Playing right hand chords on C system

[Ganza]

Im wondering how do you play right hand chords on the csystem?
How for example would you play this sequence of chords?:
Em-A
Em-D-Em-D
Em............B7-C°-B7-C°
Em

Thanks!

 

[Russ]

I love playing chords on the treble side. There are a number of ways to play the progressions depending on the inversions you use. Playing across the first 3 rows for ease of fingering I would start with the Em in the 2nd inversion (GBE) - than A in root (AC#E), B7 root (B,D#,F#,A), Cdim root (C,D#,F#,). I would then experiment with other inversions to see if there are any that fit the melody better.

You might be better off if you are just learning your chords to play them all in the root position and then try other inversions from there. If you use the first 3 rows you will learn all the chord positions.

Have fun

 

[Ganza]

Thats great Russ, thanks.
Im also wondering for which of those chords would you use your thumb, if any?

 

[Russ]

I forgot to write the D chord -1st inversion (A,D,F#) I played them originally using fingers 2, 3, 4,(and 5 for the B7 and Cdim if I added a 7th). You can also practice some of them using your thumb on the first row for sure and maybe the 2nd row as well.

Playing through it again I don't know how I would play it - is this to a song or an exercise that should determine how you play it. Learn all your chord positions over the first 3 rows then practice their inversions

 

[Ganza]

Hi Russ,
Its this song here, a forro song from Brazil, its their version of a schottische (it may be in a different key):

I just wanted an example as my tutor book doesnt cover how to make chords much, mostly just melody.

 

[Deleted member 48]

Right hand chords on the C-system or B-system are easy, because they are always the same shape in all keys.

What I did is taking an empty c-system button grid on paper, making black all the buttons to push down for a specific chord shape, a bit like here:

http://www.thecipher.com/cba_c_system_triads_sevenths.html

You dont need to write down the names of the notes, only looking at the shape of the grip is enough to memorise the chords and its inversions.
The shapes can be transposed by moving the hand over the button board.

All my shapes or on a single sheet of paper, it helps me when adding improvised right hand chords in the tunes I like to play.

 

[Ganza]

Yes, thats true that the shape is the same stephen, but do you jump from say A to D, both in root position?
Do you always only play chords in root position? I would think that might involve some acrobatics haha...

 

[Deleted member 48]

Depends on the top melody line.
My chords follow my top single melody line.
If the melody asks for a particular note (be it an essential note or an embellishment note in some variation or improvisation) , I then use that note to be on top of my chord, so I use root position, or first or second inversion, or 3rd inversion (if 7th chord or 9th chord, etcetera etc ) of that particular chord.

So it all depends on the way the melody is going. You have to adapt the chords (root, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion) in function of the top line melody. Because this melody is the one the ear selects as the primary line to follow.

 

[Russ]

that is some hard song to play

 

[Deleted member 48]

I only throw in some right hand chords now and then, so most of the time my right hand plays a single line melody.
Very often I can add the "first inversion" of a chord, the root note of that chord will come on top of the chord.
eg a C chord, c e g, root position, the c is down, first inversion the c note comes on top (= where the melody usually is)

If you learn by heart the "shapes" of the 1st inversion of all chords (major, minor, 7th, ...), they are easy to throw in a tune

 

[Ganza]

that is some hard song to play

Haha yes Russ, and unfortunately thats apparently easy by their standards