I’ve been doing this kind of chord reference chart for the mountain dulcimer since about 1975, and I’m still trying to figure out the best way to render them on the web:
These charts go along with a little composition project we’re doing currently. I asked my newsletter subscribers if anyone wanted to do their own version of my Light Into Darkness and Tapping at the Edge of Paradise compositions, and there was a very healthy response. So here are the reference charts in the order that you play the chords.
Jerry can u tell me how to read and use this chart. The “R” is confusing me. Thanks. Sandra Stewart
Hi Sandra – thanks for asking about the charts. The R is just short for “Root” which is also the 1st degree of the chord. The root is also the name of the chord. So I always like to give two types of charts:
1. Charts showing the actual pitches or notes. So for a D chord, you have D, F#, and A. Good information to have.
2. Charts showing what chord ingredient each note is. For a D chord, Root (R) = D, 3rd = F#, and 5th = A. This will come in very handy later when you are interested in trying different chord inversions. This happens a lot when you are doing chord scales: many of the chords are in some inversion (meaning they don’t have the Root in the bass)
Hope this helps some!