Chord Formulas

( ) = OPTIONAL NOTE

MAJOR
Chord Type Major Added Fourth Sixth Six Nine Major 7th Major Ninth Major Eleventh Symbol M, Maj add4 6 6/9 Maj7 Maj9 Maj11 Formula 1-3-5 1-3-4-5 1-3-5-6 1-3-5-6-9 1-3-5-7 1-3-5-7-9 1-3-5-7- (9)-11

Major Thirteenth Maj13 1-3-5-7-(9)-(11)-13 Major seven Maj7#11 sharp eleventh Major Flat Five 1-3-5-7- #11 1-3-b5

MINOR
Chord Type Minor Minor added fourth Minor sixth Minor seventh Minor added ninth Minor six add nine Minor ninth Minor eleventh Minor thirteenth Minor/Major seventh Minor/Major ninth Symbol m madd4 m6 m7 madd9 m6/9 m9 m11 m13 m/Maj7 m/Maj9 Formula 1-b3-5 1-b3-4-5 1-b3-5-6 1-b3-5-b7 1-b3-5-9 1-b3-5-6-9 1-b3-5-b7-9 1-b3-5-b7-(9)-11 1-b3-5-b7-(9)-(11)-13 1-b3-5-7 1-b3-5-7-9 1-b3-5-7-(9)-11 1-b3-b5-b7

Minor/Major eleventh m/Maj11 Minor seven flat fifth m7-5 or

Minor/Major thirteenth m/Maj13 1-b3-5-7-(9)-(11)-13

DOMINANT
Chord Type Seventh Ninth Eleventh Thirteenth Seven sharp five Seven flat five Seven flat ninth Seven sharp ninth Nine sharp five Nine flat five Seven sharp five flat nine Seven flat five sharp nine Seven flat five flat nine Seven sharp eleven Symbol 7 9 11 13 7#5 7b5 7b9 7#9 9#5 9b5 7#5b9 7b5#9 7b5b9 7#11 Formula 1-3-5-b7 1-3-5-b7-9 1-(3)-5-b7-(9)-11 1-3-5-b7-(9)-(11)-13 1-3-#5-b7 1-3-b5-b7 1-3-5-b7-b9 1-3-5-b7-#9 1-3-#5-b7-9 1-3-b5-b7-9 1-3-#5-b7-#9 1-3-#5-b7-b9 1-3-b5-b7-#9 1-3-b5-b7-b9 1-3-5-b7-#11

Seven sharp five sharp nine 7#5#9

Symmetrical
Diminished Augmented dim ( ) aug (+) 1-b3-b5 1-3-#5 Diminished Seventh dim7 (7) 1-b3-b5-bb7

Miscellaneous
This section contains diadic "fifth" (2 note 'chords'), the "Sus" chords, and the #11. A #11 contains a perfect fifth as well as a sharp eleven, (which is the same note as a flat five but an octave higher). These chords do not have a Major or Minor tonality, since there is no 3rd. However the #11 chord does have a Lydian sound. Chord Type Symbol Formula Fifth 5 1-5 Flat Fifth Suspended Fourth Suspended Second Sharp Eleven -5 sus4 sus2 #11 1-b5 1-4-5 1-2(9)-5 1-5-#11

Easy Chord Construction Formula

Memorize Formulas, Not Chords!

It is not necessary to memorize hundreds of chords. All you need to do is to learn the formula for making each chord type, and create the chord needed using the appropriate formula. This saves brain power from being wasted on unnecessary effort. It also allows gives you the true understanding of chord-construction, so if you later want to modify the chord, (make inversions) you will know what you are doing.
You Don't Need to Know All Your Scales!

The way chords are usually taught are by first introducing scales. It is typically explained that a minor chord will use the 1, b3 (flat 3rd) and 5. (This terminology refers to the 1st, 3rd, and 5th degree of the scale.) A diminished chord will use the 1, b3 and b5. The reason this method is so slow to learn and to apply is that the person must first be fluent in all twelve major and minor scales! It's not that this is bad, it's just that it is NOT NECESSARY in order to play chords! Steps Make Thirds Steps make thirds and thirds make chords. Before you can understand chords, you should first understand thirds. The half step is the interval we will use to make thirds. Half steps are the smallest distance between any two notes. When you play all the half steps it is called the chromatic scale. It doesn't matter if the notes are black or

white. For example, the distance between C and C# is a half step. E to F is also a half step. The following formulas explain how to make thirds: 3 half steps = minor third (m3) 4 half steps = major third (M3) Thirds Drill Practice making minor and major thirds on the keyboard. Select any note at random and then count three half steps higher to make a minor third and four half steps higher to make a major third. Practice making 12 minor thirds and 12 major thirds, starting on each note of the chromatic scale. This drill may take between one day and several weeks to master before you feel comfortable. Do not go on until you feel comfortable at making major and minor thirds. In fact, each of the following steps is built on the previous. Try to master each step before going on. Thirds Make Chords Now you are ready to learn about how chords are made. When you stack thirds together, a chord is created. The chords are always built from left to right on the keyboard. The name of the chord is based on the first note of the chord which is called the root. A chord is technically defined as 3 or more notes arranged by thirds. A triad is a chord with only three notes.

Chord Formulas There are four basic triad chords. All more advanced chords are built on these. So, it is crucial that you understand the following formulas before you try to make more complex chords: M3 + m3 = Major Triad m3 + M3 = Minor Triad m3 + m3 = Diminished Triad M3 + M3 = Augmented Triad Chord Drill On every note of the chromatic scale, ascending and descending, build the following chords: Major, Minor, Diminished, Augmented, Major in root position in with any fingers, one hand at a time. Apply the above formulas, stacking thirds on top of one another to create each chord. Say the name of each chord before you play it. For example: Say C Major then play it Say C Minor then play it Say C Diminished then play it Say C Augmented then play it Say C Major then play it Then do the same on C#, and continue to C, one octave higher. Then descend. Identify the chords which start on the black notes by their sharp names going up and by their flat names going down. This will help you recognize them either

way and become familiar with them. Soon, you may notice a pattern of changes as you go from one chord to the next. For example, from major to minor, the middle note of the chord moves down by half step. The reason we return to the Major chord at the end of each cycle is so that it is easier to go to the next key. Learn the Chord Symbols If Eb is our generic chord, the symbols for each triad would look like this: Eb Major = Eb Eb Minor = Ebmin or Ebm or EbEb Diminished = Ebdim or Eb Eb Augmented = Ebaug or Eb+ Play Songs Using Chords After you have become familiar with basic triads, you are ready to actually play the chords as they occur in songs. Get a songbook or a fake book and notice above the musical notation are chord symbols. Start playing these chords by their symbols as they occur in the music. If some of the chords in the music have more advanced symbols like 7 or 9, for now, just delete this part of the symbol and play the elements that you currently know how to build. For example, if the chord symbol says Cm9, just play C minor. Inversion Drill

Sometimes, chords sound better when you play the notes of the chord in a different order than the order in which they were created. The original order is called root position (For example: a C chord contains the individual notes, C-E-G.) If you take the lowest note (C) and place it one octave higher, you end up with first inversion (E-G-C.) If you take the new lowest note (E) and place it one octave higher, you end up with second inversion (G-C-E). Play the following sequence on all major and minor triads, for two octaves ascending and descending: Root-1st-2nd-Root-1st-2nd-Root. (Then reverse) Seventh Chord Formulas Most common 7th chords: M3 + m3 (Major Triad) + M3 = Major Seven Ebmaj7 M3 + m3 (Major Triad) + m3 = Seven Eb7 m3 + M3 (Minor Triad) + m3 = Minor Seven Ebmin7, Ebm7, Eb-7 m3 + m3 (Diminished Triad) + m3 = Diminished Seven Ebdim7, Eb7

http://www.guitarlessonworld.com/lessons/dadgad.htm http://truefire.com/blog/guitar-lessons/secrets-dadgad-opentuning/ http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/dadgad.htm http://www.synesthesiac.org/article/dadgad-chords-andscales http://www.playdadgad.com/dadgad/Scales_Mixolydian.htm