From: LIVENGOOD.MIKE@A1GW.GENE.COM (Mike Livengood)
Subject: Lesson: Figure out your own chords
How to figure out chords for yourself.
I see hundreds of postings from people who want to know what a certain chord is,
or how to finger a chord that they saw in a tune. Well, we should approach this
differently and all figure out how to learn chords on our own....any chord!
Yes there are a hundred books on this topic that will take the subject much
further than I will in this posting (I recommend Chord Chemistry by Ted Green)
but the general knowledge and techniques will get us all started on chord
construction.
The first thing we need to do is construct a fretboard graphic like the one
below:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
E--F-]-F#]-G-]-G#]-A-]-A#]-B-]-C-]-C#]-D-]-D#]-E-]-F-]-F#]-G-]
B--C-]-C#]-D-]-D#]-E-]-F-]-F#]-G-]-G#]-A-]-A#]-B-]-C-]-C#]-D-]
G--G#]-A-]-A#]-B-]-C-]-C#]-D-]-D#]-E-]-F-]-F#]-G-]-G#]-A-]-A#]
D--D#]-E-]-F-]-F#]-G-]-G#]-A-]-A#]-B-]-C-]-C#]-D-]-D#]-E-]-F-]
A--A#]-B-]-C-]-C#]-D-]-D#]-E-]-F-]-F#]-G-]-G#]-A-]-A#]-B-]-C-]
E--F-]-F#]-G-]-G#]-A-]-A#]-B-]-C-]-C#]-D-]-D#]-E-]-F-]-F#]-G-]
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
This chart will not only help us memorize the fret board, but will also allow
us to construct any chord. There is another chart that is useful in chord
construction that I am reprinting without permission from the brilliant artisan
who posted it a while back. Here it is:
e|-M6-|-m7-|-M7-|--R-|-m2-|-M2-|-m3-|-M3-|-p4-|-b5-|-p5-|-m6-|-M6-|
B|-M3-|-p4-|-b5-|-p5-|-m6-|-M6-|-m7-|-M7-|--R-|-m2-|-M2-|-m3-|-M3-|
G|--R-|-m2-|-M2-|-m3-|-M3-|-p4-|-b5-|-p5-|-m6-|-M6-|-m7-|-M7-|--R-|
D|-p5-|-m6-|-M6-|-m7-|-M7-|--R-|-m2-|-M2-|-m3-|-M3-|-p4-|-b5-|-p5-|
A|-M2-|-m3-|-M3-|-p4-|-b5-|-p5-|-m6-|-M6-|-m7-|-M7-|--R-|-m2-|-M2-|
E|-M6-|-m7-|-M7-|--R-|-m2-|-M2-|-m3-|-M3-|-p4-|-b5-|-p5-|-m6-|-M6-|
This extremely forward-thinking chart will be very useful later on in this
lesson.
So now we have the tools, all we need now are the knowledge and the effort.
Chord construction is based on intervals of notes that are either dissonant or
consonant and that create a certain "compiled tone" when played together. A
chord has a minimum of three notes "triad" and can have as many as ten notes
(on a piano of course with one note for each finger, 11 if you use your nose).
A ten note chord would probably sound terrible, but that's not the point. We
can play a maximum of 6 notes on the guitar because of the six strings. I won't
get any more complicated than that anyway so we'll leave it at that.
I have to digress here in mentioning that even guitartists should learn their
main key signnatures. As follows:
C C-D-E-F-G-A-B
G G-A-B-C-D-E-F#
D D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#
A A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#
E E-F#-G-A#-B-C#-D#
B B-C#-D#-E-F#-G#-A#
F F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E
etc...
An easy way to memorize the main key signatures is remember that once we start
at "C" the next key is up a fifth (G), and the note that is sharped to make that
new key signature is the note right before the new root. For example (C-G = a
fifth...and F# is the note in the C major scale that is sharped to make the key
of G).Therefore a G-major scale is a C major scale with an F#.
This works for the sharped keys but is different for the flatted keys. If you
learn the keys above you're in good shape).
OK...OK...I know I said we didn't need any more tools. So, let's get on with it.
First let's try a few easy chords using our musical knowledge and the charts
above. Let's chart out the fingering for the following chords:(R-3-5)
C major C-E-G
D major D-F#-A
E major E-G#-B
A minor A-C-E
D minor D-F-A
E minor E-G-B
Let's start with C. First find the root note on the 6th (low E) string. Here it
is! 8th fret. Now find the third on the A string. Here it is! 7th fret. OK, now
add the fifth on the D string. Got it! 5th fret. So there's your triad; not a
convenient fingering mind you, but it is a C major chord.
Take that fingering and move everything up a string so that the C is fretted on
the A string third fret instead of the E string, the E is on the D string second
fret and the G is the open G string.
Hey?! Recognize this? We just figured out the C chord that we learned when we
first started playin guitar. OK let's add the C on the B string and the open
high E to finish out the chord. (Those notes are not in the name of the chord
because they are octaves of already named notes).
Heck that was fun...let's try it again with a D. Let's try using the open D
string as the root note. So we have our D, now let's find our F#. Well
gee...uh...there's one at the 11th fret, but I didn't really want to play up
there. Let's see. Well, I need an A as the fifth of the chord and there is one
really handy right there at the second fret of the G string. Since I need one
anyway, let's use that one. OK. so we have our root and our fifth, let's go find
the third now on the B string. Huh? seventh fret for the F# is going to be kind
of a tough stretch if I'm at the second fret. But I see that there is a real
easy F# right here at the second fret of the high E string that would be a
breeze. Let's use that one and add another D here at the third fret of the B
string just for fun.
Hey! Look a that! We just made the good old D chord! What we had to do to get
this fingering to work is to "invert" the third and the fifth. No big deal,
still the same notes.
Keep going with these exercises and you will find a lot of familiar chord
fingerings. You will probably also find ones that you didn't know were there.
There are all kinds of ways to finger the simple major and minor triads. And if
you skip strings you can get some even wilder ones. Try adding open strings to
other chords to complete the triad...cool. Start the chord with the fifth as the
bass note, how about the third?
Other three note chords are the Augmented chords. These are the familiar triads
with the fifth raised a half-step. These have a plus sign after them.
C+ C-E-G#
D+ D-F#-A#
E+ E-G#-B# (C)
A+ A-C-E# (F)
OK on to four note chords. We've done the triads now lets do the "Quadrads"...
The most common four note chords are the Dominant 7ths and the Major 7ths. The
major seventh is just a count of seven up from the root, while a Dominant 7th
has a flat seventh. See previous lessons for more info on sevenths.
OK, let's chart out some 7th chords.
C7 C-E-G-Bb
Cmaj7 C-E-G-B
D7 D-F#-A-C
Dmaj7 D-F#-A-C#
E7 E-G#-B-D
Emaj7 E-G#-B-D#
Am7 A-C-E-G
Dmin7 D-F-A-C
Emin7 E-G-B-D
Did you find these fingerings? (in TAB form)
C7 Cmaj7 Em7 Dm7 E7
e--3-----3-----0----0----1--------0--
B--5-----5-----0----3----1----7---0--
G--3-----4-or--0----0----2-or-7---4--
D--5-----5-----2----2----0----7---6--
A--3-----3-----3----2---------8---5--
E-------------(3)-------------8---0--
note completely
inverted chords
OK. Now we can add the 6th chords to our lexicon.
A 6th is a triad with a major 6th added on. Like this: Note that a minor 6th
chord still has a major 6th added on so it doesn't follow the minor key
signature.
C6 C-E-G-A
D6 D-F#-A-B
E6 E-G#-B-C#
Am6 A-C-E-F#
Dm6 D-F-A-B
Em6 E-G-B-C#
Flat 5 chords are just your normal everyday chords with the five of the chord
flatted a half step. We don't normally see triads with flat 5's but we do see
quadrads and tetrads with them.
C7-5 C-E-Gb-Bb
Cmaj7-5 C-E-Gb-B
D7-5 D-F#-Ab-C
Dmaj7-5 D-F#-Ab-C
E7-5 E-G#-Bb-D
Emaj7-5 E-G#-Bb-D#
Am7-5 A-C-Eb-G
Dmin7-5 D-F-Ab-C
Emin7-5 E-G-Bb-D
C6-5 C-E-Gb-A
Try some of these chords using either the first chart or the second chart. To
use the second chart just go to the root (R) on the string upon which you want
the chord to start (don't worry about the fret for the root, the chart is all
relative, not absolute) now find the M3 or m3 from that root, the p5 or b5, the
7 or b7, the 9 (2), the 11 (4), the 13 (6).
For example let's chart out an Amaj13 using the second chart.
Find the root on the low E string (A) (it's on the fourth fret space, remember,
the frets are relative) now find the M3 (C#) on the A string (one fret back).
Now find the p5...(B string third fret space), now the major 7 (high E string
third fret space), the major 9 (M2...G string third fret space) we'll leave out
the 11 and finish off with the M13 (M6 D string third fret space).
So the fingering for an Amaj13 in TAB form looks like this:
Amaj13 (A-C#-E-G#-B-F#)
E--4-
B--5-
G--4-
D--4-
A--4-
E--5-
Chords with different bass notes.
These are easy to understand, but not always easy to finger. A chord with a
different bass is written with a slash. Like G/B. This means a G chord with a B
in the bass.
If we see a C/G this means that an additional G note has been added to the C
chord (C-E-G) in the bass. This should not be confused with the second inversion
of the C triad which is just the three notes with the G as the lowest note
(G-C-E).
So here are some chord tables to use to figure out any chord using the graphs
above.
Major (M) R-3-5 C-E-G
Minor (m) R-b3-5 C-Eb-G
Suspended 2 (sus2) R-2-5 C-D-G
Suspended 4 (sus4) R-4-5 C-F-G
DOM7 (7) R-3-5-b7 C-E-G-Bb
Major 7 (maj7) R-3-5-7 C-E-G-B
Minor 7 (m7) R-b3-5-b7 C-Eb-G-Bb
Min/major7 m(maj7) R-b3-5-7 C-Eb-G-B
Major 6 (6) R-3-5-6 C-E-G-A
Minor 6 (m6) R-b3-5-6 C-Eb-G-A
DOM9 (9) R-3-5-b7-9 C-E-G-Bb-D
Maj9 (maj9) R-3-5-7-9 C-E-G-B-D
6/9 (6/9) R-3-5-6-9 C-E-G-A-B
Diminished (dim) R-b3-b5-bb7 C-Eb-Gb-A
DOM7+5 (7+5) R-3-#5-b7 C-E-G#-Bb
DOM7-5 (7-5) R-3-b5-b7 C-E-Gb-Bb
DOM9+5 (9+5) R-3-#5-b7-9 C-E-G#-Bb-D
DOM9-5 (9-5) R-3-b5-b7-9 C-E-Gb-Bb-D
C11 (11) R-5-b7-9-11 C-G-Bb-D-F
Cmaj11 (maj11) R-5-7-9-11 C-G-B-D-F
C13 (13) R-3-5-b7-9-13 C-E-G-Bb-D-A
Cmaj13 (maj13) R-3-5-7-9-13 C-E-G-B-D-A
So don't worry about which fingerings to use for each chord...figure out your
own. You'll rememember the chord much better, and you'll know what it is, how
it got there and what notes are in it .
Any comments? Corrections?
In rereading this I see that it is a bit confusing. Print out the charts or
put them into your word processor and bold the notes one by one as you diagram
the chords. Give it time. Soon you will be able to chart any chord just by
seeing the name.
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