PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows Displaying Scale / Chord Note Degrees

Hi everyone,

I have a feature request on behalf of people who think in terms of scale and chord degrees instead of note names. This is the defining concept of "moving-do" and "nashville notation", as opposed to the old classical method of "fixed-do". If you're not familiar with the concept of moving-do and scale degrees, please read my description below.

By thinking in terms of note degrees and "moving-do", the idea is that you should never need to memorize a scale shape or a chord shape, ever. All you need to know is (1) the shapes of intervals, and (2) the construction (some call this the "spelling") of each type of scale and chord. By knowing these two pieces of information, you can create endless variations of any chord/scale in existence all over the fretboard.

This method is outlined in many popular books like "The Chord Factory" and "Guitar Fretboard Workbook." Here are links to those books for your reference:
http://www.amazon.com/Chord-Factory-Build-Guitar-Dictionary/dp/0876390750
http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Fretboard-W...2697&sr=1-2

Here's a practical example:
Let's say you want to play a Lydian scale in the key of C. There are two traditional methods of figuring out how to play this scale:
(1) Memorize the scale shape by pure rote and memory. Painful, and takes a lot of time. This is typically the way that guitarists with no formal music training learn to play guitar.
(2) Memorize that the notes in the scale are C D E F# G A and B. Assuming that you have memorized the fretboard, you should know where these notes are and therefore be able to play the scale in any position. This is the method preferred mostly by pianists and classically-trained musicians. The problem with this method is that there is still a ton of memorization involved, since you have to memorize all the notes in all keys.

Well, when you think in terms of note degrees, this all becomes much simpler... at least for me. By knowing the construction of Lydian scale (1 2 3 #4 5 6 and 7), you can pick any C on the fretboard, call that note degree '1', and remember where degrees 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, and 7 are located relative to your starting note. This allows you to play that scale all over the fretboard.

Here's an example of what that looks like:
http://jguitar.com/scale?root=C&scale=Lydian&fret=0&labels=tone&notes=sharps
The numbers in the circles represent the scale degree of each note.

The key concept is that you memorize a single chromatic shape (1 b2 2 b3 3 4 tritone 5 b6 6 b7 7), which shows you the location of all of the intervals on the freboard. By remembering that one shape you can play any chord and any scale anywhere on the fretboard simply by knowing it's scale degree construction.

That chromatic shape is here: ( http://jguitar.com/scale?root=C&scale=Chromatic&fret=0&labels=tone&notes=sharps )

Another example would be chords. Let's take Am7b5 as an example. The traditional methods of figuring out how to play this chord are:
(1) Memorize a ton of chord shapes for Am7b5 and use the one closest to your current position. Painful!
(2) Understand that the notes in the chord are A C D# and G. Assuming that you have memorized the fretboard, you should know where these notes are and therefore be able to play the chord in any position. (Of course, you have to memorize the formula for each key).

If you think in terms of degrees, then you simply need to remember that the chord construction for a minor 7 flat 5 is ( 1 b3 b5 and b7 ). Then you can pick any A on the fretboard, call that '1', and remember where b3, b5, and b7 are. Then you can play the chord all over the fretboard.

Here's an example of what that looks like:
http://jguitar.com/chord?page=3&root=A&labels=tone&chord=Minor+7th+Flat+5th

This uses the same shape as I described above. Just memorize the chromatic shape once ( http://jguitar.com/scale?root=C&scale=Chromatic&fret=0&labels=tone&notes=sharps ), and you can play any note or scale anywhere.

OK, sorry for that long explanation... On to how I think this could be implemented into BIAB as a new feature.

Currently, BIAB displays the notes on the fretboard by note name only. This is great for pianists and classical musicians who think in terms of note names. However, if BIAB would optionally calculate the note degree (instead of the note name) on the fretboard display, that would be such a great learning tool for people like me who think in terms of degrees.

I know that I'm not alone, since a lot of fretboard calculators and chord/scale theory books use this method. Guitar Pro, for example, allows you to set it up so that all notes on the fretboard are shown as scale degrees instead of note names. Nashville notation wouldn't exist if people didn't think this way!

So, anyway, please give it some thought. I would appreciate comments if anybody has opinions about this idea.

By the way, I am still new to BIAB. If this feature already exists, I apologize sincerely. If that's the case, please let me know what menu options will allow me to achieve this!

Thanks,
TheSleeve

Welcome to the forum.

Did you look at Opt., Preferences, Display, then select Nashville Notation in the Chord Display pulldown?

Hi TheSleeve,

In addition to Matt's comments, there's also a shortcut for this. If you click on the "II" symbol, as shown in the image below, the chord display will cycle through the various formats (fixed do, moveable do, Nashville, Roman numerals, normal).



Regards,
Noel

What's a fretboard. I try not to fret anyways.

Hi, "thesleeve" and Welcome.

Quite obviously, there are those who don't get what it is that you want to see. While BiaB will indeed do Nashville Notation of the Chord on the Chord Grid, it does not change to the numeric identifiers in the Guitar Fretboard view, nor really in the Notation View as well (TAB is not what is asked for here).

Your post really belongs on the Band in a Box Wishlist Forum, where pgmusic developers are likely to find it and add it to the list of possible new features when that time comes around.

I would heartily recommend that you Copy your entire Post above and Paste it into a new entry in the BiaB Wishlist Forum. Good idea.


--Mac

I agree, BIAB does not show what The Sleeve asked for in his examples. All I asked him was, is he familiar with what BIAB does have for Nashville notation, so he would at least know what is possible now. His post seemed to indicate he did not know about that. Did anyone mention Tab?

Hi Matt and Noel,

Thanks a lot for your comments! I figured there was a way to show Nashville Notation in BIAB, but I just didn't know where to look. I'll give that a shot.

John - no need to worry about the fretboard view if your instrument doesn't have one!

Like Mac said, Nashville notation isn't quite what I was going for, but it's certainly a step in the right direction! I'd really like to have the fretboard showing the degrees for each note being played.

I guess there could be two ways to do this:
-Song mode, where the degrees are always shown relative to the song's key.
-Chord mode, where the degrees are always shown relative to the root of the current chord being played.

Both of them are equally educational and practically useful! (at least for guitarists who think like me!)

Thanks for the suggestion, Mac. I'll post this over in the Wishlist section.

I never saw a guitar in either my marching bands or bras band. Come to think of it it's missing in many cases.

I guess because you can get one for 39 bucks or 12 in Mexico everyone gets one, learns Stairway to Heaven and then leaves it then they go.

I have wanted to try it but the amount of arthritis in my hands is probably an indication I should take up opening paper packages tied up with strings NOT THE STUPID HARD CLEAR PLASTIC STUFF NO HUMAN CAN EVER OPEN WITH AN AXE. <\End Rant>