From Triads to CAGED to CST... a method of visualizing the fretboard.

[brwnhornet59]

That was rather harsh Jake, though you made some interesting points as well. It seems to me there is always a better way to convey disagreement or contradict others ideas, without trashing them so callously, much less in public. I think a simple PM might have been in order.

If Morten or Matt or any of the other excellent teachers in this forum, ever talked publicly like that to a peer there would be chaos. You are better and smarter than that. It's nice to be nice. Any idiot can be a prick.

[JakeAcci]

Maybe I have aspergers or something, but I don't see anything mean in my post above. I was just talking about slash chords. What gives?

Jonny, expect a PM...

[JonnyPac]

Post on slashes deleted. I'm not gonna stick around while this snow-balls into another thrash on CST and Jonny's lessons thread.

[JakeAcci]

My post is deleted too...I didn't realize it would be taken so negatively.

[JonnyPac]

Ok. Thanks. I appreciate your views and posts for the most part. Please treat me with the respect that other regular contributors get here. I have had a very difficult history on these forums pre-Mr-B as MOD, and I don't forget the trauma.

[JonnyPac]

Originally Posted by bako

I am a frequent visitor to the idea of mining a given note collection for all it's inherent harmonies.
From this perspective I view the extension as the basic chord, that in a 7 note scale, there are 7 points of harmonic orientation.
The 7th chord, triad or slash chord are just a partial view of the total picture.

Looking at a chord independent of any scale it may be derived from, more by it's function can be very freeing.
Viewed from this angle any harmony that can bring you to a chosen destination is available if you can establish
a sonic link to the prevailing language contained in the composition (and the ensemble).

Every concept contains both strengths and limitations. We are wise if we don't get overly attached to any one idea and remain free to use whatever tools will best assist us in getting at the music we are trying to create. Remaining fearless to reach for sounds that we can hear but can't explain is also important.

I believe the phrase painting by numbers in music refers more to the act of applying an idea that we are aware of verbally but are at present not fully aware of the resultant sound. In other words following a rule because it is the rule.

Great points. Again, bottom-up or top-down views. Both valid- and ultimately they should always be considered. Some may produce a noticeable difference in overall sound/performance while others become invisible (only in the mind of the player). Music theory (and performance-based mental reminders) are slippery!

[JonnyPac]

From Wikipedia Top?down and bottom?up design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Top–down and bottom–up are strategies of information processing and knowledge ordering, mostly involving software, but also other humanistic and scientific theories (see systemics). In practice, they can be seen as a style of thinking and teaching. In many cases top–down is used as a synonym of analysis or decomposition, and bottom–up of synthesis.

A top–down approach (also known as step-wise design) is
essentially the breaking down of a system to gain insight into its
compositional sub-systems. In a top–down approach an overview of the
system is formulated, specifying but not detailing any first-level
subsystems. Each subsystem is then refined in yet greater detail,
sometimes in many additional subsystem levels, until the entire
specification is reduced to base elements. A top–down model is often
specified with the assistance of "black boxes", these make it easier to
manipulate. However, black boxes may fail to elucidate elementary
mechanisms or be detailed enough to realistically validate the model.

A bottom–up approach is the piecing together of systems to
give rise to grander systems, thus making the original systems
sub-systems of the emergent system. Bottom-up processing is a type
of information processing based on incoming data from the environment to form a perception.
Information enters the eyes in one direction (input), and is then
turned into an image by the brain that can be interpreted and recognized
as a perception (output). In a bottom–up approach the individual base
elements of the system are first specified in great detail. These
elements are then linked together to form larger subsystems, which then
in turn are linked, sometimes in many levels, until a complete top-level
system is formed. This strategy often resembles a "seed" model, whereby
the beginnings are small but eventually grow in complexity and
completeness. However, "organic strategies" may result in a tangle of
elements and subsystems, developed in isolation and subject to local
optimization as opposed to meeting a global purpose.

It's really interesting to think of music in these ways!