Minor 3rd and Major 3rd intervals

[ricoche]

Hi there,

I am currently working on the Stable Funk Composition lesson and am trying to understand the difference and usage between minor 3rd and major 3rd intervals that Willie outlines in the Bullet Point Tips section.

I am very intrigued by how to incorporate minor 3rd and major 3rd interval chords into my comp and progression playing. Does anyone know which DVD or Lesson Willie covers this in more detail? I'm trying to find more info about the difference and how they are used in progressions more as passing chords. I got a pretty good idea with the Stable Funk lesson, but for some reason I am feeling I need a bit more info/examples to grasp.

Example: Dmin Chord

Minor 3rds ( 1.5 notes? )
Fmin
Abmin
Bmin
Back to Dmin

Major 3rds ( 2 whole notes )
F#min
Bbmin
Back to Dmin

Thanks!

Jim

[ricoche]

Another interesting point about these 3rd intervals is that it appears you can mix them. In Dmin if you play an F#min which is a major 3rd, Willie then goes down to a minor 3rd of that which is an Ebmin. That was pretty cool! Then he slides down a half step to Dmin again.

[williemyette]

Hey Jim,

Great post.

I am always thinking of direction and targets. So in my mind, if I am in Dmin, I know that going to an A7 leads me back to that Dmin nicely.

So then, I have a "blank slate" from which to choose. So the next step is to think about the type of motion. Step-wise motion will sound more smooth. Motion by a 4th/5th will sound common and motion by a 3rd sounds a bit different.

There are no set rules, but try this:

Start in a key, say C...play a C chord, Maj or min.

2) move down by 3rds (Maj or minor) using a constant structure....so keep them all Maj chords. This gives you C, Ab, F, Db.

So that was a Maj 3rd down to Ab, then minor down to F, then Maj down to Db.

3) try making some of those chords minor. Ab and F would sound nice as minors. Db, not so much, but try and see.

4) try using this technique but then go into diatonic chords...so

C, Ab, F-, E-, D-, G7 ...and so on

or maybe

C, Eb, Ab, G7

or

C, F-, Db, Gb, G7

post back and let me know how it goes, ok?