Simpedia

Stephen R., California

Maybe say they’re extensions of IV and V., Different shapes for the RH, but the LH is in the IV and V positions and we’re building off of that They’re technically 9th chords.

Joanna D., Australia

I thought it was just so you know when to play which RH chord as the LH runs through the I IV V positions.

Jeff O., Massachusetts

They are F9 and G9. SM has no “triangle” based diagram of this chord (like the diagrams in the Accompaniment program), though it is fairly common in both pop and jazz. You could design one, though, with arrows going both up and down a whole step from the thumb (bottom left corner of the triangle).

Heidi M., Canada

I found it helpful to think of I IV and V as variables (like in calculus) so whatever the I IV or V chord is, I will use it. But many people don’t like algebra so my own little trick would not be ideal for everyone.

Mark M., New York

It’s worth noting that this sort of thing happened even earlier, with Bishop also having IV and V chords that didn’t simply move a I chord over however much. One simple way to answer this questions for all these songs is to say that I IV and V are about how things function or sound or feel. And sometimes that goes along with what seems physically or visually obvious, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Rebecca G., Colorado

I’ve kept it really simple when students are at that point by telling them, “These are versions of IV (F) and V (G) chords; they just don’t look the same as the IV and V chords you play in Jackson Blues”.

Jan D., Ohio

My students ask me about the Bishop Street Blues and CAGE chords all the time, especially teenagers and adults. Younger students don’t ask as often. I have had one of us play the root position C major chord that they learned in Jackson Blues and the other play either the Bishop Street Blues or the CAGE chord along with the LH fifth at the same time. The I CAGE Chord will work without the LH.

Then we look for the notes of the root position chord in the other chord (both hands). Once they discover the root, third, and fifth are just in different places, they don’t really care what the other notes are, most of the time. Those just make a bigger, “fancier” chord. And they don’t usually care to go past the I chord – they just trust that the others work the same way.

This doesn’t work for explaining the Bishop Street Blues chords – I would stick with explaining the root, third, and fifth (or bottom, middle, and top notes) are split between both hands if they ask, but by the time a student learns the CAGE chords, they have already learned 7th chords. Mine have already learned the Honey Dew variation with finger 2 added to each chord even though they don’t know the name of that type of chord yet.

Start with the IV F major chord, move thumb down to the 7th, add finger 2 for the 9th, and the LH covers the root F that was lost in the RH when the thumb moved to the 7th – that is your IV CAGE chord and you go through the same process for the V CAGE chord, I haven’t had any students not understand how these are IV and V chords when they go through this process using concepts that have already been introduced.

Mark M., New York

It depends on what we mean by version. If by version we mean voicing, it’s fine. And we really are teaching voicings throughout the SM program. A voicing of a chord means you’re allowed to rearrange and/or eliminate notes. In this sense, the Bishop IV is a version of a IV or F (though not a version of the plain IV-major or F-major) and the Bishop V is a version of a V or G (though not a version of the plain V-major or G-major). Strictly, yes, IV and V may refer to the plain major chords. But it’s okay to use I-IV-V in a broader sense without worrying about what specific chord types are being used for each one of the three of them.

Bishop I is a 9th chord in the version taught in the B&I program — Bishop IV is a 13th chord as taught in Accompaniment 1 — Bishop V is a 7th chord as taught in Accompaniment 1. Whether/when it seems appropriate to point any of this out to anyone is up to you based on what you’ve already covered with them.

Cate R., Australia

I get them to break down the chord in both hands for their very own “aha” moment.

Maureen K., California

It might be worth noting that these I IV and V chord voicings have been used since the time of early blues. LH is a classic 12-bar boogie woogie pattern. RH is classic blues chord shapes. And those early guys didn’t analyze them or know they were 9th chords; they just like the sound of them and the feel under their hands. Like we teach them in SM.