Help

Chords and scales — a little theory and some terms. A chord is a selection of tones which are perceived as a unity and not just as several notes sounding at the same time. It gets its special character to a large extent thanks to the place the tones have in the tonal system, which, slightly simplified, means the hierachical system of relationships between the relevant tones of a song or a style in general. In C major, the tone c is more central than a, which again is more central than f sharp.

It is customary to arrange the available tones in a scale, a “ladder”, and to refer to them according to their position in the scale. The keynote is called “prime”, the tone above it “second”, the next “third”, etc. Thus, the tones in a C major scale would be called:

------------------------------------------------------ 
------------------------------------------0------1---- 
-----------------------------0-----2------------------ 
---------0------2-----3------------------------------- 
--3--------------------------------------------------- 
------------------------------------------------------ 
  c      d      e     f      g     a      b      c'
 prime second third fourth fifth sixth seventh octave

The most weighty tones in the scale are the prime (or unison), the fifth, and the third (in C major: c, g and e). Then follow the remaining tones in the main scale (d, f, a, and b), and lastly the tones that are extraneous to the scale: the semi-tones (f sharp, e flat, etc.)

I mention the fifth before the third, but they are important in different ways. The fifth is stable, a loyal companion to the prime, always there, not without its conflicts, but they are always resolved, and always in favour of the prime – somewhat like a good old (or bad old, depending on the perspective) patriarchal marriage. In fact, one might consider all music within the western musical tradition as nothing more than a play with the balance between these two scale steps. This is true for the art-music tradition until the late nineteenth century and until this day in popular music.

As I said, the fifth is always there. When you strike a string, it will vibrate in many different ways. The whole string will swing and produce the loudest tone. But all the possible equal divisions of the string will also swing, and produce overtones. The difference in sound between different instruments is caused by different constellations of overtones – which are strong and which are not. The division of the string in two (at the twelfth fret) will sound an octave higher, i.e. with a tone of the same pitch class, which will strengthen the basic tone further. But the division in three, at the seventh fret, will produce the fifth. (Exercise: strike a bass string while touching it at the seventh fret, but without pressing it down. Then play the open string, and you should be able to hear the fifth in the full tone of the open string.) Thus, If you play a c, you will also hear a g.

The third is a different matter. Where the fifth gives support and reenforcement, the third adds character. It is unstable, at times nervously shimmering, other times over-earthly sonorous. It can not be defined as easily as the fifth. It lies two divisions above the fifth in the series of overtones (on the fourth fret, with the string divided in five) and therefore sounds less strongly than the fifth. Furthermore, it exhibits a peculiarity of the tonal system which has plagued theoreticians since the days of Pythagoras: if one stacks four fifths on top of each other – c-g, g-d, d-a and a-e – one might think that one gets to the same e as when one divides a string in five, but one doesn’t – one gets to a tone that lies considerably higher (c. a quarter of a semi-tone, which is quite a lot). This is not really a problem, but an opportunity: tension is the mother of all development, and the third is as tense as it gets.

The most significant difference between the fifth and the third, though, is that, whereas there is only one fifth, there are two possible places for the third. Both c-e and c-e flat are thirds, but one is major, the other minor. The third is the interval which decides the most fundamental character of a chord: whether it is major or minor. C-e-g is a C major chord, c-e flat-g is C minor. The same distinction can be drawn on the second, sixth, and seventh steps, whereas the prime, the fifth, and the fourth can only be (violently!) augmented or diminished.

For “losers, cheaters, six-string abusers” (ain’t we all…). The tabs present what is being played, by trained and proficient musicians (yes, I’m counting in Dylan). On the one hand Dylan is an ideal artist for a beginner, since he always uses quite simple and logical chord shapes, and licks and tricks that let him get maximum effect from minimum effort. Still, the beginner may run into problems, with strange chord names, barre chords etc. Here’s just a few cheats.

(1) All chords, basically, go back to the three fundamental chords in a key (in C: C, G and F) and their minor relatives (Am, Em, Dm). Most frequent are the variations to the dominant chord, i.e. the chord on the fifth step above the key note (G in this example), where the variations are different ways of creating and sustaining tension before the return to the key note. That means that “strange” chord names can often be replaced by the simple chord without all the fuzz behind it (Gb+, E7-10, Dm7-5, Cadd9 become Gb, E, Dm, C). This does not happen without loss: the “fuzz” is there for some reason (e.g. the E7-10 is the quintessential blues chord, which is minor and major at the same time; it is an E chord, but the plain E does not get the same effect), but functionally the plain chord will usually do the job adequately.

2) Chords can be replaced with their relatives. When I was nine, before I had the finger strength to play barre chords, I discovered that I could replace most F chords with Dm or Am — one of those would usually work. Now I know that the reason why it works is that they both share two out of three chord tones with F, which often is enough. I don’t recommend this method, however (unless you’re nine). It is cheating, and the only person you’re fooling, in the long run, is yourself.

(3) Some songs are consistently noted with chords like Ab, Eb, Bb etc. That is because they are played with those chords, as barre chords, and in those cases I’ve seen no reason to introduce a capo. The easiest way to avoid those barre chords, is to drop all the bs, and play E, B, A instead. This only works if all chords have a b attached to them, though. Other chords you’ll have to transpose based on the thorough knowledge of the outline of the fretboard that you’ve gained, e.g. from the figure below.Chord names. In general I use the following system (exemplified with C chords throughout): Major chords C: Minor chords: Cm. The following table explains the additional symbols and chord types. All the examples are variants of C. Third = the third note of the scale from the key note, fifth = the fifth note of the scale, etc. Since there are only seven different steps in the scale, the second is the same as the ninth, the fourth is the same as the eleventh etc. In chord names one will usually use the higher of these, except where the basic triad is altered;  e.g. C9 and not C2 (but Csus4 and Cm7-5). The reason for this is that “sophisticated” chords are considered as extensions of the basic chord with selections from the stack of thirds above it: c-e-g continues Bb-d-f-a, which are the 7th, the 9th, the 11th and the 13th. The convention is that a single number (e.g. 11) indicates the last member of the stack to be included, not just a single tone: C11 consists of the all the tones in the stack, up to the eleventh.

I usually also prefer simple names to “exact” names. A chord like 3x3211 should perhaps (but not necessarily) be called G11, but I prefer to call it F/g, since that more immediately says what is to be played (and because it retains the ambiguity inherent in the chord, between the subdominant and the dominant, which is so central to Dylan’s tonal language). See Blood in my Eyes for a more extreme case. (I’m beginning to change my mind on this, though. In the more recent tabs, you’ll see G11 more often than F/g).

Approximated chord names are written like “G6” (x33000) or F#m7’ (202200) for brevity.

Any chord can be fingered in many different ways. “C” does not “mean” x32010 — that is just the simplest and usually most convenient way to finger it. To get from  chord name to a chord, you have to know where the tones are positioned on the fretboard. The tones are distributed on the strings as follows (e’ is the lightest string, E is the darkest):

e'||-f'-|-f#'|-g'-|-g#'|-a'|-
b ||-c'-|-c#'|-d'-|-d#'|-e'|-
g ||-g#-|-a--|-bb-|-b--|-c'|-  etc.
d ||-d#-|-e--|-f--|-f#-|-g-|-
A ||-Bb-|-B--|-c--|-c#-|-d-|-
E ||-F--|-F#-|-G--|-G#-|-A-|- 

To find a chord like Am/f# (the most important chord in  Trying to Get to Heaven), start with the basic chord (Am) and search out the bass tone (f#) on one of the darkest strings, where it can be played. In this case there are two possibilities: on the 4th string: 

e'||-f'-|-f#'|-g'-|-g#'|-a'|
b ||-c'-|-c#'|-d'-|-d#'|-e'|
g ||-g#-|-a--|-bb-|-b--|-c'|
d ||-d#-|(e)-|-f--|-f#-|-g-|
A ||-Bb-|-B--|-c--|-c#-|-d-|
E ||-F--|-F#-|-G--|-G#-|-A-| 

or on the 6th:

e'||-f'-|-f#'|-g'-|-g#'|-a'|
b ||-c'-|-c#'|-d'-|-d#'|-e'|
g ||-g#-|-a--|-bb-|-b--|-c'|
d ||-d#-|-e--|-f--|-f#-|-g-|
A ||-Bb-|-B--|-c--|-c#-|-d-|
E ||-F--|-F#-|-G--|-G#-|-A-| 

The second fingering is probably the best one, since it produces a fuller chord, and since you can use all the strings — unless you precisely want the higher sound, in which case the first fingering is better. In that case xx4555 is a third alternative. It even has the advantage of having the key note (A) on the highest string, thus emphasising it.

In the same way we can find the fingering for the chord Bm7-5. First find the tones: Bm = b, d, f#. Add the 7th (a) and lower the 5th (f# -> f), and we have the tones b, d, f and a.

e'||-f'-|-f#'|-g'-|-g#'|-a'|-
b ||-c'-|-c#'|-d'-|-d#'|-e'|-
g ||-g#-|-a--|-bb-|-b--|-c'|-   etc.
d ||-d#-|-e--|-f--|-f#-|-g-|-
A ||-Bb-|-B--|-c--|-c#-|-d-|-
E ||-F--|-F#-|-G--|-G#-|-A-|- 

We probably want the key note (b) in the bass, which in practice leaves us with the alternatives x2323x, xx(3)435 or x2x231. (Note: Am/f# and Bm7-5 are actually chords of the same type. Am/f# is the same chord as F#m7-5. Try it!)

For a more  comprehensive guide to guitar chords, see the ONLINE GUITAR CHORD DICTIONARY, or the other resources at  Guitar Notes.

For some of the songs, Dylan uses alternate or open tunings. An open tuning is a tuning where all the strings are tuned to a chord, whereas alternate tunings are other ways of altering the tuning.

Open Tunings

There were tuned instruments before the guitar’s ancestors. They were usually tuned in open fifths, usually with drone strings and one or two melody strings. The baroque lute was tuned as an open d minor chord (with additional bass strings). The main advantage of the fourths/third tuning that we use, is the possibility of creating simple fingering patterns for many different chords in the same position.

An obvious consequence of open tunings is that playing is more limited to the key to which the open strings are tuned. The benefits are quite simple chord shapes, at least for the basic chords, which makes it easier to do fancy things on top of those chords; furthermore, unless one produces the other chords by simply putting a barre across all the strings, there will usually be open, sounding strings in all chords, thus giving a handy set of fancy-chords-with-very-long-names.

The most common open tunings (and the only ones encountered in Dylan’s production) are open D, open E and open G.

Open D and E are basically the same tuning, only one tone apart. Open E gives a brighter sound, which may be preferable, but it has the nasty side-effect of also producing the sharp sound of a broken string more often, and of putting extra strain on the neck of the guitar, so it is recommended to tune to open D and use a capo on the 2nd fret. Open D/E is encountered in a number of the songs on Freewheelin’, and the entire Blood on the Tracks was originally recorded in this tuning. For a more thorough presentation of Dylan’s use of the open D/E tuning, I refer to my introductory notes on Blood on the Tracks.

Open D D A d f# a d’

Open E E B e g# b e’

Songs: Highway 51
In My Time Of Dying
Roll On John
Two Trains Running
Freewheelin’ (I shall be Free, Corrina Corrina and Oxford Town)
Gypsy Lou
Tomorrow is a Long Time
Standing On The Highway
Rambling Gambling Willie
Walkin’ Down the Line
Whatcha Gonna Do?
Ballad For A Friend
Blood On The Tracks (all the songs)

Open G is the most common slide guitar tuning, popular among delta blues players. Since Dylan was an old delta blues player himself in his early carreer, you’ll find a few songs in this tuning. The only song on this site, though, is I Was Young When I Left Home.

Open G D G d g b d’

Open A. Two songs uses a completely different tuning: the Freewheelin’ outtake Wichita, which I’ve written more extensively about in the blog, and One Too Many Mornings.

Open A

E A c# e a e’ (Wichita Blues) or

E A c# e a c#’ (One Too Many Mornings)

Alternate Tunings

Again, there are really only three different tunings to keep track of in Dylan’s catalogue: drop D, drop C and double drop D (to my knowledge he’s never played “drop dead”). They all involve the 6th and deepest string: in drop D, the 6th string is tuned one step down, and in drop C, two steps. In double drop D both the 1st and the 6th strings are tuned down to D.

Standard tuning  E A d g b e'
Drop D           D A d g b e'
Drop C           C A d g b e'
Double drop D    D A d g b d'
    

All these tunings have their own distinct sets of chords, always centering around the deepest bass tone. An example is the chord G. In drop D tuning, the central chord is D (000232). Thus the natural way to finger G is 020033. In drop C, on the other hand, the central chord is C (032010), and the most comfortable version of G is 220001. This is a G7 chord, and this is consequently the only tuning in which Dylan consistently uses the dominant 7th chord, which he usually shuns. Another instructive example is Desolation Row, where drop C is used on the album, drop D in the live shows of 1965/66.

The three tunings had their periods. Double drop D is a thing of the early days. Since the third in the D chord (on the first string) is gone, it’s a perfect tuning for modal, folky songs like Ballad of Hollis Brown or John Brown, or blues tunes like Rocks And Gravel, Motherless Children, West Texas and Quit Your Low Down Ways. Drop D is also favoured in the early days. It is not as insistently a D-ish tuning as double drop D — it is more versatile, used both as a folky, modal tuning as in Barbara Allen or Masters of War, and as a way of varying the sound of standard three-chord songs like Mr Tambourine Man. Drop C is the favoured tuning in 1965/66, both solo, with Robbie in hotel rooms and with the band on stage. It gives a very forceful fundament, thanks to the doubled C in the bottom.
The merit of all these tunings is the fuller sound they produce. This may be a need felt by a solo acoustic act, but in a band, there is a bass player to fulfill that function. Double drop D disappeared very early, and there are no drop C songs after the 1966 tour. But on two songs he has been faithful to drop D, throughout his carreer: “It’s alright ma” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”.

Songs

Double Drop D
Down the Highway
Ballad of Hollis Brown
John Brown
Rocks And Gravel
Motherless Children
West Texas
Quit Your Low Down Ways.

Drop D
Bob Dylan: Gospel Plow, See That My Grave is Kept Clean, Fixin’ to Die
Long Ago, Far Away
Freewheelin’: Masters of War, A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Handsome Molly
Seven Curses
Cuckoo Is A Pretty Bird
Barbara Allen
I Rode Out One Morning
James Alley Blues
Bringing it all Back Home: Mr Tambourine Man, It’s Alright Ma
Live 1966: Desolation Row, Tell me Momma
House Carpenter
World Gone Wrong: Broke Down Engine

Drop C
The Two Sisters (1960)
Bringing it all Back Home: It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Highway 61 Revisited: Desolation Row
Blonde on Blonde: 4th Time Around, Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, Absolutely Sweet Marie
Live 1966: Just Like a Woman
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Farewell Angelina
On A Rainy Afternoon/Does She Need Me?
What Kind Of Friend Is This?

Although he doesn’t use it much these days, many of the old songs use what I call “standard fingerpicking”. I don’t know if there is such a thing, but here is what I mean, as an example. (Chords: G and C. ‘h’ in the second measure means hammer-on)

  G   .   .   .     C/g .   .   .
|-3---------------|-----------3-----| ring finger
|-----------0-----|-0h1-------------| middle finger
|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-| index finger
|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---| thumb
|-----------------|-----------------| (thumb)
|-3-------3-------|-3-------3-------| thumb 

The variations are of course unlimited, but the main principle is as rock solid as the thumb ought to be: The thumb alternates between the bass strings, and the other fingers fill in.

For examples of different patterns, more or less fully written out, see the following files:

Girl of the North Country (several versions, fully written out)
Boots of Spanish Leather (same song, musically speaking)
Percy’s Song
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (basically simple, if it wasn’t for all the little details…)
Suze (The Cough Song)
Cocaine Blues
Barbara Allen (“tricky licks” department)
Rocks and Gravel
Seven Curses (quite similar to Rocks and Gravel)
Buckets of Rain (open E tuning)
Tomorrow is a Long Time (standard and open E tuning)