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HOW DO WE FORM CHORDS?

  • Write out the scale in two octaves.


  • For example, the chords derived from C in c major.


  • C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C-E-F-G-A-B-C.


  • Starting with the note name, or root, we take C and build by alternate steps.


  • C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.


  • The C major triad is C-E-G
A C maj chord is any combination of these notes on the fretboard. Any distinct combination will be referred to as a "voicing" of the chord.
  • The C major seventh chord is C-E-G-B


  • The C major ninth chord would be C-E-G-B-D


  • The C major eleventh chord would be C-E-G-B-D-F


  • The C major thirteenth chord would be C-E-G-B-D-F-A


  • Go back and assign a number to each note in the original writing of the two octave scale and you should see that the "number" associated with the chord is the same as the "number" of the final note.


  • For a Cma7 explodeddiagram across all positions.


HARMONIZED SCALE SYNOPSIS

Like the seven modes extracted from the diatonic scale, the seven chords extracted from that same scale are a very effective tool for mastering the entire fretboard. What we do is build chords from each of the scale degrees in the same manner that we built the C maj chord. Since the diatonic scale has only seven of a possible twelve notes between octaves, each chord type has separate names corresponding to the distinctive intervallic relations to the given root, based on the terms major(four frets) and minor(three frets) thirds. Major triads have Root-maj3-min3, and minor triads go R-min3-maj3.

Now if all of this sounds like gobbledygook, because you‘re new to guitar, suffice it to say major triads and chords are often said to sound "happy", and minor chords to sound "sad". Musical analysts loath this description, for reasons we can get into later. But if the generalization works for you, don‘t worry. Just look up the chords in a chord book and play them. Follow your instincts.
  • I: C major triad: C-E-G. C major7: C-E-G-B


  • II: D minor triad: D-F-A. D minor7: D-F-A-C


  • III: E minor triad: E-G-B. E minor7: E-G-B-D


  • IV: F major triad: F-A-C. F major7: F-A-C-E


  • V: G major triad: G-B-D. G dom7: G-B-D-F


  • VI:A minor triad: A-C-E. A minor7 A-C-E-G


  • VII: B half diminished triad: B-D-F. B minor7 b5: B-D-F-A


  • I‘ve included the seventh intervals so we can immediately can see that this process of superimposing by thirds generates a total of four different rudimentary types of seventh chords(the fifth is the non-diatonic full diminished chord). Each of these types is associated with the corresponding scale degrees in all of the twelve keys.


  • Roman numerals are often used in literature describing progression types within any key like I-IV-V and II-V-I


  • Some books use lower case letters to describe minors. I.e., ii-V-I instead of II-V-I.


  • The dominant seventh chord, associated with the fifth diatonic scale degree, is the seventh chord usually associated with blues and rock. I put both the G7 and B minor7-5 as the same color to draw your attention to the way the B-7-5 is an extension of the G7. If you jigsaw the two together you have all the notes of a G9 chord.


  • The terminology is confusing because analysis has always come after the fact of musical composition, and musical composition has cyclically pushed upon the boundary of categorization. The successful of these experiments have required that terminology undergo redefinition. Guitar literature has been particularly subject to this problem, because of the prevalence of guitar musical slang, which has generated multiple terms for the same meaning.


  • Right along with the equivocal terminology are equivalent symbols. Notice that Bmi7-5 can also be written as B-7-5. However, Bma7-5 will never be written as B+7-5, and it turns out that those two expressions will prove to have utterly different meanings in more advanced forms of chord analysis and representation.

MAJOR TRIAD GROUPINGS USING D MAJ AS EX. PLEASE NOTE WE ARE ONLY EMPLOYING MOVABLE THREE NOTE FORMS. SO THIS IS NOT WHAT THEY GIVE YOU IN BOOKS.
G-B-E
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B D# G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E
D-G-B
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B D# G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E
A-D-G
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B D# G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E
E-A-D
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B D# G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E
A-G-B-E
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B D# G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E

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C MAJOR CHORD TYPES WITH SEVENTHS

Again, when we harmonize a scale, we implement the same procedure, superimposing by thirds, as we did with the C major chord. However, now we do it systematically with each and every scale degree. This rigorous approach will prove to be analogous to how we will extract modes from the parent scale. We will start with each of the seventh chords, although one can do this with the ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, or simply the triads.

In order to illustrate how this is done, the first few charts will not use regular guitar chords, but will harmonize the scale by illustrating the voices as they would be built by thirds. It will be immediately clear why guitarists tend to avoid voicing chords in these "close" formations. They are close only for a keyboard player. However, they bear study, and some guitar virtuosi, like Johnny Smith, have employed them with magnificent results.

Each of the tables has more than one of these harmonizations, again because of three octave range and layout of the fingerboard. We associate each scale degree with a number. Cmaj7 is the I in C. Dmi7 is the II, Emi7 is the III, Fma7 is the IV, G7 is the V, Ami7 is the VI, and Bmi7-5 is the VII. It is worth noticing that as we superimpose more thirds from the upper parts of the scale, the chord qualities become more complex in their qualification. We have two kinds of seventh chords built from the major triads. Cma7 and Fma7 are one kind, but the G major triad, the fifth scale degree, provides us with the G7, (no maj), also known as the dominant chord.

It’s never to early to note that alternate chords, like alternate scale degrees, jigsaw together. All seven scale degrees can be understood in terms of an intervallic relation to a given scale degree.

C MAJ 7
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B Eb G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
Eb G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E
Dmi7
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B Eb G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E
Fmaj7
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B Eb G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# Eb
E A D G B E
G7
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B D# G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E
Bmi7-5
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
F Bb Eb Ab C F
F# B E A C# F#
G C F Bb D G
G# C# F# B Eb G#
A D G C E A
Bb Eb Ab Db F Bb
B E A D F# B
C F Bb Eb G C
C# F# B E G# C#
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E