An explanation of chords and extended chords

Students are often saying that they are confused over the construction of chords and extended chords. The naming of chords is in relation to a two octave scale and basic chords are related to the lower octave and extended chords the upper octave.

Above is a basic scale of 'C' major covering two octaves. Chords are made up from notes taken from the major scale and a major chord is made up by using the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of the scale. So in the case of the chord of 'C' major the notes used are C, E and G and when played in this order on your guitar the chord is said to be in 'root' position because the root note (in this case 'C') is the lowest note played on your guitar. To utilize this theory in other keys the signature of those keys must be known and any sharps or flats present must be added. Along with major chords we have minor chords, and the only difference between the two is that with the minor the third note of the scale is flattened. To play a 'Cm' (small 'm' stands for minor and capital 'M' for major although the capital 'M' is usually used for extended chords and for basic chords just the letter name of the chord is used) my chord will have C, Eb (small 'b' is a flat sign) and G.

So, apart from a few exceptions which we will look at later, a chord is going to be either a major or a minor

Dominant Chords

After our major and minor chords we tend to learn about our 7th chords and there are 3 main types. Major 7th, Dominant 7th (usually shortened to just 7 ie: C7) and Minor 7th. They are called 7th chords simply because, along with the basic major and minor degrees they also incorporate the 7th note of the scale. This 7th note can appear in a couple of different formats. For instance, with the Dominant 7 and Minor 7 chords the 7th note is flattened to the normal note of the scale. So for a 'C7' chord we would be playing the notes of C,E,G and Bb (the normal 7th note is 'B'). And with the minor the notes would be C, Eb, G and Bb.

As chord shapes they will look like this:

With the Major 7 chord we are simply adding onto our major chord the 7th degree of the scale as it appears and therefore the notes would be C,E,G and B and would look like this:

A more unusual 7 chord is the minormajor 7 which ,in effect, is a minor with a major 7th interval. A useful chord to interupt a resolution.

Add Chords

If the 7th degree of the scale is missing from the chord but the extensions are still present they are described as 'add' chords. Sus Chords

The lower octave also is used to describe what are known as 'sus', or suspended chords and we have two, Sus4 and Sus2. By 'suspended' we are saying that we wish to suspend the 3rd note of the scale for either the 2nd or 4th. The other notes in the chord remain the same so in the chord of Csus4 (sometimes just shortened to 'Csus') we would be playing C, F and G and Csus2 (which isn't shortened) we would have C, D and G.

There are instances where the fourth and third degrees of the scale are present but this being the case the chord cannot be described as a Sus4 or Sus chord. Because there is an absence of the third which differentiates between major and minor these chords fall into the area of neither major or minor

6 Chords

Another reasonably straightforward chord to understand is the 6 chord and basically is just adding into the major chord the 6th degree of the scale. The minor chord can also be treated in this way but because in some minor scales the 6th degree changes so to avoid confusion, although the chord is referred to as a m6 it is assumed that it will have the same 6the degree of the scale that the major has.

There are other 6 chords but will not appear in this tutorial as I want to keep it as basic as possible.

Extended Chords

The reasons that it is described as extended is because the additional note appears in the upper octave of the scale. Not only are there three main type of extended chords but there are two categories, Dominant and Add. The defining factor between the two categories is the presence of the 7th note in the chord. If there 7th note present then the chord would be described as 'Add'.

9 Chords

The first of the extended chords we come across are the 9 chords. The three types of dominant chords are dominant 9, major 9 and minor 9. So for instance if we have the notes of C,E,G,Bb and the ninth note D then as the dominant seventh (flattened 7th degree of the scale) note is present we have a C dominant 9 (Usually written as C9). C,E,G,Bb,D

If there is no Bb in the chord then it would be described as Cadd9.

C,E,G,D

The same then can be said of The Major and Minor 9 chords. As with the 7 chords the Major 9 has the seventh degree of the scale and the Minor 9 has the flattened seventh degree. C,E,G,B,D

C,Eb,G,Bb,D

The Major 9 chord can also be written with a capital 'M' instead of 'maj'.

Other extended chords are add11,madd11, Dominant 11, Major 11, Minor11, Dominant 13 ( The Dominant chords are usually abbreviated to just 11 and 13 ) Major11 and Minor11.

C,E,G,F

The add11 is often mistaken for a sus4 chord. The difference between the two is that with the add11 chord the third degree of the scale is also present and is usually place at a different octave.

C,Eb,G,F

11 chords

C,E,G,B,F

Diminished Chords

The Diminished chord is minor based and therefore has a flattened 3rd degree of the scale, but also includes the flattened 5th degree.

C,Eb,Gb

Along with The flattened 3rd and 5th degrees it is possible to add the double flattened 7th degree to form a Diminished 7.

C,Gb, Bbb,EB

It is well to notice that the notes in the Dimished 7 in the diagram are not in alphabetical order (not Root, flat 3rd, flat 5th, double flat 7) and are described as an 'Inversion'. The large majority of chords that are played on the guitar are, in fact, inversions. Unlike the piano the layout of a guitar is not as linear and many chords are not easily playable in root position.

A Description of Inversions

A chord is made up of notes taken from the major scale but those notes do not necessarily need to appear in ascending order of pitch. If we were to play a chord of C major it may appear on the stave thus:

C,E,G

As this is in ascending order of pitch and the note depicting the chord is placed at the bottom followed by the third and then the fifth (1,3,5) the chord is said to be in 'root' position. If, however, the root note is moved up an octave

E,G,C the name of the chord has stayed the same as the notes haven't changed but because the lowest note of C has been moved to the top the chord (3,5,1) is now said to be a first inversion and the timbre of the chord is very different. Less weighty and lighter in sound. This process can continue by moving the next note ( the 3rd, E) to the top and that will produce a second inversion.

G,C,E

To repeat the process again would mean the original order would be in place and therefore back to root position albeit an octave higher.

C,E,G

It is worth experimenting with different inversions as they all sound slightly different. If we have chords made up of four or five notes the same process can be used. Certainly on the guitar the vast majority of the chords we play are inversions.

Neither major or minor chords

The note which differentiates between major and minor is the 3rd. If a chord is missing the third it cannot be described as either major or minor. This will include Sus chords (as it's the 3rd which is being suspended), power, or 5th, chords (as the only notes being played are the root and the 5th). Sometimes on lead sheets you will see a chord marked with a note alongside stating 'no 3rd' , I.e. A7 no 3rd. Under these circumstances the chord would be neither major or minor. Among some fraternities chords without 3rd's are titled 'cadences'.

Shorthand naming of chords

It is quite common to find a shorthand version of writing chords. This is quite common in lead sheets where speed of writing is of significant importance.

Below is a list of shorthand version of writing chords and also their full versions:

Major = just the chord name, although a capitol 'M' is not uncommon.

Minor = a minus sign ( C-), or a lower casement 'm'.

Dominant 7 = Just the number next to the chord name (C7).

Major 7 = (C ), or CM7, or Cmaj7.

Minor 7= - (C-7), or Cm7.

Diminished = (C ) or Cdim.

Diminished 7 = (C ), or Cdim7

Any further extensions can also be added to the shorthand namings.

If you have any questions you would like answering on chords please do not hesitate to contact either my website www.NickGarmanMusic.com, or via email [email protected], or my Facebook Page. Don't forget that the direct route from one chord to another is not the only pathway.