Actually - you can still use UkeBuddy with any of the strings excluded by clicking on the "nut" of that string twice (first to select the open string, the second time to exclude that string from the chord), it'll look like this:

 

[magicspeller]

Thank you! I didn't know that (obviously). I should have thought of it, because I am familiar with that notation in chord diagrams. I wouldn't have guessed at the double click, though.

Good to know!

 

[ploverwing]

Thank you! I didn't know that (obviously). I should have thought of it, because I am familiar with that notation in chord diagrams. I wouldn't have guessed at the double click, though.

Good to know!

My pleasure - I discovered it by accident and slightly out of frustration. Happy to share in the hopes of avoiding others' frustration