CHORD FORMULAS

BobArsecake

I thought this could be very useful to a lot of people on here, I've not seen one so "blunt" on the internet, these are the basic chords and their extensions, just taken from my old college notes, so I hope this is helpful to people.

Major

major 1 3 5

major 6th 1 3 5 6

major 7th 1 3 5 7

major 9th 1 3 5 7 9

major add9th 1 3 5 9

major 6/9th 1 3 5 6 9

major 7/6th 1 3 5 6 7

major 13th 1 3 5 7 9 13

Minor

minor 1 b3 5

minor 6th 1 b3 5 6

minor 7th 1 b3 5 b7

minor 9th 1 b3 5 b7 9

minor 11th 1 b3 5 b7 9 11

minor 7/11th 1 b3 5 b7 11

minor add 9th 1 b3 5 9

minor 6/9th 1 b3 5 6 9

minor major 7th 1 b3 5 7

minor major 9th 1 b3 5 7 9

Dominant 7th

Dominant 7th 1 3 5 b7

Dominant 7/6th 1 3 5 6 b7

Dominant 7/11th 1 3 5 b7 11

Dominant 7th suspended 1 4 5 b7

Dominant 7/6th suspended 1 4 5 6 b7

Dominant 9th 1 3 5 b7 9

Dominant 11th 1 3 5 b7 9 11

Dominant 13th 1 3 5 b7 9 13

Dominant 13th suspended 1 4 5 b7 9 13

Dominant 7/6/11th 1 3 5 b7 11 13

Dominant 11/13th 1 3 5 b7 9 11 13

Diminished 7th 1 b3 b5 bb7 (bb7 = 6th)

Augmented 1 3 #5

StevieK

That's actually only helpful to people who know what a major scale is and how it works on the guitar neck and what a "scale degree" is, which I think someone should explain, but I don't feel like it.

And you left out half diminished and regular diminished.

Diminished- 1 b3 b5

Half Diminished- 1 b3 b5 b7

There's more to augmented to, but I cant remember what, it's been a while.

And does anyone know what these chords are called? They're Jimi Hendrix chords, I think used in purple haze and red house.

It uses scale degrees 1 3 5 b7 #9

Here's the best voicing for it, this takes out the fifth, but the fifth is not crucial to tonality anyway.

e--x

b--4

g--3

d--2

a--3

e--x

I'm thinking it would be called a Dominant Seventh with a #9, but I dunno.

The other is 1 3 5 b7 9 b13

I voice it like this, again with the fifth omitted (oh yeah, for those of you trying to learn about chords, omitting the fifth is pretty typical, especially for guitar voicings):

e--4

b--3

g--3

d--2

a--3

e--x

They're both dominants of some sort or other.

BobArsecake

That is just called a dominant 7th #9. Well, I'm very sorry, although I did say that they were only the basic chords with their extensions, and if you can't be arsed to follow up your comment why'd you make it? I just posted some chord spellings that I found useful, jeez.

BobArsecake

http://www.kingofchords.com/contact.htm

Go there for better explanation and actual scale patterns, exercises, and charts.

http://www.kingofchords.com/How%20chords%20are%20built.pdf

^there in particular to understand the chord spellings.

StevieK

Hey man, didn't mean to piss you off. I wasn't trying to say it wasn't helpful, just pointing out the obvious, that most people here don't even understand basic music theory, but those sites should help anyone who needs an explanation.

blane

someone said: I thought this could be very useful to a lot of people on here, I've not seen one so "blunt" on the internet, these are the basic chords and their extensions, just taken from my old college notes, so I hope this is helpful to people.
Major
major 1 3 5
major 6th 1 3 5 6
major 7th 1 3 5 7
major 9th 1 3 5 7 9
major add9th 1 3 5 9
major 6/9th 1 3 5 6 9
major 7/6th 1 3 5 6 7
major 13th 1 3 5 7 9 13
Minor
minor 1 b3 5
minor 6th 1 b3 5 6
minor 7th 1 b3 5 b7
minor 9th 1 b3 5 b7 9
minor 11th 1 b3 5 b7 9 11
minor 7/11th 1 b3 5 b7 11
minor add 9th 1 b3 5 9
minor 6/9th 1 b3 5 6 9
minor major 7th 1 b3 5 7
minor major 9th 1 b3 5 7 9
Dominant 7th
Dominant 7th 1 3 5 b7
Dominant 7/6th 1 3 5 6 b7
Dominant 7/11th 1 3 5 b7 11
Dominant 7th suspended 1 4 5 b7
Dominant 7/6th suspended 1 4 5 6 b7
Dominant 9th 1 3 5 b7 9
Dominant 11th 1 3 5 b7 9 11
Dominant 13th 1 3 5 b7 9 13
Dominant 13th suspended 1 4 5 b7 9 13
Dominant 7/6/11th 1 3 5 b7 11 13
Dominant 11/13th 1 3 5 b7 9 11 13
Diminished 7th 1 b3 b5 bb7 (bb7 = 6th)
Augmented 1 3 #5

let me try to explain it for you all in it's most basic terms. Without all the big scary words that confuse the hell out of all of us. now i'm just going to assume you know absolutly nothing, so no one gets lost.

Major, Minor , Dominant , Diminshed, and Augmented are all types of chords. Nothing more or nothing less.

Major chords= Happy

Minor chords = Sad

Dominant chords= bluesy

Diminshed = "cartoon chords" (play this dimished chord fill)

e-2-3-4

b-1-2-3

g-2-3-4

d-1-2-3

play it slowly. it should sound like in the cartoons when bugs bunny is sneaking up on elmer fud and ####. thats why i call 'em the cartoon chords.

Okay, everyone happy and caught up to speed? Still with me? is it making sense?

Now let me explain what this is that bob has given us and more importantly how to read it.

this is how scales and chords come together. Each number is a "Scale degree" meaning it's a specific note in any given scale. OKAY read that part again it's nothing fancy just a specific note in a scale.

i'm going to show you an example in C and G major.

CDEFGABC - is the scale.

1=C 2=D 3=E 4=F 5=G 6=A 7=B 8=C 9=D 10=E Etc.

C major chord is 1 3 5

so, C E G ... now play a C and what 3 notes are you hitting? CEG.

C minor is 1 b3 5 (don't get confused by the b it' just means the 3rd "degree" is flat)

So, C Eb G ... now play a "minor chord" and what 3 notes are you hitting? CEbG

the same thing holds true for the Key of G

GABCDEF#G

1=G 2=A 3=B 4=C 5=D 6=E 7=F# etc.

Gmajor = 135

GBD

the same thing goes for both major and minor scale and chords.

Lets look one of the more complicated ones So you understand this beyond just the "basic" key of C.

G Dominant 7/6th 1 3 5 6 b7

we start with the major key of G

which you learned was

GABCDEF#G because we're going to play a Dominant 7/6th it still falls in the catagory of a "major" chord. (keep in mind a Minor chord is essentially a major chord with a flat 3rd "degree" ok) the same thing applies here. we have a b7th and and added 6th

so our scale would be

1=G 2=A 3=B 4=C 5=D 6=E 7=F 8=G

and your chord is

GBDEF

you can now play any note in that scale over top of that chord. (this scale just happens to be a "mode" of the Cmaj scale)

Now lets put it to practical application.

now lets say you want to play a Gminor scale or in the key of G minor

well you know from your diagram above that a Gmin is 1 b3 5

G Bb D

So you look at the minor scale

GABbCDEF#G

1=G 2=A 3=Bb 4=C 5=D 6=E 7=F# 8=G

from looking at this you know that you can play a Gminor scale and all of it's 7 modes over top of the key of Gminor. Same thing holds true for all the keys, scales, and chords.

okay did i lose you? hopefully not... if so p.m. me and i'll try to help you.

Now i mentioned modes twice now, and there is to much confusion as to what they are. there is a ton of information out there but because they use big scary words and word it in a confusing manner, many people can't understand them.

let me explain in "caveman" terms.

a mode is a series of notes.

a scale is a series of notes.

there are 7 modes for each scale.

each mode has a name and are in a specific order. they are

Ionian Dorian Phrygian Lydian Mixolydian Aeolian Locrian

first let me give you a easy way to remember the modes and the order they belong in.

"I Don't Punch Like Mohammad Ahh Lee"

okay so you know the C major scale from earlier in the lesson. it is

CDEFGABC

that is the Ionian mode of C

because it is based on the first note of the C scale.

all a mode is, is the same scale just starting and ending on a diffrent note or "degree" in any scale.

example:

C Major

Ionian - cdefgabc

Dorian - defgabcd

Phrygian - efgabcde

Lydian - fgabcdef

Mixolydian - gabcdefg

Aeolian - abcdefga

Locrian - bcdefgab

notice how the notes don't change, they just get shifted.

Ionian begins on the 1 scale degree

Dorian on the 2nd

Phrygian on the 3rd

lydian on the 4th

mixolydian on the 5

Aeolian of the 6th

locrian on the 7th

this holds true for all other scales as well.

A Major

Ionian - abc#def#g#

Dorian - bc#def#g#a

Phrygian - c#def#g#ab

Lydian - def#g#abc#

Mixolydian - ef#g#abc#d

Aeolian - f#g#abc#de

Locrian - g#abc#def#

notice how the notes which are # do not change, only the placement of them do.

So what does all this crap mean? well remember when i showed you why it sounds good to play a Gmin scale over a Gmin chord? (i hope you do!) remember how i also said not only can you play a Gmin scale, but all of it's modes as well? well now you know that a Mode is the same thing as any particular scale you just start and end on a diffrent note or "degree".

though technically the same scale, modes will give your lead work a diffrent feel and sound than a standard major or minor scale. Also you're no longer stuck to just doing a boring Gmaj scale over a Gmaj chord.

So there you have it. i recomend you get out your notebook and write down all the major and minor keys and scales and practice and learn and memorize a new one each day.

not just a "box" pattern!!! i recomend you learn the notes on each string. learn them all on one string, on two strings, on the 1-5 frets, on the 5-8 frets on the 8-12 frest. learn all the possiable ways to do any and all of the scales anywhere on the fretboard. (it is possiable)

you can literally play every peice of music known to man using only the 1st through 5th frets. or the 5-8th frets or the 8-12 frets.

So there you have it Applied musical theory: 301 i might do a 101 and 201 as well.. if there is a demand.

Also, if you learned something invaluable, please donate via paypal. (guitargeek666(at)hotmail(dot)com)

knowledge is free, englightenment is priceless, but a teacher's gotta eat to guys....

Doog

Nice stuff, Blane! I hope everyone finds it helpful.

But surely playing any mode of Cmaj over a Cmaj backing is gonna sound the same? Solo/lead parts don't happen chromatically, all the modes in one key contain the same "pool" of notes. You have to play the mode with its corresponding chord/key:

C - Ionian

Dm - Dorian

Em - Phrygian

F - Lydian

G - Myxolydian

Am - Aeolian

Bdim - Locrian

Now I admit I don't know much about modes (I had to Google the names just then 😡 ), but that's how I understood they work.

Mp3 of modes in C

blane

Doog said: Nice stuff, Blane! I hope everyone finds it helpful.
But surely playing any mode of Cmaj over a Cmaj backing is gonna sound the same? Solo/lead parts don't happen chromatically, all the modes in one key contain the same "pool" of notes. You have to play the mode with its corresponding chord/key:
C - Ionian
Dm - Dorian
Em - Phrygian
F - Lydian
G - Myxolydian
Am - Aeolian
Bdim - Locrian
Now I admit I don't know much about modes (I had to Google the names just then 😡 ), but that's how I understood they work.
Mp3 of modes in C

this is perfect...

the diffrence is in the tonality. while your essentially playing the same pool of notes.. the mixolydian will have a G tonality and will want to end on G while the progression will have a C tonality and want to end on C.

Since G is a 5th of C it'll complement each other well and sound a bit diffrent from just Cmaj scale (i.e. Ionian mode) a C maj over a C major will sound much happier and joyful then a C mixolydian over a Cmaj progression.

here is a quick little sample i did. you'll notice a subtle diffrence between the two modes over the same progression. (25seconds into it i switch to Mixolydian mode and end on a G) though the chord progression ends on a C

! updated this sound file!

http://s25.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=35QO ... YF1ZFJCQ1Z

(now is longer with about 30 seconds of each just "noodlin'" with the scales. you should be able to hear the diffrence fairly cleary. 1st is mixolydian, then Cmaj)

you can do it the way you said it too though, don't get me wrong. there are so many possibilities, modes just open up other avenues as far as soloing goes. i'm not saying you have to play a C mixolydian only over the key of C.

but thats not say you can't play a C mixolydian over C... but like you said you can also play the C mixolydian over a G or other progressions as well. there are no set rules you just gotta let the your ears find what sounds best to you.

i was just trying to explain more what a mode is as opposed to all the diffrent ways of using them properly. (because that would be another 10-15 paragrahs in and of itself)

StevieK

The things in theory that have helped me most with my writing is learning the diatonic chord scale, how to construct a coherant cadence, learning chord formulas (which I'm glad bob posted as I realized I had been overlooking some of them), and memorizing the way every interval sounds. The four together make writing so simple it's ridiculous. Now it's all about deviating from that basis and finding textures that are really interesting.

My favorite thing to do is to modulate between major and minor in the parallel key, or vice versa. For instance, my chorus may be in A minor while my verse is in A major, or I might have my bass player play some lines in B minor while I'm playing in B Major. Has a very eerie/bluesy/jazzy effect. I also like making chromatic chord modulations during bridges, and then moving around the circle of fifths or fourths to get back home to the key I started the song in.

What about you guys, got any compositional ideas you like using a lot?

BobArsecake

I don't have any tricks as such, if I did I'd be famous for playing the guitar, I like to throw in some notes from the relative harmonic minor scale to make it sound interesting (obviously at the right times), and try to work in secondary dominant chords to also make things a bit more interesting, but I'm never happy with the stuff I write, it sounds too obvious to me, even though that's generally what music is, I just need to write more and with other people to get better feedback.

Doog

I don't really think about theory when I'm writing parts, to be honest. Maybe I should.

Aug

I do, if I get stumped...otherwise, I just feel my way through...

blane

the only time i really think about theory is when i'm over dubbing.

the basic backing tracks rarely get a second thought. They're never complicated, and usually only use a handful of chords.

the theory comes in when i'm trying to give depth to a guitar part. I usually will pick out the 3rds and 5ths of various chords in the progression and then try to move between then in relation to the chords being played. depending on how you use that you can really lift a song up and make it seem quite fresh.

Though lately after all these years everything really does sound so boring and predictable. I wrote a lot more songs before i knew theory. because before you don' care how many songs are in E and how many times you use this one rythmic idea. You just write and play and sing.

afterwards you become really good at the details, and then everything just sounds and seems to boring and predictable. even other people's music.

StevieK

I dunno, I mean music has always been predictable to me, even before I knew anything about it. I think most of us here could actually admit to that, most people in general even. Now I just know how to label and categorize what I'm hearing methodically. There are certain musical ideas that just seem part of the human psyche in general. Like dominant and leading tone resolving to tonic, etc.

There's a lot of really unpredictable atonal music out nowadays in the post-modern classical world you could take a look at if you're tired of functional harmony, but it's pretty "out there" so to speak. It's kind of cool, because it's impossible to find tonic as there is so much contradicting movement in the music. Really interesting to analyze, but not that great to "listen" to if you know what I mean.

Doog

Stevie K said: I dunno, I mean music has always been predictable to me, even before I knew anything about it. I think most of us here could actually admit to that, most people in general even.

At least you can save money on music by just guessing how it would all sound.

But honesty, ALL music has been predictable?

StevieK

Well no, I didn't mean for it to sound exactly like that. Not trying to be a ####y prick. I meant it more as that people intuitively know when something sounds good and when it doesn't. Theory (to me at least) was just about putting labels on those things you already knew sounded "good" and those things you knew didn't. And of course there is some music that throws you a loop, but for the most part, every song you hear (or again maybe it's just me) you look at yourself and say "oh that sounds like that, or that reminds me of that, or that makes me feel like that." This we say sometimes, even though we may never have heard a song like that in our lives. And why?

The simple truth is, music was never based on a science or a method, it was always about knowing how something felt when it was played. Such as recognizing the "sad" vibrations that come from minor keys and the "happy" ones that come from major. Whenever I play my friends a song I've written, they always look at me and say "Hey I've heard that before." Even if I'm just improvising, and I think that could be attributed to the notion that most people are born with a natural harmonic intuition.

There's an entire field of study in the area, how people stumbled upon music, merely through their excellent sense of "what sounded good and what didn't."

BobArsecake

Most music is predictable, even to someone who doesn't play an instrument because certain things work and sound good, and so are used, therefore you'll find them and recognise them in songs, and a very wide range of songs at that, so you'll learn to recognise them and learn to predict the direction the song is taking. For example, Let It Be and No Woman No Cry (and countless other famour songs) have exactly the same chord progression, C G Am F, two MASSIVE songs, and they are massive because of the chord sequence because it sounds good and people aren't stupid, however contrary that sounds to artists using the same chord progessions.

StevieK

Or the I-IV-V dominant seventh blues progression. About 50 trillion

songs use it.

Oh and something I recently discovered for variation, you can play any tonality of chord (i.e. major, minor, diminished, dominant, etc.) over every note of any scale. For example. Play all major chords with the notes in C minor as the roots. So you could write a progression that went, C Major, Eb Major, F Major, and even though you're using a C Major chord, the Eb Major tricks your ears into wanting to hear the melody in C minor. It's kind of fun to screw around with, also gets a funk jazz color to it.

By the way, here's the diatonic chord scale, which has helped more than anything else in theory. For your own knowledge, a Capital roman numeral indicates a Major Chord, a lower case a minor chord, a capital with a + sign after is augmented, and a lower case with a circle or circle with a slash is diminished or half diminished. However, the diminished symbol doens't appear on the keyboard so I'll be using a lower case "o" for diminished.

Numbers in paranthesis indicate what the scale degree is called beyond the octave, for example, at the octave 1 becomes 8, 2 becomes 9.

I've seperated it into three columns, one showing you the roman numeral chord symbol and the scale degrees within the key, the second column showing you the "color" of the chord, and the third column showing you what the notes in the chords would be in the key of C Major.

Major Diatonic Chord Scale:

I : 1 3 5-----Major-----C E G

ii : 2 4 6-----Minor-----D F A

iii : 3 5 7-----Minor-----E G B

IV: 4 6 1(😎-----Major-----F A C

V : 5 7 2(9)-----Major-----G B D

vi: 6 1(😎 3(10)----- Minor-----A C E

viio: 7 2(9) 4(11)-----Diminished-----B D F

The I and vi chords are your Major and minor tonic chords respectively, meaning all other chords eventually resolve back to these two chords, in most practical cases at least. I chords flow to the IV chord and V chord most fluently. V chords like to go back to the I chord. The same is true for the minors, vi chords like to go to ii and iii chords, but its normal to raise the third (meaning the second note in the chord) of a iii chord a half step to make it major, which gives it a strong pull back to vi.

So the I-IV-V and vi-ii-iii(III) progressions are typical major and minor progressions. Now of course there are dozens more progressions, in fact you can use any combination of these chords in the diatonic chord scale you like to make a nice musical progressions, but the two listed above are your most basic progression. Amazingly you'll find that almost every song you know is a diatonic chord progression. Lets look at smells like teen spirit.

It's in the Key of F minor, which is the same thing as G# major. Though kurt uses teh pouer kords and he does a slight modulation after every chorus, essentially the basic diatonic chords used are these.

F minor-Bb minor-Ab Major-Db Major

vi-ii-I-IV

minor-minor-Major-Major

See even deh kertz music follows basic rules of music, even though he probably didn't know they did.

For those of you who know more about theory, yes I am well aware you normally change the order of the roman numerals when referring to minor keys, making the vi chord your i chord, but I didn't want to confuse anyone. I also know I left out the true harmonic minor and the melodic minor diatonic chord scales, but I think this is enough to get people started.

Doog

I'm a fan of that too, putting in maj/min when you expect the opposite.

deathtolowEbuzz

I only bother with theory while over dubbing vocals or figuring out vocal harmonies. On occasion I'll think about theory if I want to play in harmony to the lead guitarist, but thats rare.

I often find (and don't flame me for this, this is just what I've found amongst people I know) that the more people seem to know about theory and the more they use it when writting songs, the worse they are. My music teacher can play several different instruments, perfect pitch, all that jazz. What does he play in his band? soft christian rock... Theory wise I'm sure its fantastic, but its boring, predictible and half assed sounding to me.