"Easy Ways to Remember Large Chords!" Let's start basic and then I'11 show you how to remember larger chords. # of notes ‘Type of chord Three triad Four Seventh Five Ninth Six Eleventh Seven Thirteenth If you're just starting out, don't be confused by these names and numbers. Simply put, three-note chords (like a Cmaj or Fmin) are called "triads." As you add tones to'the basic triad, you form "sevenths" and “ninths". Key Rule: By knowing major scales, you can figure out any triad, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth. -But for now, I'll show the C major scale: I always talk about major scales CDEFGABC Basically, to form various chords, you just take notes from the C major scale. Keep in mind that each note of a scale is played individually, one after the other (don't confuse scales and chords). On the other hand, when you are playing chords, you are holding down multiple notes at the same time. In order to apply these simple principles below, you'll have to convert the major scale above to numbers. wrannco 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 So..,Once you know your major scales as numbers, you can apply these formulas to make any chord you want: Major triads (Ch 5) 3 +5 Minor triads (Ch 8) b3 +5 Diminished triad (Ch 9) b3 + bS Augmented triad 3445 Major seventh (Ch 10) 34547 Minor seventh (Ch 10) b3 +5 + b7 Dominant seventh (Ch 10) 345 4b7 Half Diminished seventh Diminished seventh (Ch 13) Major ninth (Ch 11) Minor ninth (Ch 11) Dominant ninth (Ch 11) b3 + bS + bT b3 + bS + bb7 (or just .."6") 345 +749 b3+5+b7 +9 3+54+b7+9and so on... {eleventh chords, thirteenth chords, altered chords, major sixth, minor sixth...) Now... let's apply these formulas: In the key of C major, let's say you wanted to play aC maj chord (aka "C major triad"). Since the formula is 113+5, simply take the first, third, and fifth tone of the C major scale and play them together. What's the 1st tone of the C major scale? Answer: C What's the 3zd tone of the C major ecale? Answer: E What's the 5th tone of the C major scale? Answer: G C major triad: CEG ...It's that simple. If you're just starting out, you may have run into a problem with the "b3", "bS", or "bb7" and --- that's understandable (I'd be confused too if I were just starting out). Let me explain. Whenever you see a "b" or "#", which simply means to lower or raise the note a half step. "bY" means to lower the note a half step. So if you see b3, which means to take, the third tone of the scale and lower it one-half step. So if a minor chord is 1 + b3 + 5, in the key of C major, that ii © Eb G... Why Eb? Because we simply took the third tone of the scale and lowered it one-half step With that said, you should be able to figure out all the chords above: Major triads (ch 5): 1+3+5 cmaj: CEG Minor triads (Ch 8): 1 + b3 +5 min: C Bb Diminished triad (Ch 9): 1 + b3 + BS Cdim: C Eb Gb Augmented triad: 1 +3 + #5 Caug: CE Gt Major seventh (Ch 10): 1+3+5+7 cmaj?: CE GB Minor seventh (Ch 10): 1 + b3 +5 + b7 cmin?: C Eb G Bb Dominant seventh (Ch 10): 1 +3 +5 +b? C7 (aka Cdon7): CE G Bb "Easy Ways...Half Diminished seventh: 1 + b3 + b5 + b7 C half dim?: C Eb Gb Bb Diminished seventh (Ch 13): 1 + b3 + bS + bb7 (or just think of it as "6") Cdim?: C Eb Gb A What about the more extended chords like ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths? What if I told you that you could play any ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth chord by knowing just seventh chords? You can. Major Ninth Chords The formula for a major ninth chord is: 1+3454749 The Cnaj9 chord, for example, is: cecap But a shortcut is to simply play an Emin? over C. Chass * EGBD (Bmin?) on right hand = Cnaj9 So, how can we make this a "rule" to apply to all maj9 chords? Simply put, take the IIInin? of any major key. 1) Start with the keynote of the major scale. So if you want to play a Cmaj9 chord, the keynote would be "C". Play this on your left hand. 2) On your right hand, locate the third tone of the scale and play a minor seventh chord on that tone. So in the key of C, the third tone is E. Therefore, you'd play an Emin? chord on C bass. For your convenience, here's a list of all twelve major ninth chord: cma © + Bmin? chord (c EG BD) Fmaj9 F + Amin? chord (F AC EG) Bbmaj9 Bb + Dmin7? chord (Bb D F AC) Ebmaj9 Eb + Gmin7 chord (Eb G Bb D F} Abmaj9 ‘Ab + Cnin7 chord (Ab C Eb G Bb) Dbmaj9 Db + Fmin? chord (Db F Ab C Eb) Gbmaj9 Gb + Bbmin? chord (Gb Bb Db F Ab) maj B+ Démin7 (B D# F# A¥ CH) majo E + Gimin? (= GB B D# FF) Amaj9 A + C#min7 (A C# E Gb B) Dmaj9 D+ Ffmin? (D F# A CE E) Gmaj9 G + Bmin? (GBD F# a) "Easy Ways.