Memorizing Dominant 7th Chord Shapes

Buddy McCue

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Okay, this is a little strange...

When I was learning the chord shapes for the dominant seventh, I tried associating the different inversions to the different elements.

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I wanted to remember each of them from the top string down.

* Air has the Seventh of the chord on top, because the seventh is the highest part of the chord.

* Water has the Root of the chord on top, because water is the root of all life.

* Fire has the Third of the chord on top, because the third is an active interval, and activity is represented by fire.

* Earth is stable, so it is associated with the Fifth of the chord, the most stable interval. Also, the fingering for this chord is kind of blocky and four-square, which reminds me of rocks.

The drawing shows the D7 going up the fretboard (GCEA tuning,) but the mnemonic works for any key of course. I don't know if this would help anyone else memorize these things, because everyone's brain works differently, but I thought this was an interesting enough idea to share.
 
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... bear claw, turkey leg, old lady. :)

I wish I'd seen that episode! It sounds like she's thinking along the same lines as me. (I don't know, but I'll bet the turkey leg stands for the open D minor on the guitar. It kind of looks crooked like a bird's leg to me.)
 
That's really cool!

There was an episode of Friends where Phoebe teaches Joey the chords and she has interesting names for them ... bear claw, turkey leg, old lady. :)

I remember that episode! LOL Pheebs... :D
 
Very "I Ching". :)

JJ
 
I'm glad it helped somebody else besides me.

I almost didn't post it because it was kind of a strange idea.
 
Hhehe, now when i play those chords i will think of air, water, fire, and earth.

Thats a pretty awesome, thanks for sharing.
 
Hippie Guy of liveukulele.com linked to this picture and I got a lot more views. He said he didn't want to take the picture without permission, and I appreciate the courtesy of that (although I never would have minded really.)

With so many people looking at my humble little sketch, I started to feel uncomfortable with the sloppiness of it. So I re-drew it in Illustrator as you see here.

This picture is free to download, print, distribute or use in any non-commercial way. You can train puppies or line birdcages with it; I don't care!
 
Thanks man! I'm still trying to get my pup to build up enough of an attention span to learn any chords but when he does.... this will do the trick! I'm certain of it!:shaka:


Thanks really though. This is good stuff.
 
Very "I Ching". :)

JJ

I was thinking "very alchemical," myself. Or very Jungian-tarot, if you will...

I agree with HH: that's a 'wow' factor in thinking about something.
 
I love this!! Thanks for sharing! You can make a game out of it too like rock, paper scissors. Like you and a friend can play two chord shapes at the same time and see who's takes out the other. :)
 
I tried to associate certain chord shapes with foods, like broccoli, tofu, bananas, and sushi. But I got too hungry, threw the uke down and went out for a meal. I never did learn those chords all that well, and just gained a few pounds trying.
 
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