I think you are right, it is most definitively a minor chord and it should be ii, not II

I must be learning something then! There's no way I would have picked up on this a couple months ago, and a couple months before that it would have been absolute gibberish.

Hopefully you guys can help me.

I'm learning chords in a pattern. I learned the c chords and did the pattern like this: RH: ceg, egc, gce, ceg LH: ceg, egc, gce, ceg.

Now I'm to add the E major. So I'm not sure I have this right.

so I would go RH: eg#a, g#ae, aeg#, eg#a

Um is that right?? I'm just inverting the Icord correct? So lost here HELP!

eg#b.

The inversions looked fine though.

LOL yes I meant b.

Thanks. It's my first time figuring out inversions on my own.

I was thinking, "I don't even need to go to the piano to know that would be one ugly sounding chord!"

That's great Becca, you will find that using inversions can be fun and smooths out somethings by not having to jump all over to play chord progressions. Maybe just moving two fingers instead of your whole hand to a new position.

Perhaps better to go to the piano though. By changing the B in the e major to an A instead (ie. E, G#, A) you've got the makings of an Amaj7. Just add a C# and you have the entire Amaj7. Move the notes around or spread them out. But, any way that you can find to play this chord, it is going to sound very hip and nice. Not ugly at all.

Of course, this is entirely off topic of the E major. Just pointing this out though, as sometimes what looks like it may be ugly on paper, is not that way at all.

I gotta say, without the C# in there, I'm still standing by my original conclusion

With the C#, that is one seriously awkward chord to play, for all inversions. At least under my fingers.

Thanks Ragdoll! That is exactly why my teacher is having me start to do inversions. I was having issues with my chord changes in Greensleeves. It's getting better now.

Greener, okay so if I have this right it's E, G#, A, C#?

These notes make up an Amaj7 in it's second inversion. If I saw this (Amaj7) in a score I would make sure I have A in my bass.

I may have complicating things. Sorry if I have.

All your inversions of the E major triad, including the notes E,G#,B are correct.

I was trying to point out that when we accidentally included the A, it is not necessarily going to turn it into an ugly chord, just a different chord and sound. We are very close to having an Amaj7, which is nice sounding chord.

A, C#, E, G# = Amaj7



OK try this:
Keep the E major triad, but add a C# in your right hand.

So, RH reading bottom up is E,G#,B,C#

Now put this over an A bass in your LH.

Unless I am loosing my mind (it is quite possible ) this is a nice sound.

It is a Amaj9.

Back to the Amaj7 though (drop the B).

Play LH A Bass, and play E, G#, C# in your right hand. Almost as nice as the Amaj9 but not as full.

Agree though, If you drop the nice notes and just keep the dissonant ones (G#,A) it is not so nice any more.

We're on the same page re: the sounds. When I said "awkward" I meant physically... none of the inversions of Amaj7 work well for my fingers.

One way you could think of it, is that you just need to add the immediate adjacent note below the root (of the major triad) to make the major 7. For example, for a Cmaj7 you could simply play the B and C together with your thumb of your RH. Or the F and E for Fmaj7. The other inversions you will need to work on, and yes, a little more awkward when the root and the major 7 are made up of black and white notes. But, only 4 notes in total required and you have 10 fingers. So shouldn't be so bad.

You will be coming across them.

A free version of the excellent text, A Jazz Improvisation Primer that discusses and explains some great jazz theory and also broaches how to approach beginning improvising in the jazz idiom: http://www.outsideshore.com/music/a-jazz-improvisation-primer/

Just saw this posted elsewhere on the forums. Another excellently cataloged (and very comprehensive) guide on everything from notation to scales to chords to figured bass to even transposition guides, counterpoint, and comprehensive musical history! Probably the single largest cataloged resource on the internet.

http://www.dolmetsch.com/theoryintro.htm

This next page is the best catalog/encyclopedia of scales I've ever seen that lists scale notes, scale intervals, as well as note-to-note intervals. Amazing! And it even helped me clear up a question of nomenclature regarding the different bebop scales.

http://www.dolmetsch.com/pianochords.htm



much thanks to pianoloverus