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chord formulas


crowekd

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yer basics...the four different kinds of triads (the basic chords)

 

1 3 5 - major

1 b3 5 - minor

1 b3 b5 - diminished

1 3 #5 - augmented

 

These are formed by stacking thirds (one kind of interval). There are two kinds of thirds...a major and a minor. Starting from any note (the root), a major third is formed by two whole steps (or if you prefer 4 half steps....i.e. four frets). A minor third is one half step less (3 frets or 3 half steps or 1 1/2 steps). Another way to think about it is all possible combinations of a major or minor third (guess what, there are four)

 

1 3 5 - major 3rd + minor 3rd

1 b3 5 - minor 3rd + major 3rd

1 b3 b5 - minor 3rd + minor 3rd

1 3 #5 - major 3rd + major 3rd

 

Take a major scale and stack the thirds it provides (i.e. skip every other note)

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 (9 is an octave higher than 1 and so you can start over at 1)

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

 

Let's use the C scale

 

1 3 5 - major triad - C E G - Cmaj (commonly abbreviated just C)

2 4 6 - minor triad - D F A - Dm

3 5 7 - minor triad - E G B - Em

4 6 8 - major triad - F A C - Fmaj (commonly abbreviated to just F)

5 7 9 - major triad - G B D - Gmaj (commonly abbreviated to just G)

6 8 10 - minor triad - A C E - Am

7 9 11 - diminished traid - B D E - Bdim

 

Note that the augmented triad doesn't occur within the diatonic scale however

 

1 3 #5 - augmented - D F A# - Daug (or D+ ...see "No Particular Place to Go" - Chuck Berry)

 

But you say, where do all those other interesing chords from? Keep stacking thirds on the basic triads

 

1 3 5 7 - major 7th - (stack on a major third) - C E G B = Cmaj7

1 3 5 b7 - dominant 7th (commonly just 7th ) - (stack on a minor third) - C E G Bb - Cdom7 or just C7

1 b3 5 b7 - minor 7th - (stack on a minor third) - C Eb G Bb - Cmi7

1 b3 b5 bb7 - diminished 7th (stack on a minor third) - C Eb Gb A

1 b3 b5 b7 - minor 7th flat 5th (stack on a major third) - C Eb Gb Bb

 

Going diatonic on the major scale again

 

1 3 5 7 - major 7th - C E G B = Cmaj7

2 4 6 8 - minor 7th - D F A C = Dm7

3 5 7 9 - minor 7th - E G B E = Em7

4 6 8 10 - major 7th - F A C E = Fmaj7

5 7 9 11 - dominant 7th - G B D F = Gdom7 (commonly abbreviated G7)

6 8 10 12 - minor7 - A C E G = Am7

7 9 11 13 - minor7 flat 5th - B D F A = Bm7b5

 

Want to keep going...stack more thirds for 9th, 11ths, 13ths

 

1 3 5 b7 9 (stack on a major third) - dom9th - C E G Bb D = Cdom9 (commonly abbreviated C9)

 

As you can see there are many ways to stack them thirds. The discerning among you will note that we've left out some important tones...Where are the 2nds 4ths and 6ths. For starters, the 9th, 11ths, and 13ths include these albeit an octave higher (2nd, 4th, and 6th respectively) but really not what we mean.

 

1 3 5 6 - major 6th chord - C E G A (Cmaj6 commonly abbreviated C6)

1 2 5 - suspended 2nd - C D G (Csus2 commonly)

1 4 5 - suspended 4th - C F G(Csus4 or sometimes just Csus)

1 3 5 9 - major add9th - C E G D (Cadd9)

1 3 5 b7 #9 - dominant 7th #9th (aka the Hendrix chord) - C E G Bb D#

 

The sus chords leave out the third (which gives the chord much of it's definition) in favour of the 2nd or 4th. In other words the 3rd is "suspended" because it tends to create tension and wants to resolve back to the 3rd (but not always !). The add 9th is alot like the sus2...try playing the sus2 with the 2nd an octave higher for 1 5 9...Andy Summers made a career out of this with The Police ("Message in a Bottle", "Every Breath You Take").

 

Those are the basics.

 

For a great book on chords, their construction, sequences, and application see a book called

 

"How to Write Songs on Guitar" by Rikky Rooksby Balafon Books 2000

 

It isn't just about songwriting but covers a very readable analysis of song construction by breaking down the chords and chord sequences. It covers the defining chord sequences for a thousand songs from all genres.

 

Doug

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