Bm+

Icelander53

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What the heck chord is this? Can you show me? I'm learning the song Back to the Island by Leon Russell and it has a Bm+ and I can't find that on any chord chart anywhere darn it all to heck.

(Pardon my horrifyingly bad language, I don't know what came over me)
 
It is an Augmented chord.
When you see the + it means the 5th note of the scale is raised 1/2 step (#).
It is a sharp not a hash tag.

See if you can figure it out, it is a good lesson in building a chord.
Your notes would be the 1st, flat 3rd, sharp 5th.
The flat 3rd makes it a minor.
 
Ooh, that's a good song. Leon sure can write 'em!
 
Well I'll see what I can do even though you are speaking a foreign language. I'm a rank beginner but my training partner is not. She can help.
 
It is an Augmented chord.
When you see the + it means the 5th note of the scale is raised 1/2 step (#).
It is a sharp not a hash tag.

See if you can figure it out, it is a good lesson in building a chord.
Your notes would be the 1st, flat 3rd, sharp 5th.
The flat 3rd makes it a minor.
I knew you could do this but never really tried it. Is it 4242? Guess I need to memorize some of the chord constructs this would be real handy.
 
Well I'll see what I can do even though you are speaking a foreign language. I'm a rank beginner but my training partner is not. She can help.

James Hill once told me there are two ways to build chords, the microwave version (look it up in a chart) and the Betty Crocker version where you actually build the chord.
Understanding how chords are built will help you on your musical journey.
The "C" scale is C, D, E, F, G, A, B (no sharps or flats)
the 1,3,5 are C, E & G the major chord. Flat the 3rd You have C, Eb, & G or a Cm chord.
Sharp the 5th and you have C, E, G# or a C+ chord (augmented).

Now try it with "B" and you will have it.

Here is a nice intro to chords

Good luck and have fun.
 
Hmmmmm :sketchy: I think the joke is on y'all.

A Bm+ would be the B, D, and the G. Guess what, that's just a G chord... So I guess if you wanted you could notate it as a G/B inversion :)

John
 
Hmmmmm :sketchy: I think the joke is on y'all.

A Bm+ would be the B, D, and the G. Guess what, that's just a G chord... So I guess if you wanted you could notate it as a G/B inversion :)

John

Not exactly. If I am thinking this through correctly (always a dubious proposition), a B+ chord would be B, D#, F##(aka G). The D# would prevent the chord from sounding like a normal G major chord.
 
Not exactly. If I am thinking this through correctly (always a dubious proposition), a B+ chord would be B, D#, F##(aka G). The D# would prevent the chord from sounding like a normal G major chord.

Yes, that would be a B+ chord...but the OP said it was given as a Bm+ chord. I.e. presumably a "B minor augmented" - meaning a minor third and augmented fifth. I don't know that that is even a "legitimate" chord by the rules of music (I always thought that an augmented chord had to be stacked major thirds - i.e the major third topped by the augmented fifth, which is another major third interval).

In any case, if Bm+ is legit it's still easier to call it a simple G. :)

BTW, @Icelander, what key is that song in? I'm must curious why someone would notate it that way...

John
 
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Let's try this again. Oldephart is right. The notes of a B minor augmented chord are in the same locations as a G chord. They're not the same chord, but for most of us that's just a technicality. You do play it the same way.
 
I knew you could do this but never really tried it. Is it 4242? Guess I need to memorize some of the chord constructs this would be real handy.
I see now I had the a G as the 5th instead of a F#(dumb mistake). 4232. I guess practice makes perfect.
 
I see now I had the a G as the 5th instead of a F#(dumb mistake). 4232. I guess practice makes perfect.

Which is just G/B like OldePhart said and if you're playing reentrant you won't even hear the low B since the 1st and 4th strings are the same. I agree this is an odd notation.
 
I found a version of the song in D on guitartab.com. It has a chord progression that goes:
D Bm Bm+ Bm7 E
If this is what the question in the OP is about, the Bm+ chord is possibly the same shape as a D chord on a guitar. This would be like playing this progression: G Em Em+(G shape) Em7 A : on a GCEA uke. Assuming it is an accurate transcription, in the progression, Leon is using the Bm+ to smoothly get from Bm to Bm7 on his guitar, but the transcriber did not want to lose context by calling it a D. If this is correct the plus sign character has been used to identify an intermediate chord rather than the flat/sharp augmented 5th thing, the multi use plus sign. Imagine if your math teacher suddenly started to use a plus sign for something other than addition, music writers can be confusing.
If I have the right version and you want to play it with similar shapes to the guitar version, get the software to give it to you in the key of A major.

That's the right version. I have a lot to learn here.
 
Hmmmmm :sketchy: I think the joke is on y'all.

A Bm+ would be the B, D, and the G. Guess what, that's just a G chord... So I guess if you wanted you could notate it as a G/B inversion :)

John

Great call! hehe

Petey
 
Yes, that would be a B+ chord...but the OP said it was given as a Bm+ chord. I.e. presumably a "B minor augmented" - meaning a minor third and augmented fifth. I don't know that that is even a "legitimate" chord by the rules of music (I always thought that an augmented chord had to be stacked major thirds - i.e the major third topped by the augmented fifth, which is another major third interval).

In any case, if Bm+ is legit it's still easier to call it a simple G. :)

BTW, @Icelander, what key is that song in? I'm must curious why someone would notate it that way...

John

Ah right. Like I said, me getting it correct was a dubious proposition.
 
I found a version of the song in D on guitartab.com. It has a chord progression that goes:
D Bm Bm+ Bm7 E
If this is what the question in the OP is about, the Bm+ chord is possibly the same shape as a D chord on a guitar. This would be like playing this progression: G Em Em+(G shape) Em7 A : on a GCEA uke. Assuming it is an accurate transcription, in the progression, Leon is using the Bm+ to smoothly get from Bm to Bm7 on his guitar, but the transcriber did not want to lose context by calling it a D. If this is correct the plus sign character has been used to identify an intermediate chord rather than the flat/sharp augmented 5th thing, the multi use plus sign. Imagine if your math teacher suddenly started to use a plus sign for something other than addition, music writers can be confusing.
If I have the right version and you want to play it with similar shapes to the guitar version, get the software to give it to you in the key of G major.

I get so confused trying to think in uke terms because I come from a guitar background. Anyway, I have always understood the transition chord from m to m7 to be a min/maj7 chord, since presumably it is the root moving down to the flat seventh. The plus sign to me means augment the fifth, which would be different. Which I'm pretty sure is what you said.
 
chord builder wheel draft.jpg I've spent the last couple of days working on a chord builder wheel that you can cut out and assemble. It shows the position (notes) of 13 of the most common chord types, with more listed as forumale on the back. Not sure how much you can see in this pic, but I'm going to get it laminated today and will test it. Once I'm sure I have the text and lines all correct, I'll post a link so you can build your own.
 
View attachment 66637 I've spent the last couple of days working on a chord builder wheel that you can cut out and assemble. It shows the position (notes) of 13 of the most common chord types, with more listed as forumale on the back. Not sure how much you can see in this pic, but I'm going to get it laminated today and will test it. Once I'm sure I have the text and lines all correct, I'll post a link so you can build your own.
Thanks Ian! I definitely want one and that looks great/professional.
 
I get so confused trying to think in uke terms because I come from a guitar background. Anyway, I have always understood the transition chord from m to m7 to be a min/maj7 chord, since presumably it is the root moving down to the flat seventh. The plus sign to me means augment the fifth, which would be different. Which I'm pretty sure is what you said.

That's typically called a minor line cliche, and you'll find it My Funny Valentine, Stairway to Heaven, and any song with a minor chord over a couple of bars.

This progression, G Em Em+(G shape) Em7 A, is another variation on the minor line cliche.

http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/moneychords/minorcliche.html
 
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