B Major chord

Hello all, I'm not understanding why the B major chord is named B major and not F#? The root note for the B Major is F#, and I was under the impression that we are guided by that in determining a chord's name.

I'm not too stoked on the instructor not mentioning this at all in the video, so any feedback would be appreciated.

The root note of a B major chord is the B, the F# is the fifth of the chord, if the F# is the lowest in tone in the voicing of the chord then that is still the fifth of the B chord and not the root, it is only a B major chord in what is called the second inversion;

root position B major chord is B D# F#

first inversion B major chord is D# F# B

and second inversion is F# B D#

These are all B major chords and B will always be the root.

Hope you understand it better now?

Superb concise explanation and clarification Herman.

Thanks...So the first note in a chord is not the root?

Clearly I'm new to any theory, and clearly I don't know what I'm talking about, lol.

The lowest note in the chord is not always the root but it can be so in many voicings. Voicings are the way you can form the chord with your fingers and for most chords there are 5 different voicings all over the first twelve frets of the guitar which are repeated from fret 13 on.

just to confuse further F# B D# is a root 4th and 6th of an F# scale

as this is an inversion of a Bmaj would it always be called as a Bmaj voicing rather than some esoteric name for an F# chord ?

This is also a B major chord, there are no chords made up out of a root, 4th and sixth notes.

there is now.

F# sus 4 add6 implied

it's inversion is very similar to a B maj

did see someone somewhere stacking 4ths

So when it's described as B/F# does that mean it is the B maj using the F# inversion ?

Originally Posted by: ddiddler

there is now.

F# sus 4 add6 implied[/quote][p]Close! If you are going to call the F# the root, then it's F# sus4 add6 (no5th). Because the 3rd & 5th is always implied you always need to be clear if they've been replaced (sus4 for the 3rd), or omitted (5th).

So, while pretty uncommon, that is indeed one possible chord name for that group of notes. It's also a B in first inversion. Also called a B/F#.

For that matter you could call it a D# minor flat6th (no 5th).

To add even more confusion, you could also call it a G# minor 7th (no root)!

So how do you decide which one? :)

Any group of notes can be called a variety of chord names by reference to any other musical alphabet letter.

1. Pick a root note. No, it doesn't even have to be one of the notes in the chord!

2. Identify the interval distance from the root note to each note in the chord.

3. Label each interval distance.

4. Build the chord name.

In this thread we've seen how these notes: B, D#, F#. Can result in a variety of chord names. So, which one is best?!

The best name for any chord is the most appropriate for the musical context. We use the name that helps us relate that chord to how it's being used.

So, for most purposes that's going to be a B major chord, specifically in 2nd inversion. After all, it's the most efficient & conceptually clear way to label it.

The only reason to call it an F# is if the music is consistently in F# and that chord is maybe a quick passing chord in the middle of a bunch of F# notes & chords. For example:

|-----------------------------------|

|--2---2---4---2---2-------------|

|--2---4---4---4---2-------------|

|--4---4---4---4---4-------------|

|-----------------------------------|

|-----------------------------------|

Here we have a lot of motion around an F# minor chord. So, it might make sense to call it an F# minor, the F# sus4, F# sus4 add6 (no5th).

That 3rd chord is still a B major, but since everything else is all about F#, it's okay to use that more complex name in this musical context.

It could also be a D# minor flat6 (no 5th) if found in this musical context.

|-----------------------------------|

|-----------------------------------|

|--3---4---3---4---3-------------|

|--4---4---4---4---4-------------|

|--6---6---6---6---6-------------|

|-----------------------------------|

Here we clearly have just a D# minor chord with a little ornamental motion with the 5th moving to minor 6th & back. Again, that 2nd chord is a B major, but it's okay to use the more complex name because it really does point to what is happening in the music.

And in this example:

|-----------------------------------|

|-------4-------4------------------|

|--4---4---4---4---4-------------|

|--4---4---4---4---4-------------|

|--6--------6-------6-------------|

|-----------------------------------|

Imagine we have a bass guitar playing a G# all the time along with that! Clearly we are just playing the upper part of a G# minor 7 chord along with the bass holding down the root. This sort of thing happens quite a bit in jazz & R&B.

So, we can name chords in a variety of ways! But it's always best to use the clearest, most efficient, unless there is a musica reason to use some more complex name.

[quote=ddiddler]So when it's described as B/F# does that mean it is the B maj using the F# inversion ?

Yes, the slash indicates that the 1st letter is the chord name & the letter after the slash is the lowest note in the voicing, the bass note.

So, B/F# is synonymous with B major in 2nd inversion. 2 names for the same chord.

Thanks Christopher

very very slowly getting there.

Originally Posted by: ddiddler

Thanks Christopher

very very slowly getting there.

You're welcome!