Chords for Western Swing Guitar Lesson - The 5-Of Rule - Raymond Nijenhuis

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ One of the things that helped me a lot in understanding Eldon Shemlin's sophisticated chordal style
was realizing that you can place a dominant seventh chord, also known as the V chord, in front of any chord.
_ _ When you're in the key of G,
interchanging G with its V chord D7 is something we've grown accustomed to.
_ _ The V7 to I change is everywhere, you could say, and it's pleasing to the ears.
_ _ The human ear likes to hear music that resolves.
_ _ Playing two bars of [G] G
can _ _ _ _ _ _ be [B] made into G D7 and [G] G D7.
_ [D] _ _ [G] _ _
[D] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
Now I can also play the dominant seven of the dominant seven chord.
_ [N] This is called the secondary dominant.
_ _ A secondary dominant chord is basically a chord that resolves to a scale degree
other than a tonic.
_ _ Take the Western swing favorite Rolley Polly, for example.
The original chords of the _ [G] first are_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ Now I could also put A7, the V chord of D7, before actually playing D7.
It will be [A] like_
[G] You _ _
[C] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [A] _ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
can imagine using this five of rule gives you an endless amount of harmonic variations. _ _
The reason I address this subject in my Western Swing Guidebook is mainly
the five of rule is the tool to create moving bass lines, Eldon Shemlin style.
_ Let me give you an example.
_ Say you want a moving bass run and the chords of the tunes _ are_
_ G, _ _ _ _ G, _ C, _ C, _ [D] D. _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ I can spice this up with secondary dominants as mentioned.
_ _ Let's have a look.
G _ and _ [A] D7 with an A [D] in the bass,
[Ab] to an [G] inversion of [B] G [G] with a B in the bass,
_ _ _ [D] to G7 with a D in the [Bm] bass, and now the tonic G becomes a
dominant for C.
So G7 with a D in the bass,
_ [C] _ V for C, _
_ _ [D] back to [Dm] G with a D in the bass, [E] to C [C] with an E in the bass, _ and
there's [E] A7 with an E [Db] in the bass, which is the V for D.
[D] _ _ _ _ Let me do that [G] again.
_ _ [A] _ [Gb] _ [B] _ _
[G] _ [D] _ [B] _ [C] _ _ _ [D] _ [B] _
[E] _ _ [C] _ [E] _ [A] _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
By playing the V in the bass instead of the root, I get that moving bass.
_ Once you get this way of thinking and playing down, you're ready for a next step.
For example, adding chromatic anticipation chords.
_ _ [Em] _
[G] _ _ _ G, [Am] D7 with an A in the bass, and before going [G] to G with a B in the bass, [Bb] I can play [Bbm] B flat
_ diminished [B]
to G [G] with a B, _ _ or
_ [C] _ _ [Am] descending, _ _
[B] C, [G] G with a B in the [Bbm] bass, B flat diminished, [A] to [Am] D7 with an A in the bass. _
_ _ [N] _ _ _ We don't want to get too deep into the theory side of things.
I mean, Western Swing is dance music, not rocket science, _ and we want to keep our focus on the music.
Let's say for now that you can use this rule as long as you're not interfering with the melody.
_ _ Okay, just to make sure you know how and where to find the right V chord. _ _ _
Pick a chord,
count until you're at the fifth note from the root of that chord, and that's the one.
But it has to be the perfect fifth though, _ _ _ so the V chord of [B] B _ is _ _
_ _ [Db] _ [Eb] _ [E] _ [Gb] _ _
F sharp, not F.
It's not
[A] _ B, C, D, E, F.
That's the wrong fifth.