Slugs and snails and puppy-dog tails are what I'm made of, but what are chords made of?

My last entry was all about setting the intonation on a guitar. I posted it because I believe that it is a simple thing to do and every guitarist should know how to do it. Today, I am writing about chord formulation, again, because the principle is simple, and every musician should understand and apply it. 


As it is with the modes that I have been writing about, chords are formulated relative to the steps of the major scale. I like to use the key of C major as the basis of my examples because it contains no sharp or flat notes. It runs C, D, E, F, G, A, B and back to C again. Tabbed out on one string:

Now, if you've been around this block a few times already, you will understand that a major scale in any key contains the same steps as any other. There is a whole step (two frets) between the first interval and the second (in this case, fret three the C and fret 5 the D), a whole step between the second step (D fret 5 and E fret 7), and half step (one fret) between the third step (E fret 7 and F fret 8), a whole step between the fourth and fifth steps (F and G), a whole step between the fifth (G) and sixth steps (A), a whole step between the Sixth (A) and seventh (B) notes and finally a half step between the seventh and the eighth (the root note C).


Numerically represented, the major scale simply runs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 


Chords are made up of arrangements of these notes as represented by their numbers and the characters of those numbers I.e.: are they to be flattened, added etc. 


A major chord possesses a triad of notes referred to as a major triad (duh), and is made up of a 1st, a 3rd and a 5th of the major scale. In the case of C major, these are C, E and G. So, a C major open chord looks like this.

A Minor Triad consists of a 1st, a flattened third and a fifth. In the case of C minor the triad looks as follows.

Here is an example of a fleshed out C minor chord.

There we have a chord containing the root (C), The 5th (G), again the root, The flattened 3rd (E flat) and the fifth again (G). 


The great Joe Pass was a phenomenal jazz player and a master of chord usage. He used to say that he thought of everything in terms of major, minor and sevenths. So, now lets review the Seventh Chord. 


Seventh chords are popular in all forms of music for their openness. They can be 'coloured in' in a great many ways by adding other notes to them. There are three main types of seventh chords: The minor 7th, the dominant 7th and the major seventh.


The formula for a minor seventh chord is 1 (C), flat 3 (E flat), 5, and a flat seven (B flat). A C minor 7 chord can be played as follows:

A dominant 7 chord is a major sounding chord with a flattened 7th note. It's formula is 1 (C), 3 (E), 5(G), flat 7 (B flat). Example:

In the case on a major seven chord, one merely raises the seventh of a dominant chord a half step, thus making it a major interval. The steps making a C major 7 chord are 1(C), 3(E), 5(G) and 7(B).

Now, say we were to continue running up numerically after the 8th (root) note of the scale I.e.: 1(C), 2(D), 3(E), 4(F), 5(G), 6(A), 7(B), 8(C), 9(D), 10(E), 11(F), 12(G) and 13(A). That is what is happening when you see chord names like C9, C11 or C13. These are actually extensions of dominant 7th chords. Look at C9.

 
There you have a dominant 7th chord with a D one octave up from the 2nd of the C major scale. The notes are 1(C), 3(E), 5(G), dom/flat 7th(B flat) and 9(D). C9.


C11:

C(1), E(3), B flat (flat/dominant 7) and F(11).


C13:

C(1), B(flat 7), E(3), and A(13).


Jimbo Hendrix used this one alot.

Played in C it looks like this:

The +D is the sharpened 9th degree of C major. 




That's enough with the sevenths.


To finish off this article I'd like to say that I believe that, if one only understands the simple numerical representation of the degrees or notes in the major scale, one can can go on to construct any old chord one wants. The types of chords that I've not written about here can easily be worked out under the same principles. Suspended 2nd chords are merely major chords including their second degrees. Suspended 4ths, major chords including their 4th's. Diminished chords have their third and fifth notes flattened. Augmented chords have their 5ths sharpened. 


You will find all sorts of chord names as you go along. Minor 7th flat 5's, major 7 flat fives.  Really. All sorts. So check them out. Try to figure out what they are asking you for. Once the penny drops, that's if it hasn't already, you will feel awesome. 


If you liked this article and found it helpful, please subscribe to my blog. I post often on the subjects of music theory, Luthiery and generally sprout news whenever the spirit takes me. I also play in a band called The Gents of Leisure and you can check out our Facebook page www.facebook.com/thegentsofleisure for some music and news of where and when we are playing. 


If you would like me to clarify anything that I've written about, please let me know by emailing me or simply commenting. 


Be swell.