9. More chords: G, A and A7
Many folk songs can be accompanied with three basic chords: the tonic chord (often symbolized by the Roman number "I."), the subdominant ("IV.") and the dominant chord ("V."). In the key of D, the tonic chord is D-major, of course. The subdominant chord is G-major, and the dominant chord is A-major or – as we will learn soon – the A7 chord.
To build a G-major chord, we need the notes G-B-D (please note: in Germany and some other countries you write "H" instead of "B", so there you'd say: G-H-D. "B" in Germany usually stands for "Bb" in international music notation). Now on a five-string kantele we have a "G" and a "D" string, but no "B" string. So we can't build a complete chord. We have to mute the E-, the F#- and the A-string. I usually use my thumb to mute the A-string, my middle finger to mute the F#- and my ring finger to mute the E-string. So when we strum over all strings, only the G- and D-string will sound. Now if you use the kantele as an accompaniment instrument, you are adding your voice or a melody instrument. From time to time, luckily the "missing" note is in the melody of a song, and on these occasions the melody will "complete" the incomplete chord!
The third chord we need is the A and the A7 chord. For an A chord, we need A-C#-E. But on a five string kantele, we don't have the C# note. So once again, we have an incomplete chord. But when playing in the key of D, in most cases the chord "A7" sounds even more interesting than the chord "A".
Now in general, the affix "7" in a chord name means that the (minor) seventh note of the scale is added to the chord. For example, in D-major the 7th note is a C#. But for D7, we need the minor seventh – that is "C" instead of "C#". So for a complete D7 chord you'd need the notes D-F#-A-C. But now we are talking about the "A7" chord! In the A-scale, the minor seventh is "G", so the complete A7 chord consists of the notes A-C#-E-G. As I said before, we don't have the C# on our five-string kantele. But we do have a G-string! Therefore on most occasions when we play in the key of D and an A-major chord is required, we can play the A7 instead! And the good thing: The A7 chord is even easier to play than the A-major chord – since you only need two fingers instead of three!
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On the photo you can see how I put my fingers on the strings that have to be muted. My ring finger is on the D-string, and my index finger is on the F#-string.
That's why I prefer the "ring finger solution" for the D-major chord: It is very easy to change from D to A7!