Making Chords

the really massively cool thing about understanding intervals, scales and chords in depth is that you are not bound by conventional fingerings....

you can easily create your own because you know what notes you need and how to find them on the neck...

example:
if you know the 4 basic barre chords based around the E, Em, A and Am shapes, then you can pretty much play anything anywhere [this is a generalisation simply to prove a point]

but what you may find is that when you move from one chord to another that the notes all leap from one part of the neck to another over a fair distance...
so you've done nothing wrong, but the tonal characteristics are different in different parts of the neck..
open strings generate the most trebble and the shorter the string length becomes the more rigid the strings becomes and so the notes get darker / warmer / more dull [depending upon how you view it in context]

knowing about the mechanics of chords and how to translate them onto the neck means that you can come up will voicings at will..
this is simply a matter of exprimentation when working out your new song [or your part in it as a guitarist..]

so if you don't want great leaps along the fingerboard, you simply create new fingerings in the same genral area of the neck, learn them [in the fingers] and then it simply becomes the way to play that song...

I do this often because the 'standard' fingerings are not always the nicest sounding choices.. they simply "do the job"...

so.. I could make a pretty sizeable list of fingerings for even a simple chord like C from one end of the neck to the other, with and without open strings...

the most important thing about being armed with all this knowledge is that it unlocks the neck for easier and more focused experimentation..
and this is the birthing place of creativity..

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Frank

7th chords

Previously we looked at triads, how tell spell major, minor and diminished triads.
Now we can take a look at notes beyond the 5th which provide more richness to the sound of the chord.
The basic rule is that the notes of a chord must 'stack' in 3rd intervals.
Note: There are obviously exceptions to the rule but we'll look at more exotic chords another time.
So getting back to the 'notes of chords stack in 3rd intervals' thing.
The interval between the root and a 3rd is obviously some sort of 3rd.
And the interval between a 3rd and a 5th is also some sort of 3rd.
Example: 3rd then 4th then 5th is still three notes apart making for a 3rd interval - including counting the one you start from
[Does this dodgy description make sense to you?]

So to recap, the triad is composed of a root, 3rd and 5th.
If the interval of the 3rd above the root is 2 tones then it is major, and if 1 1/2 tones it is then minor.
If the 5th interval is 3 1/2 tones then it is perfect, 3 tones is diminished and 4 tones is augmented.
Moving up from the 5th of the chord by a 3rd interval we arrive then at the 7th.
5th –> 6th –> 7th which you can think of as moving up three places starting from and including the 5th
7th chords are very important as you'll come to see in the future.
For now, we will consider that there are only two types of 7th interval:
the minor 7th interval is 5 tones [10 frets] above the root [you may find it easier to think of as 1 tone [2 frets] down from the octave]
the major 7th interval is 5 1/2 tones 11 frets] above the root [you may find it easier to think of as 1/2 tone [1 fret] down from the octave]

There are four basic types of '7th chord' produced by a major scale.
The names and spellings for these 'chords of the 7th' are as follows [where the hypothetical note 'X' is the root]:

X major 7 - this is a major triad with a major 7th added
so the spelling is – root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, major 7th.
It is written: X∆7 [the 'triangle shape' follow by the 7 means major 7th] and is spoken "X major seven".
For 'ease' of writing this chord type, most folks write it as X maj7

X minor 7 - this is a minor triad with a minor 7th added
so the spelling is - root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th.
It is written: Xm7 and is spoken "X minor seven".

X dominant 7 - this is a major triad with a minor 7th added
so the spelling is - root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, minor 7th.
It is written: X7 and is spoken "X seven".

X half diminished 7 - this is a diminished triad with a minor 7th added
so the spelling is - root, minor 3rd, diminished 5th, minor 7th.
It is written: Xm7b5, also Xm7-5 and also Xø7
It is spoken "X minor seven flat five" also "X half diminished seven".
Personally I prefer Xm7b5 as I think that it is more descriptive.

So, let's look at the scale of G major and go find all of these '7th' chords.
the key of G contains the notes: Tonic = G, 2ndd = A, 3rd = B, 4th = C, 5th = D, 6th = E, 7th = F#

chord 'I' as we know is tonic = G, 3rd = B, 5th = D, so the 7th is F#.
the triad is major and the 7th is 5 1/2 [11 frets] tones above the tonic [one semi-tone [1 fret] down from the octave] and is therefore a 'major 7th'.
So, the chord is G∆7 [G major 7]

If you recall looking at chord II in G, we found that it was Am where root = A, 3rd = C and the 5th = E
the 7th is therefore the note after the next one in the G major scale - the note is G [E -> F# -> G]
From A, the note G is 5 tones [10 frets] tones above the tonic [one tone [2 frets] down from the octave] and is therefore a 'minor 7th'.
We can now see that we have a minor triad with a minor 7th added on top.
So looking at the possibilities listed above, a minor triad with a minor 7thh is a minor 7 chord.
The chord is Am7.

Chord III is Bm [B, D, F#] so skip the next note [G] to find the 7th which is A.
The note 'A' is 5 tones above the root of B and is a minor 7th.
The chord is Bm7.

So far I've worked out the following chords in the key of G major:
chord I7 [G∆7],
chord II7 [Am7]
chord III7 [Bm7]

All that remains is to work out all of the other 7th chords in the key of G major [IV7, V7, VI7,VII7]

What are the 7th chords in the key of G major?

Note: to help you the notes in the key of G are:
G, A, B, C, D, E, F#

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Frank

and a bit later

major giant sized hint.....

we have the key of C..

C, D, E, F, G, A, B

chord VII is rooted on the note B

the triad is root.. 3rd... 5th....

so the notes are: B, D, F

the intervals are Root, minor 3rd, diminished 5th...

from the selction of chord types below, match the sequence of intervals and give your chord a name..

X major [written X] = root, major 3rd, perfect 5th
X minor [written Xm] = root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th
X major augmented 5th [written X aug5 or X #5] = root, major 3rd, augmented 5th
X diminished [written X dim or Xº] = root, minor 3rd, diminished 5th

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Frank

In the beginning

Here's a basic look at chords, how they relate to a key, how they're built and what are their names.
I have seen the term chord defined in two ways:
1 - a chord equates to 'more than one pitch sounding simultaneously' - so any two or more notes sounding together constitutes a 'chord'
2 - a chord equates to 3 or more notes sounding simultaneously.

I personally was taught the first definition but having looked through many sources, the second definition is more widely accepted
2 or more notes? 3 or more notes? It really is note that important and not worth the fuss of deep debate. The important thing is that when notes sound together the make chords – as opposed to a note sounding alone.

First we will look at 'triads' which are chords made up of three notes.
The three notes are a 'root', a '3rd', and a '5th'.
The root is the note from which the other notes are calculated.
The 3rd and the 5th provide the tonal characteristics of the chord and ultimately provide the chords 'name'
This is where we get back to using intervals again.
A 3rd can be either a minor or major interval from the root [no different from working out the 3rd interval in a scale]
A minor 3rd is 1 1/2 tones [3 frets] above the root
A major 3rd is 2 tones [4 frets] above the root
Obviously you can't play two notes at a time on a single string so this is purely a means of working out what the note value is.

A 5th can be either 'perfect' or 'imperfect'.
If it is perfect then it is 3 1/2 tones [7 frets] higher that the root.
If it is imperfect it can be either 'diminished' or 'augmented'. Think about what these words actually mean.
To diminish something is to reduce it.
So a diminished 5th is a semi tone flat from the perfect 5th which is therefore 3 tones above the root [6 frets].
Likewise, to augment something is to add to it so an augmented 5th is a semi tone higher than a perfect 5th which is 4 tones [8 frets].

A major key contains a 7 note scale – we've seen this already.
Each of the scale can be the 'root' note of a chord as well as simply a note in its own right.
This means that there are 7 chords in a specific key, each build upon the root of the notes from the scale.
Chords are numbered in 'roman' numerals.
So if you see:
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII - then these correspond to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc chord of a given key.
The name of a chord is determined by the note value of the root and the interval of the 3rd and the 5th.
A 3rd can be either minor or major and is therefore crucial to the name of the chord.
If the 5th is 'perfect' then it is considered to be pretty normal and is therefore not mentioned in the name - so you only describe 5ths if the are imperfect.

Let's work out a few of the chords in the key of G major - then all will become clear.
The 1st degree [note] in the key of G is, funnily enough - G
So the root of chord 'I' in the key of G is also G.
Next we need to find the 3rd of this 'G - something' chord.
The notes in the key of G major are: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#
We find the 3rd from the scale by counting up from the note that represents the root [including the root].

1st--2nd--3rd
G....A.....B
the 3rd is therefore the note B
by working out the distance of B from the root of G we can then figure out what type of 3rd it is [major or minor]
the interval turns out to be 4 frets higher than the root
from this we can now tell that it is a major 3rd
So far we have the chord 'G major - something' so now it's time to look at the 5th.
1st--2nd--3rd--4th--5th--6th--7th
G.....A.....B....C....D....E....F#
looking at the scale shown above and counting 5 notes from the root [including the root] we see that the 5th is the note D
we can now find out the interval between the root and the 5th
the note D is 7 frets higher than the root of G so it is 'perfect' and therefore will not be included in the name of the chord
We have now just calculated chord I [spoken: "chord one"] of the key of G
the chord is named 'G major' and when writing chord charts it is represented as G

1st--2nd--3rd--4th--5th--6th--7th
G.....A.....B....C....D....E....F#
Moving on, the 2nd degree of the G major scale is the note A so chord II will be 'A something'...
To find the 3rd of this 'A - something' chord we must go back to the scale by counting from the note that represents the root [in this case, from the note A]
1st--2nd--3rd
.A.....B......C
the 3rd is therefore the note C
by working out the distance of C from the root of A which happens to be 3 frets above the root, we can now tell that it is a minor 3rd.
So far we have the chord 'A minor something'. Time to look at the 5th.
1st--2nd--3rd--4th--5th--6th--7th
.A.....B....C.....D......E.....F#...G
and the 5th is the note E
we can now figure that the note is 7 frets higher than the root of A so it is 'perfect' and therefore will not be included in the name of the chord.
We have now just calculated chord II [spoken: "chord two"] of the key of G.
the chord is named 'A minor' and when writing chord charts it is represented as Am.
So, get the brain going and calculate the remaining chords that are diatonic to the key of G major.

To help you, here is a list of the names of different types of some triads and how they are 'spelt' [what their intervals are]
Another little tip - one of them you won't use but I'll let you find that out for yourself

X major [written X] = root, major 3rd, perfect 5th
X minor [written Xm] = root, minor 3rd, perfect 5th
X major augmented 5th [written X aug5 or X #5] = root, major 3rd, augmented 5th
X diminished [written X dim or Xº] = root, minor 3rd, diminished 5th

Lastly, usual stuff: applies - shout if you're stuck, confused or want a beer……..

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Frank