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Guitar Music Theory

In this online music theory tutorial you'll learn the theory behind guitar chords. Spending a little
time on guitar music theory and harmony will save you a lot of time learning how to play guitar
chords and will deepen your understanding of the guitar. Music theory provides you the means
to communicate better with your fellow musicians. You'll learn songs faster because you actually
now what you are playing. So do yourself a favor and go through this free music theory tutorial.
The topics covered:
the difference between major, minor, dominant, diminished, ...
how to name chords
how to find the notes of a chord
how to construct your own guitar chords
It's best to go through this tutorial in chronological order, but in case you're looking for
something specific here's a brief description of the pages to come:
page 1: constructing triads
page 2: constructing seventh chords
page 3: extensions
page 4: guitar chord list & shortcut
page 5: applying music theory on guitar
page 6: solutions to the exercises
The starting point in many music theory tutorials is the C major scale:
C Major Scale C D E F G A B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The C major scale (also called the Ionian scale) is the foundation on which the most of Western
music is built.

The letters in the scale are the note names: C is do, D is re, E is mi, F is fa, G is sol, A is la and B
is si. The numbers are what we call the function of the note in the scale or chord. The 1 is also
known as the 'root'.

There are 5 more notes: the sharps and flats.
A sharp (written like #) is a note raised by a half step.
A flat (written like b) is a note lowered by a half step. So between C and D comes the C# or Db.
C# and Db are the same note named differently. Between D and E lies the D# or Eb. Between E
and F is nothing because E and F are only a half step apart. Between F and G comes the F# or
Gb. Between G and A the G# or Ab. And between A and B comes the A# or Bb. B and C are
also only one half step apart.
The first type of chord we'll have a look at is the triad. A triad is a chord that has 3 different
notes. Triads are built by stacking thirds. A third (also written like 3rd) is a particular interval
between two notes.
There are 2 kinds of thirds:
minor third interval of 3 half steps
major third interval of 4 half steps
We'll construct our first chord by stacking 2 thirds on the first note (C or 1) of the C major scale.
First we count 4 half steps beginning from the first note: from C to C# to D to D# to E. Then we
count 3 half steps from the E: from E to F to F# to G.
C E G
1 3 5
This results in a C major triad or C. C to E makes a major third and E to G a minor third : this
structure is typical for every major chord and can be written in a chord formula.
Chord formula for major chords: 1 3 5
Keep in mind that the chord formulas are relative to the major scale, the major scale is always
the starting point. Some might think that because there are 3 half steps (minor third) between 3
and 5, the 5 should be a b5, but this is not the case.
Let's do the same for the 2 of the C major scale :
D F A
1 b3 5
This results in a D minor triad or Dm. D to F makes a minor third and F to A a major third: this
structure is typical for every minor chord.
chord formula for minor chords : 1 b3 5
I'm not going to repeat this for every note in the scale, I think you got the picture by now.
Let's do one more together, let's built a chord on the 7th note of the scale:
B D F
1 b3 b5


This results in a B diminished triad (Bdim). B to D makes a minor third and D to F also a minor
third: this structure is typical for diminished triads.
Chord formula for diminished chords: 1 b3 b5

Here's a list with all triads made on the C major scale:

Notes Formula Name Symbol
1 C E G 1 3 5 C major C
2 D F A 1 b3 5 D minor Dm or D- or Dmin
3 E G B 1 b3 5 E minor Em or E- or Emin
4 F A C 1 3 5 F major F
5 G B D 1 3 5 G major G
6 A C E 1 b3 5 A minor Am or A- or Amin
7 B D F 1 b3 b5 B diminished Bdim or B

Guitar Music Theory 2
This online music theory tutorial will teach you 2 systems to construct guitar chords
1. The first system starts from the major scale.
Construct the major scale with the same root as the chord you want to construct (how to
construct major scales).
For example: when you want to create an Am chord, construct the A major scale : A B
C# D E F# G#
Find the notes of the major chord : 1 3 5
In our example in the key of A this would be : A C# E
Apply the chord formula on the major chord.
The minor chord formula is 1 b3 5, so the 3rd of the major chord has to be lowered with a
half step : A C E
2. The second system involves some memorization and will be explained later in the tutorial.
Now we know how to make chords with 3 different notes, but what about chords with 4 or more
notes? Chords with 4 different notes are called seventh chords and are used a lot in jazz and
some kinds of pop music. Let's have a look at how to construct seventh chords:
We'll begin with the C major scale again:
C Major Scale C D E F G A B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Seventh chords are made the same way as triads : by stacking 3rds on top of the root.
Triads were constructed by stacking 2 thirds, seventh chords are constructed with 3 thirds.
Let's try to construct a chord on the 1 of the C major scale :
C E G B
1 3 5 7
This results in a C major 7 chord (Cmaj7). C to E makes a major third, E to G a minor third and
G to B a major third : this structure is typical for major 7 chords.
Chord formula for major 7 chords: 1 3 5 7
The 2nd note of the C major scale :
D F A C
1 b3 5 b7


This results in a D minor chord (Dmin7). D to F makes a minor third, F to A a major third and A
to C a minor third : this structure is typical for minor 7 chords.
Chord formula for minor 7 chords: 1 b3 5 b7
Let's jump to the 5th note of the C major scale :
G B D F
1 3 5 b7


This results in a G dominant 7 chord (G7). G to B makes a major third, B to D a minor third and
D to F a minor third: this structure is typical for dominant 7 chords.
chord formula for dominant 7 chords: 1 3 5 b7
Let's do it on the 7th note of the scale:
B D F A
1 b3 b5 b7


This results in a B half diminished chord (Bm7b5). B to D makes a minor third, D to F a minor
third and F to A a major third: this structure is typical for half diminished chords.
Chord formula for half diminished 7 chords: 1 b3 b5 b7
Here's the list with all the seventh chords of the C major scale: :

Notes Formula Chord Name Symbol
1 C E G B 1 3 5 7 C major 7 Cmaj7
2 D F A C 1 b3 5 b7 D minor 7 Dm7 or D-7 or Dmin7
3 E G B D 1 b3 5 b7 E minor 7 Em7 or E-7 or Emin7
4 F A C E 1 3 5 7 F major 7 Fmaj7
5 G B D F 1 3 5 b7 G dominant G7
6 A C E G 1 b3 5 b7 A minor 7 Am7 or A-7 or Amin7
7 B D F A 1 b3 b5 b7 B half diminished Bm7b5 or Bmin7b5

Guitar Music Theory 3
Until now we constructed chords by stacking thirds on top of each other. The resulting triads or
seventh chords form the basis. Other notes can be added to these basic chords, notes that we call
extensions.
The C major scale (again):
C Major Scale C D E F G A B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Construct a chord on C --> Cmaj7:
C E G B
1 3 5 7
We use 4 notes in this chord, what means that there are 3 notes left from the C major scale: 2, 4,
6.If one or more of these notes become part of the chord, we call them extensions or chord
extensions.
Usually extensions are played one octave higher compared to the chord tones. This benefits the
clarity of the chord.

Let's add an octave to the extensions:
2 becomes 9 (2+7(one octave)=9)
4 becomes 11
6 becomes 13
Let's apply this to Cmaj7: Add 2 to Cmaj7 and we get Cmaj9
C E G B D
1 3 5 7 9
Maybe major chords are not a very good example to explain extensions because the two other
tensions that are left, 4 and 6, behave in a special way in combination with major chords.

The first thing we have to look at are avoid notes : extensions that are a half step above a chord
note. These notes sound very disharmonic in the chord so they are almost never used, only in
case the disharmonic sound is wanted as an effect.
The 4 of the C major scale is a half step above the 3 (chord tone) of that chord (f is a half step
above e) --> the 4 is an avoid note for major chords.
A possible way to deal with this is raising the 4 half a note : f turns into f# and is no longer an
avoid note. The basic scale is no longer C major (C Ionian) though, but C Lydian (a kind of
guitar scale or mode). We call this chord a Cmaj7(#11).
The 6 also behaves differently in combination with major chords. When we add the 6 to a major
chord we don't play the 7 and there is no octave added to the 6. This is because the 6 and 7 sound
too close to each other.

Add 6 to C major and we get a C6 :
C E G A
1 3 5 6
The same happens to the 6 in combination with minor chords : the 7 is not played.
Add the 6 to Dm7 and we get Dm6 (watch out : the 6 is no longer the note a because the root of
the chord changed to D. The six of D is B (D E F# G A B C#) :
D F A B
1 b3 5 6
The 4 is not an avoid note for minor chords because it is two half steps away from the b3 and
not one half like it is with major chords.
So we can safely add the 4 to Dm7 and we get Dm11:
D F A C G
1 b3 5 b7 11
The 4 added to a dominant chord is also a special case.
When a 4 is combined with a dominant chord, the 3 of the chord is not played. We call chords
like this sus4 chords.
As a guitar chord sus4 chords are often combined with a 9:
G C D F A
1 4 5 b7 9
Here's an overview of chord types and possible extensions:
Chord Type Added Note Symbol
Major
2 Cmaj9
4
#4
/
Cmaj7#11
avoid note
#11 from
lydian scale
6 C6 no 7
Minor
2 Cm9
4 Cm11
6 Cm6 no 7
Dominant
2
b2
#2
C9
C7(b9)
C7#9
b2 and #2 from
altered scale
4 C7sus4
6
b6
C13
C7(b13)
b6 comes from
altered scale
Guitar Music Theory 4
Here's a list of all common chords and their formula's:
Chord Type Chord Formula
Major Triad 1 3 5
Minor Triad 1 b3 5
Diminished Triad 1 b3 b5
Augmented Triad 1 3 #5
Major 7 1 3 5 7
Minor 7 1 b3 5 b7
Dominant 7 1 3 5 b7
Half Diminished 7 1 b3 b5 b7
Diminished 7 1 b3 b5 bb7
Augmented 7 1 3 #5 b7
Suspended 4 1 4 5 b7
minor/major 7 1 b3 5 7


On guitar music theory page 2 we learned the first system to construct chords.
Here's the second system:
1. Memorize the chord names, chord notes and chord formula's of all the chords (7) in the C
major scale:
Cmaj7 C E G B
Dm7 D F A C
Em7 E G B D
Fmaj7 F A C E
G7 G B D F
Am7 A C E G
Bm7b5 B D F A
2.
3. Once you know the chords of C major it's easy to find other chords.

Example: how to find the chord tones of Emaj7:
1. You already know the chord tones of Em7 : E G B D
2. You know the chord formula of minor chords: 1 b3 5 b7
3. You know the chord formula of major chords : 1 3 5 7
4. Adapt the chord tones of Em7 to the chord formula of major chords: bring the 3
and the 7 a half step up
5. The chord tones of Emaj7 are : E G# B D#


Example 2: Adim7:
6. You already know the chord tones of Am7 : A C E G
7. You know the formula of minor chords: 1 b3 5 b7
8. You know the formula of diminished chords : 1 b3 b5 bb7
9. Adapt the chord tones of Am7 to the chord formula of diminished chords : bring
the 5 and the 7 a half step down
10. The chord tones of Adim7 are : A C Eb Gb


Example 3: C#7:
11. You already know the chord tones of Cmaj7 : C E G B
12. Now we have to add a step: we have to find the chord tones of C#maj7. To find
these we just have to raise each chord tone with a half note: C# E# G# B#
13. You already know the formula of major chords : 1 3 5 7
14. You know the formula of dominant chords : 1 3 5 b7
15. Adapt the chord tones of C#maj7 to the chord formula of dominant chords : bring
the 7 a half step down
16. The chord tones of C#7 are : C# E# G# B

The following step in this music theory instruction is applying the theory to the guitar.
Guitar Music Theory 5
Now you know the most important parts about guitar music theory and harmony, but how do we
bring this knowledge in action, how can it help us becoming a better guitar player? Read on...
The first thing you need to know: not every chord tone is equally important :
3 and 7 are the most important notes of a chord because they make a chord major, minor or
dominant.
The 1 is the least important note, because it's the bass player's job the play the 1 (amongst
other notes luckily for him)..
The 5 is the second least important note and doesn't sound very good most of the times.
Tensions add interest and color, so it's better to use tensions instead of the 1 and 5


The second thing you need to know: 1 half step equals one fret on the guitar neck.

Let's have a look at some guitar diagrams:
Take a C chord: C E G (1 3 5)
Here's the guitar chord diagram:



X15135

Let me explain the symbols you see under the chord diagram. Read from left to right (from low E
string to high E string) and we have:
o X : don' play the low E string
o 1 : the 1 is played on the A string
o 5 : the 5 is played on the D string
o 1 : the 1 again, now on the G string
o 3 : the 3 is played on the B string
o 5 : the 5 again, this time on the high E string

It's ok to use a note more then one time, like the 1 and 5 in this example, but this can sound a
bit harsh.

Let's spice this chord up a bit:



X15735

Instead of playing the 1 again on the G string, we changed it to the 7.

Let's add some color :



X1379X

We exchanged the 5 on the D string for the 3 and we changed the 3 on the B string to a 9.

If you play in a band and you don't want to get in the way of the bass player you better leave the
1 out of your chords. Another good idea when playing in a band is to voice your guitar chords on
the higher (4) strings.



XX3795

We exchanged the 1 on the A string for the 5 on the high E string.

This chord is what we call a chord inversion : a chord voicing that has a note other then the 1 as
it's lowest note. There are three types of chord inversions : 3 is the lowest note (first
inversion), 5 is the lowest note (second inversion) or 7 is the lowest note (third inversion).

Our example is a Cmaj9 chord and the 3 is the lowest note, so this is the first inversion of Cmaj9.

How can we make this major chord a dominant chord?
Easy: bring the 7 half a note down (major 1 3 5 7, dominant 1 3 5 b7).
The chord diagram:



XX3b795

How can we make this chord minor?
We have to lower the 3 from the dominant chord half a note (dominant 1 3 5 b7, minor 1 b3 5
b7)
The guitar chord diagram:



XXb3b795
Another system to construct your own guitar chords is by using the guitar chord finder. Select
the root and the type of chord you're looking for and the guitar chord finder displays all the notes
of your chord on the guitar neck. Now it's up to you to pick out the notes you want in the
position you want.
Here's a chord exercise for you: find me the chord tones of the following chords (the solutions
are on the next page) :
For example : Gm7 : G Bb D F

Now it's your turn :

Fm7 :
Abdim7 :
C#maj7 :
E9sus4 :
A7 :
Edim7 :
Gm7b5 :
B7b9 :
D#m7b5 :
Bmaj7 :
Guitar Music Theory 6
Here are the solution for the guitar chords exercise on page 5:

Fm7 : F Ab C Eb
Abdim7 : Ab Cb Ebb Gbb
C#maj7 : C# E# G# B#
E9sus4 : E A B D F#
A7 : A C# E G
Edim7 : E G Bb Db
Gm7b5 : G Bb Db F
B7b9 : B D# F# A C
D#m7b5 : D# F# A C#
Bmaj7 : B D# F# A#

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