C Major Chord Scale

Root Shapes

This is a Chord Scale! Say hello to all the chords in the key of C : ) You may have played some of these chords before, but maybe never in this order. These chords are what's known as a root shape. The root(note the chord is based on) is on the low D string. That first chord is a C major chord. Nice happy sound, right? The second is an A minor. Not so happy, right? Actually, sad. : ( Minor and major chords are the most common in western music. As you can see by the two shapes, they only differ by one note! The only weird chord here is the B diminished. It's not commonly used in bluegrass by itself. For now, we don't need to worry too much about it.

Your fingers will probably get cramped going this high up the neck. DON'T HURT YOURSELF. The most important thing here is to see the pattern. In the next lesson, we'll look at a chord scale in the key of G. You'll see how easy this pattern transfers to a different key, and it'll be much easier on those digits!

The tempo is set very slow. This is so you can have time to switch between chords. Holding the chord for a long time helps build muscle memory. Muscle memory is good. However, it the tempo is still too fast, press pause and go at your own speed. If it's too slow, kick that tempo slider up a notch or two ; )

Up next, chord scale in G.