Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group descended from ancient Hebrews or Israelites whose traditional religion is Judaism, with which their language, culture and national identity are inextricably intertwined.
Are You at a Wedding or Bat Mitzvah Eagerly Eating Snacks When the Hava Nagila Begins to Play? Before long, an explosion of Hora Dancers takes over!
Basic Chords
Chords are groups of notes played together to produce an unique sound, such as chords. Guitars offer the unique capability of simultaneously playing multiple notes at the same time – thus creating chords which would otherwise be impossible on other instruments.
Basic three-note chords are known as triads. Their notes accord according to certain rules; you can see this clearly when viewing a chord diagram; numbers represent frets on a guitar while letters represent fingers placed over those frets; an “x” indicates muted strings while an “O” stands for open strings (notes not fretted).
Some guitar chords require adding an additional sixth or seventh note into their standard form in order to add tension and alter its sound, creating tension that changes its tone and the chord’s sound overall. A chord can often be differentiated when altered either by changing its third note or by adding an additional sixth; adding a sixth suspends modal qualities of a chord and can alter its sound accordingly.
Major Chords
Jewish music typically employs major chords. One exception is the Aeolian mode, often used when praying in minor. An example would be Hava Nagila being performed in E minor.
C G D chord progressions are the go-to chords in Jewish songs, echoing popular doo-wop progressions from the 50s as well as many modern popular Jewish songs such as Finally Here by Ari Goldwag and Smile by 8th Day.
Another frequent scale is the Phrygian dominant scale, sometimes referred to as Freygish scale and more technically as the Phrygian mode with two flat 2s and six flat 6s – known in western music theory as Harmonic minor mode 5 chord scale. It is used by Ashkenazi Jews from North Africa and Middle Eastern regions alike; for instance in Ahavah Rabbah scale and priestly blessing from Shabbat Musaf amidah services.
Minor Chords
Minor chords are an integral component of Jewish music, lending an exotic sound to melodies based on major scales that are familiar to Western listeners.
To create a minor chord, start with the root note of the chord (usually “G#”) and move four half steps up from there to reach its next note (such as B). For example: in G#m chord’s case it would start from G# at its root while B would become its next note up the scale.
Jewish composers frequently employ unique scales when creating Sephardic or Ashkenazi melodies, deepening spiritual messages through melodic and harmonic elements unique to Judaism and other religions.
Sus4 Chords
Sus chords play an integral part in Jewish songwriting. They are special triads which do not contain a third, so they do not resolve into major or minor chords like regular triads do; their delay creates interesting ambiguity which artists use creatively within musical phrases.
One popular way of using sus4 chords is with the Pedal Point technique, which involves playing different triads over a held bass note (or pedal tone) to form musical phrases. A classic example is Van Halen’s synth anthem Jump which incorporates several sus2 and sus4 voicings over an sustained bass note; The Police’s chord progression in Message in a Bottle also uses this approach, giving an impression of movement without ever really reaching its destination – the essence of sus chords! Although they don’t need to resolve, sus chords do have unique musical qualities which many artists love exploit.