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Guitar Chord
Construction - Theory
And Basic Shapes -
Essential Guide
By Stef Ramin / On 01/18/2020
/ In Jazz Guitar Lessons / 2 comments

This lesson explains how jazz chords

are built and how to play them on
guitar using common positions.
This will help you understand, identify,
build and play one of the most
important types of chords.

All the shapes proposed in this tutorial

are movable and playable anywhere
on the fretboard. So, try to play them in
all twelve keys.

To simplify learning, the voicings used

in this course ensure that the root is
always the lowest note, either on the
sixth, fifth or fourth string. In other
words, there are no chords with third,
fifth, seventh or any other note in the
bass.

Don't hesitate to create your own chord

positions. In the meantime, take a look
at the following essential chord shapes
proposed below, classified into four
distinct categories :

TRIADS
(major, minor, augmented,
diminished, sus4 and sus2).
SEVENTH CHORDS (aka tetrads)
(maj7, min7, dom7, m7b5, dim7,
minMaj7, maj7#5, 7b5, 7#5).
SIXTH CHORDS
(maj6, min6).
EXTENDED CHORDS
(min9, maj9, 9, 6/9, 7#9, 7b9, m11,
maj11, 11, m13, maj13, 13, 7b13)

SUMMARY

►TRIAD CHORD CONSTRUCTION

Major Triads
Minor Triads
Augmented Triads
Diminished Triads
Sus4 Triads
Sus2 Triads

►SEVENTH CHORD CONSTRUCTION

Major Seventh
Minor Seventh
Dominant Seventh
Half-diminished
Diminished Seventh
Minor Major Seventh
Augmented Major Seventh
Dominant Seventh Flat Fifth
Dominant Seventh Sharp Fifth

►SIXTH CHORD CONSTRUCTION

Minor Sixth
Major Sixth

►EXTENDED CHORDS

Minor 9
Major 9
Dominant 9
Sixth / Ninth
Seventh Augmented Ninth
Seventh Flat Ninth
Minor Eleventh
Major Eleventh
Dominant Eleventh
Minor Thirteenth
Major Thirteenth
Dominant Thirteenth
Dominant Flat Thirteenth

Triad Chords
Triads are the most basic chords. As
the name implies they contain only
three notes. They are the backbone of
many chords used in jazz and many
other styles of music.

The most important are minor (min),

major (maj), diminished (dim),
augmented (aug) and suspended (2
and 4). Here are the most basic chord
positions to play them on guitar.

Major Triads (maj)

Here are four basic major triad shapes

with root in the bass to play on guitar.
The formula is root (R), major third (3)
and perfect fifth (5).

Minor Triads (min)

Minor triads are built with Root (R),

minor third (b3) and perfect fifth (5).
Here are four basic shapes. To get
more triad positions go on the page
about open and close triad voicings
shapes.

Augmented Triads (aug)

An augmented triad can be seen as a

major triad whose fifth has been raised
with by a semitone giving the formula
Root (R), major third (3) and
augmented fifth (#5). These chords
are rarely used.

Diminished Triads (dim)

Diminished triads are minor chords

with a flat fifth (b5) thus giving root (R),
minor third (b3) and diminished fifth
(b5). This triad is the basis for any
diminished chord.

Suspended Fourth Triads (sus4)

There are no third in a suspended

fourth triad, it is replaced by the fourth,
thus producing a large, unstable an
open sound. Free to you to resolve to a
more stable chord. The formula is Root
(1), fourth (4) and fifth (5).

Suspended Second Triads (sus2)

These types of triads are made of root

(R), major second (2) and perfect fifth
(5). Just as sus4 chords there is no
third but a second instead.

PDF Method (with audio)

and Chord Poster

Seventh Chords / Tetrad

Chords
Seventh chords, also called tetrads,
contain four chord tones that are :
Root, third (minor or major), fifth
(perfect, augmented or diminished)
and seventh (minor, major or
diminished). Here are the most
important guitar chord shapes and
basic voicings to play them.

Major Seventh Chords (Maj7)

Major seventh chords are made of a

major triad with an added major
seventh giving the formula : root (R),
major third (3), perfect fifth (5) and
major seventh (7). You will find major
seventh chords on the first (I) and
fourth (IV) degree of the major scale.

Minor Seventh Chords (min7)

Minor seventh chords can be seen as

minor triads with a supplementary
note, the minor seventh (b7) thus
giving the formula : Root (R), minor
third (b3), perfect fifth (5) and minor
seventh (b7).

Min7 chords are present in the

harmonized major scale on the second
(ii), third (iii) and sixth (vi) degree. On
the fourth degree (iv) of the harmonic
minor scale. On the third degree (iii) of
the harmonic major scale and on the
second (ii) of the melodic minor scale.

Dominant Seventh Chords (7)

Like major seventh chords, dominant

7th are built based on major triads but
with an additional minor seventh (b7).
The formula is Root (R), major third (3),
perfect fifth (5) and minor seventh
(b7). It's a kind of miw between maj7
and min7 chords.

They can be found on the fifth degree

(V) of the major scale, the harmonic
major scale and the harmonic minor
scale. And also on the degrees four (IV)
and five (V) of the melodic minor scale.

Half-Diminished Chords (m7b5)

A half-diminished chord is a
diminished triad with an extra minor
seventh (b7). The formula is Root (R),
minor third (b3), diminished fifth (b5)
and minor seventh (b7). It is a minor
seventh chord whose fifth has been
lowered by a semitone.

You can find m7b5 chords on the

seventh degree of the major scale, on
the second degree of the harmonic
minor scale, on the second degree of
the harmonic major scale. On the sixth
and seventh degrees of the melodic
minor scale.

Diminished Seventh Chords

(dim7)

A diminished 7 chord formula is Root

(R), minor third (b3), diminished fifth
(b5) and diminished seventh (bb7). It's
a diminished triad with a
supplementary diminished fifth.

Dim7 chords can be foudn on the

seventh mode of the harmonic
minor and harmonic major scales.

Minor Major Seventh Chords

(minMaj7)

The chord tones of a minMaj7

chord are Root (R), minor third (b3),
perfect fifth (5) and major seventh (7).
This is a minor triad with a major
seventh.

Minor major seventh chords

are associated with the I
chord of minor II V I progressions.
They have to be found on the first
degree of the harmonic and melodic
major scales.

Augmented Major Seventh

Chords (Maj7#5)

Augmented major seventh chords are

maj7 chords with an augmented fifth
thus giving the following chord tone
formula : Root (R), major third (3),
augmented fifth (#5) and major
seventh.

They are found on the harmonized

third degree of the harmonic minor
scale and on the seventh degree of the
harmonic major scale.

Dominant Seventh Flat Fifth

(7b5)

As its name implies, a dominant 7 flat 5

chord is a dominant chord with a
lowered fifth. Scale degrees are : Root
(R), major third (3), diminished fifth
(b5) and minor seventh (b7). It is
considered as being a diminished triad
with a minor seventh.

7b5 are related to 7#11 chords because

they have notes in common so the
positions on guitar are very similare.
But, in theory they are built differently,
dom7#11 chords are made of six chord
tones (1, 3, 5, b7, 9, #11) in comparison
with 7b5 chords that are made of only
four notes (1, 3, b5, b7).

Dominant Seventh Sharp Fifth

(7#5)

7#5 chords are dominant chords with

an augmented fifth, in other words,
they are augmented triads with a b7.
The chord tone pattern is Root (R),
major third (3), augmented fifth (#5)
and minor seventh (b7).

Dom7#5 guitar chord shapes are very

similar to 7b13 because they share four
chord tones that are 1, b3, #5 (same
as b13) and b7.

Sixth Chords
A sixth chord (also called added sixth
chord) is a triad with a supplementary
sixth. It can be minor 6 or major 6, here
are the main common guitar positions.

Major Sixth Chords (6)

Major sixth chords formula is Root (1),

major third (3), perfect fifth (5) and
major sixth (6). It is a major triad with a
sixth. They can be used as substitutions
for major seventh chords (depending
on the musical context). Here are four
positions to play them on guitar.

Minor Sixth Chords (min6)

Minor sixth chords are built with a

minor triad and an added major sixth
giving the formula Root (R), minor third
(b3), perfect fifth (5) and major sixth
(6). In comparison with major sixth
chords, the third is minor (b3).

Extended Chords
Extended chords are chords with notes
above the octave as the ninth (9),
eleventh (11) and thirteenth (13). The
main extended chords are min9, 9,
maj9, 11, min11, 13 and min13. Here are
some usual guitar shapes.

Minor Ninth Chords (m9)

Theoretically m9 chords are made of

fifth notes that are Root (1), minor third
(b3), perfect fifth (5), minor seventh
(b7) and ninth (9). These are actually
minor seventh chords extended with a
major ninth.

Because it is physically difficult to play

these five notes on guitar, the fifth can
be ommited.

Minor 9 chords should not be confused

with minadd13 chords that are simply
minor triads with an added ninth.

Major Ninth Chords (Maj9)

Major ninth chords can be seen as

major seventh chords plus a major
ninth giving the chord tones : Root (1),
major third (3), perfect fitth (5),
major seventh (7) and ninth (9). These
are actually major seventh chords
extended with a major ninth. Here are
four main guitar voicing shapes.

Dominant Ninth Chords (9)

Dom9 chords should not be confused

with major ninth chords. They contain a
minor seventh (b7). The chord tone
formula is therefore ; Root (1), major