For most guitar players, learning chords means memorizing shapes on the fretboard. At some point in your guitar playing experience, however, you may question what makes a chord a chord. You probably realize that a chord is a combination of notes that can either be played all at once, as you do when strumming, or one at a time, as you do in fingerpicking. By learning which notes combine to make those chords, you can greatly increase your understanding of music and become a more flexible player. Understanding chords will allow you to create them in a variety of ways up the neck, and to anticipate, manipulate and remember the progressions in songs you want to play.
How to Construct Chords
All chords have the triad (1 – 3 – 5) as their foundation. In other words, the basic major, minor, augmented and diminished chords are made up of only three notes. Because we often like to play most or all of the strings in order to create a full sound in accompaniment playing, we usually begin our study of guitar by learning first position chord shapes. Those shapes include repeated chord tones. For example, the C chord is made up of three notes: C, E and G. If you analyze the notes you are playing when you form a first position C chord on your guitar, you will see that they are all those same three notes: the note on the sixth string is an E, the fifth string a C, the fourth string an E, the third string a G, the second string a C and the first string an E.
In order to determine the three notes in a chord, you will need a few simple formulas. Begin by becoming familiar with triads. To form a triad, call the letter you start with “1”. Skip the next letter and use the third one (“3”), then skip the fourth one and use the next (“5”). Here are all of the triads (letters only, no sharps or flats): ACE, BDF, CEG, DFA, EGB, FAC, GBD
Use the following formulas to construct chords. (Feel free to write down or look at the order of notes.) Remember that the Major 3rd (M3) = 2 steps and the minor 3rd (m3) = 1 ½ steps. Be sure to use the proper letter name for each note, so that the result is clearly a triad.
Major Chord = M3 + m3 (C = C E G)
To construct a C chord, begin with C (the root of the chord). Go a M3 (2 steps) from C, which gives you E (the third of the chord). Then go a m3 (1 ½ steps) from E, which gives you G (the fifth of the chord).
Minor Chord = m3 + M3 (Cm = C E♭ G)
To construct a Cm chord, begin with C. Go a m3 from C, which gives you E♭. Then go a M3 from E♭, which gives you G.
Augmented Chord = M3 + M3 (C+ = C E G♯)
To construct a C+ chord, begin with C. Go a M3 from C, which gives you E. Then go a M3 from E, which gives you G♯.
Diminished Chord = m3 + m3 (Cº = C E♭ G♭)
To construct a Cº chord, begin with C. Go a m3 from C, which gives you E♭. Then go a m3 from E♭, which gives you G♭.
Here are some examples of proper chord spelling:
G = G B D (M3 + m3)
Gm = G B♭ D (m3+M3)
A = A C♯ E (M3+m3)
Am = A C E (m3+M3)
You may notice that the difference between the major and minor chords is that the 3rd of the minor chord is 1/2 step lower than the 3rd of the major chord. Look at how that works on your guitar by examining the first position chord shapes A and Am. By lowering the 3rd of the A chord (in this case, the 3rd is located on the second string) by 1/2 step, you change the chord to an Am. Find and lower the 3rd of the E chord and the D chord.
Now notice that the difference between a major chord and an augmented (+) chord is that the 5th is 1/2 step higher on the augmented chord. Try making a C augmented chord by finding which string the 5th is on and raising it 1/2 step (playing one fret higher on that string).
When you work with finding new shapes on your guitar, remember that the chord tone you raise or lower will have to be changed on any string on which it occurs. It’s fine to play chords with only three or four strings, so if the fingering becomes unreasonable, just decide which strings you want to use.
As in all things musical, your chord spelling will benefit from plenty of practice. You can find worksheets to help you with your practice, as well as lots more information about chords in A Guitar Player’s Guide to Music Theory. Chord spelling is one aspect of guitar that you can practice anywhere – all you need is a few minutes!