StringDancer_Chord_Book.

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by Jeff Foster
~~ Guitarist and Webmaster of StringDancer.com ~~

Chords are among the most basic components of all the songs we hear. Armed
with nothing more than a handful of chords and a melody in their heads, songwriters
since the beginning of time have been spinning their tunes. Chords are also the
foundation supporting every instrumental masterpiece ever written.

A series of different chords come together in what we call a progression, and the
particular arrangement of chords create the melodic possibilities of the tune. Often
a songwriter will start with a series of chords, explore the melodic alternatives resulting
from the progression, and eventually settles on a melody for the song. Other times a
songwriter will have a melody in mind, and explores various chord progressions,
looking for a particular sequence of chords that sounds good behind the melody.

Chords can be very simple, with as few as two or three notes. A 3-tone chord is
called a triad. Standard guitar chords often utilize octaves of notes already used, so a
full 6-string chord may still involve only three pitch names, each pitch doubled an
octave higher or lower. There are two primary forms of triads, the major and minor,
which can be extended by adding other notes, to the point where up to six distinct
notes can be included in a guitar chord.

While by no means exhaustive, this chord book should give beginning guitarists a
handle on the most commonly-used guitar chords (plus a little theory). It covers
simple open chords, the more difficult but extremely versatile movable barre chords, as
well as the simplest of all chords, power chords, used a great deal in rock and blues.

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Reading Chord Diagrams

Chord diagrams are simple graphic representations of how chords
"look" on the guitar. In the example on the left, the vertical lines
represent the strings, and the horizontal lines represent the frets. The
dots indicate where your fingers are to be placed to produce the
chord.

The numbers or symbols between the chord name and the top of each string indicates
the finger to use for the note on that string:

1 = index
2 = middle
3 = ring
4 = little
O = open (not fingered)
X = closed (not played)

You will notice that most of these dots are black, but that some are red, and those
chords without red dots have a small blue underline on one of the open (unfingered)
strings. This red indicates the root of the chord -- in other words, if the chord is C major,
the red dot is a "C" note; if the chord is A minor, the red underlined open fifth string is
an "A" note.

Identifying the root of the chord is important for later making these simple open chord
forms movable. As they are fingered here, these chord forms are *not* movable (e.g.
the C major *cannot* be shifted up the neck to create a major chord of a different
pitch), but with some simple alterations in the fingering, these basic forms can be
made movable. We will cover the most common movable chord forms in another chart.

These simple major and minor chords will get you through a lot of songs. If you come
across a chord with just a 7 in it (C7, G7, etc), use the major form for now. These so-
called "7th" chords are more properly known as dominant chords, and you will want to
learn them to flesh out your chord arsenal.

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Basic Open Chords

This chart gives you the basic major and minor chords for the guitar in standard tuning.

You will notice a "4" sitting on a fret line in the last two minor chords. This indicates that
the 1st finger should be positioned at the fourth fret.

A Note On Relative Major and Minor Chords

For every major chord, there is what we call a relative minor chord. On our chart, the
relative minor chord is immediately below it's relative major chord (e.g. C major - A
minor). If you are familiar with a major scale, the root of the relative minor is the sixth
tone in the scale (Do, re, me, fa, so, LA, te, do). Relative majors and minors share
several notes, and while not interchangable, do produce compatible harmonies.

An easy way to locate the root tones of relative majors and minors is to remember
this simple rule:

If you're playing a major chord, take the root down three frets to find the root of the
relative minor chord. Conversely, if you're playing a minor chord, take the root up three
frets to find the root of the relative major chord.

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Basic Barre Chords - Major, Minor and Dominant

One of the many cool things about the guitar is the fact that several basic chord forms
are movable. This is a trait which guitar shares with many other stringed instruments,
both fretted and unfretted. Due to the lovable idiosyncracies of the guitar, you can
learn a few barre chords, and -- by simply sliding those chord forms up or down the
neck -- achieve chords of any tonality (root tone or pitch). With keyboards and most
other polyphonic instruments, such is not the case. You have to learn a different
fingering for each chord, in each key. In this regard, guitar has an advantage.

Barre chords make use of one finger to play more than one string. Usually the
index finger will lay stretched across 5 or 6 strings, resembling a "bar". Other fingers
can also play barre chords, of course.

The secret to this mobility is that these chord forms utilize NO open strings, and hence
all strings change proportionately in pitch when the chord is shifted to a new place on
the neck.

The graphic above displays two sets of movable barre forms for major, minor, and
dominant chords. One set has its root on the 6th string, and the other has its root on the
5th string. The small numbers above the diagrams indicate which finger to use to play
each string. 1 is the index, 2 the middle, 3 the ring, and 4 the pinky. X indicates that the
string is not played.

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Finding Specific Chords

Combine fluency in playing barre chords with a working knowledge of the notes on the
5th and 6th strings of the guitar, and you can position and play literally *any* major,
minor, or dominant chord on the guitar.

Sharps and flats (accidentals) are located between the natural notes.
There are no accidentals between B-C and E-F.

Say you want to play a G Major chord. By playing the 6th string Major form at the third
fret, you have a G chord. By playing the 5th string Major form at the 10th fret, you have
another inversion of the G Major. Pretty simple stuff, really.

The same holds true for the minor and dominant barre chord forms, as well as for all
other movable forms listed later in this book (major 7, minor 7, etc), which ambitious
guitarists will want to add to their "vocabulary".

Many of the simple open chords you learned back in the early pages of this book,
in fact, can be adapted and made movable. It requires a refingering of the basic open
chord to include a barre with the 1st finger, so that strings that were open can now
move along with the other fretted notes . Roots for these chords stay on the same
string they were on when played open.

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More Advanced Chord Theory

A command of major, minor and dominant forms will get you through a lot of doors,
musically. If you run across a more complex chord you don't know, you can get by with
playing a simpler version of the chord, skipping the additional notes. As long as you
don't play a note that conflicts with the fundamental quality of the chord (major, minor,
etc), you'll get by.

Here are some basic rules to keep in mind:

➨ If the name of the chord consists of nothing except a pitch, or else "major", in the
title (eg: C, C Major, CMaj7, CMa9, CM11… also C6, C6+9, etc)… you can squeak by
with the Major form…

➨ If the name of the chord has "minor" in the title (eg: C minor, Cmin7, Cm9, etc)…
ditto for the minor form… NOT a half-diminished (Cmin7b5), though…

➨ If the name of the chord has neither "major" nor "minor" in the title, but a number 7,
9, 11, or 13 (eg: C7, C9, etc)… the chord is dominant, and can be covered with the
basic dominant form.

➨ If the name of the chord reads like an accountants' nightmare, as in:

C Major13b5#9

then you're dealing with an altered chord, where all the rules change, and you have to
start accomodating the harmony or else sound woefully out of it. You'll usually run
across such chords in jazz or more sophisticated popular music.

➨ Other chord types include the aforementioned (and highly popular) half-
diminished (1-b3-b5-b7); the suspense-filled diminished (1-b3-b5-6); and the
optimistic augmented (1-3-#5).

➨ "Slash" chords (eg, Dm/G) are chords that use an alternative bass note than that
usually played. In the example given, you'd play a Dm chord on top, but play a G as
the bass note. This book doesn't address these chord types at present, but may in
future versions.

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Barre Chords - Major 7 Chords

Continuing now from what we learned in Major and Minor Barre Chords, here we have
two movable forms of the Major 7 (Maj7) chord. The red note, again, is the root of the
chord. One form has its root on the 6th string, and the other has its root on the 5th
string.

Again, by simply moving these chords up or down the neck, placing the "red root" on
different tones, you can play *any* Maj7 chord you need. Just choose which one of
these forms best fits within the context of the chord progression you're playing.

Straight major chords contain the first, third, and fifth tones of the major scale (a triad)
(do re me fa so la te do). You may be playing all six strings for the chord, but some of
the notes will be octaves of these three fundamental tones. So your chord is still
"triadic" in nature -- 1 3 5.

The Major 7 chord adds the 7th tone of the major scale to the triad -- a note just one
half-step below the high or mid tonic (te, and so the construction of a Maj7 chord is: 1 3
5 7). This note gives the Maj7 chord a rather mellow, jazzy sound. You won't be using
this chord in rock or blues very often, but in jazz, pop, country and many other genres,
it fits perfectly.

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A Word About the 6th String Major 7 Form

On the 6th String Major form, you'll notice that the notes on the 1st and 6th strings, both
to be played with the first finger, are NOT at the same fret. This is what is sometimes
called a "cross-barre" chord. You still lay your index finger down across multiple
strings, but in this instance you want to arch the index a bit, using more of the fingertip
to hit the root on the 6th, and grabbing the 1st string down one fret.

It looks far more ungainly than it really is. Once you get the feel of it, it's actually one of
the easier barre forms to make, as you're only holding down the 1st and the 6th strings.

An alternative is to skip the low bass note, bump the fourth string up one fret and
use it as the root.

This form works just fine, too. But you lose the low tonic (another word for root), so it's a
good thing to learn the full form, especially if you play fingerstyle guitar and can't stand
the thought of the bottom end vanishing suddenly.

One solution for this is to go ahead and grab the small form as described above, and
then wrap the thumb around the neck to grab the low root on the 6th string. This is
really a handful, and those with shorter fingers may find it impossible to make this
chord at all.

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Barre Chords - Minor 7 Chords

Here we have two movable forms of the Minor 7 chord. The red note is the root of the
chord. One form has its root on the 6th string, and the other has its root on the 5th
string.

Again, by simply moving these chords up or down the neck, placing the "red root" on
different notes, you can play *any* minor 7 chord you need. Just choose which one of
these forms best fits within the context of the chord progression you're playing.

Straight minor chords contain the first, third, and fifth tones In other words , a triad) of
the natural minor scale (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7). You may be playing all six strings for the
chord, but some of the notes will be octaves of these three fundamental tones. So your
chord is still "triadic" in nature—1 b3 5.

The minor 7 chord adds the flatted 7th tone of the minor scale to the triad—a note one
step below the high or mid tonic. This note gives the moody minor 7 chord a more
jazzy, less folksy sound. Unlike the Major 7 Chords, you'll often find this chord in rock
or blues, as well as jazz, pop, country and many other styles.

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Power Chords

NOTE: The following is written in a satirical style, and would seem *totally* oblivious to
the potential for serious and permanent hearing loss as a result of playing music at
very high volume, not to mention the very real possibility of damaging your amplifier.

On the other hand, rock & roll is "made loud to be played loud", as Joe Walsh was
once fond of saying.

Please be careful with the volume knob! Try to play no louder than necessary. Wear
ear filters if moderation just doesn't work for you. Try to rest your precious and delicate
ears every chance you get.

And visit www.hearnet.com, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness

of the real dangers of repeated exposure to excessive noise levels which can lead
to permanent, and sometime debilitating, hearing loss and tinnitus.

********************
OK, folks, here's what you've all been waiting for! All this stuff about major this and
minor that (although the dominant part sounds interesting) -- all you know is that you
listen to your favorite rocker, things sound a lot more fundamental than that, right?

The tortured singing of that lead guitar gets you pumped. You feel empowered. You
can face another day, and kick some butt in the process.

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Now, you'd think it would be a lot of bloody work to learn to sound like that when
you pick up *your* electric guitar. Oh, contraire... there's nothing easier in the entire
guitar riff repertoire than Power Chords.

That's right. Power chords are so easy to do, you can learn them in one minute.
Pay attention, now….

See the big fat string on your guitar, what we call the 6th string? Put your index finger
somewhere on that string—say, at the 5th fret. Hold that down, and put your ring finger
(the pinky will work, too) on the 5th string, up two frets from the first finger. See the "6th
String Root" form in the graphic above for help with this.

Now turn your guitar amp up to ten—not just the volume, turn *everything* up to ten.
You hear all that wattage just waiting to be unleashed? Now, pick just those two
strings, the 6th and the 5th, with some gusto. Lean into it….

After you brush off the fractured plaster and broken glass, you sit up and go, "Whoa!"
Your mind is curdling, your ears are bleeding, and your neighbors are calling the cops.
This is Rock & Roll! And these are Power Chords! This one you just played—call it
Power Chord #1.

If you dare, just move the two fingers over to the next group of strings, the 5th and the
4th. Same frets, as you can see in the graphic "5th String Root". Hammer your axe
again, just those two strings. Hey, this is starting to sound pretty good! This chord is
called Power Chord #4.

What happened to chords #2 and #3? Who cares! This ROCKS!!

Now slide those same two fingers up two frets, keeping the same 5th string form. Slam
the two strings mercilessly. This is starting to sound familar. Power Chord #5 is what
you have there.

And these three chords—the 1, the 4, and the 5—are the basic foundation upon which
ALL blues and ALL rock is built. Learn them well, and you'll soon see and hear
different places on the neck where you can move these little things around and make a
truly righteous noise.

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How can just two notes make such a tremendous impact? Lots of wattage helps.
And there are many, many "stomp" boxes (effects) out there that give you that cool
distortion, that amazing saw-tooth wave that has inspired generations, without having
to do it like we did in the old days—turning all the knobs hard right and wailing away.
When you have such serious distortion happening, two notes are all you really need...
in fact, all you really WANT!

Now—ramp your amp back down to 3, sweep up the litter, and go take a nice long
walk in the park to let your ears stop ringing. =o)

Want more? We have a rather cool online interactive guitar chord generator for those
looking for additional fingerings of standard or advanced chords:

www.stringdancer.net/resources/tools/gensix/index.html

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Copyright 2009 Jeff Foster. All Rights Reserved.

Visit Jeff's website, www.stringdancer.com, for more guitar madness.

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