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LESSON 6 www.guitar-tracks.com
Written by Stˇphane Gagnon
A NOTE ABOUT ASCENDING AND DESCENDING POSITIONS
I would like to clarify some confusion about ascending and descending chords.
The words ascending and descending are already used in music to describe the direction of a scale.
With the C major scale as our example:
Ascending scale (or note sequence)
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___________________2__4___5______
_________2__3__5_________________
3__5_____________________________
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Descending scale (or note sequence)
_________________________________
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____5__4___2_____________________
_______________5__3__2___________
__________________________5__3___
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In the context of THE ART OF CHORDS, the words ascending and descending are used to describe a physical direction.
A descending chords (when strummed from the 6th string to the first string) still has an ascending note sequence.
What is descending is the actual shape of the chord.
Trace a line between the root of the chord and the next note.
If the line goes toward the head (with the keys), it is a descending chord,
if the line goes toward the body , it is an ascending chord.
Keep in mind that the root of a basic ascending generator (E, A, D) is located on an open string and has to be considered when looking for the direction of the chord.
We use several words to describe roughly the same thing (key, tonality, root..), here, we use the same word to describe two separate thing. If the concept is clear, why not?