Jan 07 2009
Guitar Lesson: Chords (part 2)
Welcome to Guitar Lesson: Chords (part 2).
In my last lesson I talked about chords and using intervals to define the chords name and type. This lesson will be a continuation of the previous lesson and we will start to talk about slightly more complex chords.
In the first lesson we talked about Major and Minor chords and 7ths. Now I’d like to talk about the rest of the numbers and some other types.
9 Chords.
9th chords are a little easier to define because, like the 7th chords where you would just add a 7 to a major or minor triad, you add a 9 to a 7th chord. For example if you wanted Major 9 chord you would have: Perfect 1st, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Major 7th, 9.
The 9 is never classified as major or minor because the 1st, 3rd, and 5th interval decide whether the chord is major or minor. This means that you add the 9th interval of either the major or minor scale. However, some 9 chords can be written like this: Gminor9# or Gmajor9b. Stating that the 9 is flattened (lowered a half step) or sharped (raised a half step). Also remember that the 9th interval is also the same as the second interval, since the scale repeats itself after 7 intervals.So you could also write the chord as: Perfect 1st, 2nd, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Major 7th.
Note: If the 7th interval of a 9, 11, or 13 chord is minor, the chord is simply called a 9, 11 or 13; not major or minor. (e.g. G11, C13 A9)
11 Chords.
For 11th chords you do the same thing that you did for 9 chords and just add an 11th (4th) interval to a 9 chord. So for Gmajor11, you would have: Perfect 1st, 2nd (9th), Major 3rd, 4th (11th), Perfect 5th, Major 7th. 11 is neither minor nor major because it is the same interval as the Perfect 4th and the Perfect 4th can not be major or minor, but you can have a flattened or sharped 11, though it would still have 9 in the name and be called a “Gmajor9#11″.
Note: If the 7th interval of a 9, 11, or 13 chord is minor, the chord is simply called a 9, 11 or 13; not major or minor. (e.g. G11, C13 A9)
13 Chords.
13 chords can be rather complicated. Since a 13th chord technically consist of seven notes and the guitar only has six strings, it would be impossible to play a full 13th chord on a guitar. That is why a note–usually the 3rd, 5th, or 11th–is left out when playing this chord. For example, a Gmajor13 has the intervals: Perfect 1st, 2nd (9th), Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, 6th (13th), Major 7th. Notice that the 4th (11th) interval was left out. Basically, it follows the same rules as adding on a 13th to a triad with a 7th and a 9th, much like the 11th chord.
Note: If the 7th interval of an 9, 11, or 13 chord is minor, the chord is simply called a 9, 11, or 13; not major or minor. (e.g. G11, C13, A9)
Sus Chords.
Sus is short for suspended and applies to the 3rd interval in a triad. There are two types of sus chords: sus2 and sus4. For a sus2 you simply lower the 3rd a whole step, making it a 2nd. So the intervals used would be: Perfect 1st, 2nd, Perfect 5th. For a sus4 chord you raise the 3rd a half step making it a 4th. The intervals would be: Perfect 1st, 4th, Perfect 5th.
Note: A sus chord is neither minor nor major.
Augmented and Diminished Chords.
This is where it gets rather confusing, so please bare with me. Though it is not possible to have a Minor or Major, Perfect interval; it is possible to have an augmented or diminished one. By definition, an Augmented or Diminished chord is a chord that contains an augmented or diminished interval; but generally, it is in reference to the 5th interval. For example, an Augmented chord has a raised fifth. So the intervals would be: Perfect 1st, Major 3rd, and a Sharped 5th.
If you were to lower or raise the Major 3rd of a Augmented chord, it would invert the chord into a different key. For example, if you had the notes (with intervals): G (Perfect 1st), B (Major 3rd), D# (Augmented 5th) and were to lower the Major third to a minor third, you would have the notes that make up a D# major triad: D# (Perfect 1st), G (Major 3rd), A# (Perfect 5th). With Diminished, however, you can raise the 3rd and have a Minor or Major Diminished chord.
Note: Any interval can be augmented or diminished. The 5th interval is normally the more popular one.
I did not name every type of chord that there is available but hopefully this will help some people. This is all very confusing, I’m sure, so if you have any questions or suggestions, please comment me. I will be doing one more lesson here on even more complex chords.
-Dylan
