The archive gathers together the posts about tuning chords.
Do you want to know how to tune chords better?
The term does not come from the word cord (i.e., string). Rather, it comes from the Middle English word cord, which means accord. In other words, the notes in a harmony are in accord, meaning they work well together.
Likewise, the term harmony, a synonym of chord, also carries the idea of notes that work well together. Therefore, harmony remains a branch of music theory that deals with how notes combine to create consonant and dissonant groupings.
The notes in a harmony can be played one after the other. However, most often harmony deals with notes that happen at the same time.
When a chord gets played as a block, it remains sensitive to mistuning. Therein lies the problem with harmony, it can be tricky to tune.
Equal temperament remains the standard tuning for instruments like the piano, organ, guitar, and xylophone. It makes compromises in the harmonies in order to keep the total number of notes to a workable amount.
Equal temperament could be thought of as a well temperament that spreads the tuning errors evenly across the whole tuning system. It has the advantage that none of the chords sound really bad. Also, all of the scales remain usable.
However, the equal tempered major thirds are just spitting distance from being out of tune.
A new tuning system, called Supplemented Equal Temperament, creates an enhanced version of equal temperament that has better sounding chords.
Many of the following posts talk about how to tune harmonies using Supplemented Equal Temperament, while other posts deal with singing harmonies in tune.
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
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Have you ever wondered what you could do to better sing in tune? Knowledge is power. Read more to find out how vibrato impacts singing in tune. (Also, the post uses a video of Bohemian Rhapsody to illustrate the main point.) Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Are you tired of your band sounding out of tune? Can’t get the classic rock sound when jamming with your group? Read more to learn how to jam like a rock star with open E tuning. You will also learn the song “Gimme Shelter.” Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Have you ever listened to a chord and couldn’t pick out the notes? Or maybe you’ve tried to hear the inner parts, but couldn’t? If you want to harmonize in tune, you need to be able to hear the parts. Read more to learn how to hear the notes when harmonizing. Estimated reading time 6 minutes.
Do you want to capture the sound of 70s rock guitar? Amp settings, effects, pickups, and strings all play a role in crafting your guitar sound. Nevertheless, the tuning you choose remains an important factor in your guitar sound that you might have overlooked. You will also learn the song “Brown Sugar.” Read more to learn how to sound like a rock star with open G tuning. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Have you ever felt embarrassed because someone said you sang or played out of tune? Does harmonizing seem like a puzzle you can’t solve? Knowledge is power. I will show you how harmony and melody tune differently, and how it impacts singing and playing in tune. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Have you had a hard time getting the sound of your favorite rock guitarist? Have you ever felt frustrated that the guitar sounds out of tune? In the post, “Tune Like a Rock Star,” we talked about how Keith Richards tunes his guitar without holding down any frets. Today, you will play an 80s rock guitar style that works well with this special open tuning. Read more to learn how to play like a rock star with open G tuning. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Don’t you think kids need to develop harmonizing skills too? Yes! Does “Harmony Singing Examples for Children” have to be limited to children only? No! However, children especially need good harmonic sound models to train their ears to hear how well-tuned harmony should sound. The post’s sound tracks contain specially tuned sing-along songs that balance harmonic and melodic tuning. Thus, they help develop a cappella level intonation. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Want to be able to sing like your favorite vocal group? Today we will get to the heart of our ear training exercises. Singing with the sing-along sound tracks fosters a cappella level vocal tuning. Also, the post talks about vocal air flow. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Do you want to learn how to harmonize in tune? We will discuss getting a strong vocal tone as we continue to harmonize with sing-along songs. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Feel embarrassed about singing out of tune? “Singing Exercises with Harmony’s” sing-along song tracks makes it easy to learn how to harmonize. The post also talks about what to listen for when harmonizing.