Chords

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Relative and Absolute Chord Names
Chord Diagram Groups
Arpeggiation

Relative and Absolute Chord Names

When you learn chords on the Tex-Mex accordion, you're learning finger patterns that can be applied to any Tex-Mex accordion in any key. All that is necessary is that you keep in mind the relative chord name and you easily transpose by changing instruments. For instance, if you apply the relative chord names I Maj - IV Maj - V Dom7 to the key of C, you get C - F - G7. If you apply this same relative chord change to an A-D-G tuned Tex-Mex accordion, you would get the chords D-G-A7.

The middle row of a Tex-Mex 3-row is the I row ("the One row") or home row . So here when we give relative chord names for the G-C-F Tex-Mex accordion, I is C, II is D, Eb is IIIb, etc. The G-C-F instrument is of course the perfect instrument on which to model this exercise: the home key is C, so those notes which are accidentals to the scale step system (e.g., I# IIIb, IV#, etc.) are also accidentals in their absolute note names (C#, Eb, F#, etc.).

The following table gives relative chord or note names and examples of their absolute equivalents on both a G-C-F Tex-Mex accordion and an F-Bb-Eb Tex-Mex accordion.

**Relative Notes and Absolute Equivalents**
C	C#/Db	D	D#/Eb	E	F	F#/Gb	G	G#/Ab	A	A#/Bb	B
I	I#/IIb	II	II#/IIIb	III	IV	IV#/Vb	V	V#/VIb	VI	VI#/VIIb	VII
Bb	B/Cb	C	C#/Db	D	Eb	E	F	F#/Gb	G	G#/Ab	A

Chord Diagram Groups

Below are links to images of chording patterns. In these images

Chords are given for press and draw.
All notes that may possibly be used for the chord are shown with no consideration of inversions. Thus, while Minor 7 chords are shown, Major 6 chords are not, since they are an inversion of the relative Minor 7.
Where a Major triad might have been given, a Dominant 7th chord is given instead if one is possible in the bellows direction. To form the major triad, leave out thechord's flatted VIIth tone.
Where a Minor triad might have been given, a Minor 7th chord is given instead if one is possible in the bellows direction. To form the major triad, leave out thechord's flatted VIIth tone.
The chords are listed both with their absolute name (e.g., CMaj7) and their relative name (e.g., I Maj7) relative to the I row, which is C on the G-C-F tuning.

You will of course wish to choose inversions of these collections of chordal tones appropriate to the melody of the piece you are playing.

I or C

Major
Minor

II or D

Major
Minor

III or E

Major
Minor

IV or F

Major
Minor

V or G

Major
Minor

VI or A

Major
Minor

VII or B

Major
Minor

Augmented Chords
Diminished Chords
Chords Rooted on Accidentals [I# IIIb IV# V# VIIb] (C# Eb F# G# Bb)

Arpeggiation

Due to the wet tuning of the instrument, many-voiced chords sound mushy. Although it is popular in the Norteño style to end a song with a chord splash, usually chords are played as arpeggios, frequently as repeating 16th-note runs, e.g., a C Major chord accompanying singing might fill a four-beat measure thusly:

C-E-G-C' | C-E-G-C' | C-E-G-C' | C-E-G-C'

Sometimes for flavor or irony, the minor third will be substituted for the root thusly:

Eb-E-G-C' | Eb-E-G-C' | Eb-E-G-C' | Eb-E-G-C'

The variety is nearly infinite. Experimenting with chord arpeggios and finding cute, novel patterns is a large part of using the instrument for accompaniment.

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Jacques Delaguerre