Other Chords

The previous lessons have introduced you to many new chord shapes and sound. This is just the beginning. Serious jazz players spend their lives looking for great new chords to play.

Remember, in jazz we often enhance the chords we play by adding different extensions. You now have some experience working with 6ths, 7ths, and 9ths. You can extend any chord with 11ths and 13ths in exacly the same way. After you learn some of these, try substituting them for other chords. It takes a little while to develop an ear for someof these sounds, but give it time and you will grow into them.

In other to contruct some of these bigger chords, we sometimes have to eliminate some notes. Roots, 5ths and 9ths can be dropped in various combinations. Whu can we do this? the combination of remaining voices can actually inmply the missing sounds. As with all rules, there are exceptions, but it is generally not a good idea to drop 3rds and 7ths because these are the tones that define major, minor and dominant chords.

In the following chord types, do not drop:

Major............3, 7
Minor...........b3, 7
Dominant.....3, b7

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Minor 11th Chords

The formula for a minor 11th chord (min11) is Root-b3-5-b7-9-11. In the key of F that's F-Ab-C-Eb-G-Bb. In A it's A-C-E-G-B-D.

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Dominant 11th Chords

The formula for a dominant 11th chord (11) is Root-3-5-b7-9-11. In Bb that's Bb-D-F-Ab-C-Eb.

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Major 13th Chords

                                                                

The formula for a major 13th chord (Maj 13) is Root-3-5-7-9-13. In C that's C-E-G-B-D-A. Usually, there is no 11th in this chord because it would clash with the 3rd.

        

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Minor 13th Chords

The formula for a minor 13th chord (min13) is Root-b3-5-b7-9-13. In the key of Ab that's

Ab-Cb-Eb-Gb-Bb-F.

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Major Add9 Chords

A major add9 chord (add9 or Maj add9) produces a nice substitute for a plain major chord. It is simply a major triad with a 9th added: Root-3-5-9. In Eb that's Eb-G-Bb-F.

                                   
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Minor Add9 Chords

Minor add9 chords (min add9) can replace plan minor chords. The formula is Root-b3-5-9. In E that's E-G-B-F#.

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Dominant 13th Chords

The formula for a dominant 13th chord (13) is Root-3-5-b7-9-13. In D that's D-F#-A-C-E-B.

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Min7b5 (Half Diminised) Chords

Minor 7b5 chords (min7b5) are also commonly called half-diminised chords (b7), and thry key are constructed by adding b7 to the diminised triad. The formula is Root-b3-b5-b7. In C that's C-Eb-Gb-Bb.
                                     

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Diminished 7th Chords
                       

Diminished 7th chords (dim7) are also built from diminished triads. Root-b3-b5-b7. The double-flat indicates that the 7th should be lowered two half steps (a whole step). In the key of G it's spelled G-Bb-Db-Fb.

                                 

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Dominant 7th Suspended Chords

The formula for a dominant 7 th suspended chords (7 sus4, sometimes referred to as a "sus" chord) is Root-4-5-b7. In F that's F-Bb-C-Eb.

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Minor(Maj7) Chords

Minor(maj7) are minor triads with natural 7th. They are found in minor chord progressions. The formula for min(Maj7) chords is Root-b3-5-7. In the key of A that's A-C-E-G#.

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Dominant 7th Augmented Chords

Dominant 7th Augmented chord (7aug) chord are built by adding b7 to the augmented triad: Root-3-#5-b7. In B that's B-D#-F#-A. Raise the note two half steps (one whole step).

                                    

9th Chords

Extensions and Chords Families


Chords that include 9ths, 11ths, 13ths are usually referred to as extended chords. Extended chords are generally used to enhance smaller chords, such as triads and 7th chords. This kind of thinking can make a chord progression more interesting and sound more musically sophisticated it simply gives you more to listen to.

One very important featue of jazz harmony is that chords can be freely substituted for other chords within their "family". We can think of there being three basic "families" major, minor, and dominant. In other words, if the written chord progression contains a CMaj7 chord, you may replace it with a C6, CMaj9, CMaj13, or any other chord in the CMajor family. A Cmin7could be replaced with a Cmin6, Cmin11, Cmin13 or any other Cminor chord. With dominant chords the same idea holds true. A C7 could be replace with C9, C11, C13. Many students are suprised that this is possible. Yes it will change the sound of the tune and yes, that is perfectly alright. The chords you choose when playing a song help to define your own individual sound and style. After some these voicings become easy for you, try using them in songs you already know. Experiment freely, but let good taste dictate your choices.

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Major 9th Chords

The formula of the major 9th chord (Maj9) is Root-3-5-7-9. In the key of C, that's C-E-G-B-D. In F it's F-A-C-E-G.

                                                         
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Minor 9th Chords

The formula for a minor 9th chord (min9) is Root b3-5-b7-9. In the key of G it's G-Bb-D-F-A. In D it's D-F-A-C-E.

     
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Dominant 9th Chords

The formula for a dominant 9th chord (9) is Root-3-5-b7-9. In the key of Eb that's Eb-G-Bb-Db-F. In Bb it's Bb-D-F-Ab-C.

                                                                                   

Octave Scales

The six major scale fingerings you have learned span two octaves. They are useful for playing in one position at the time. In the next two lessons, you will be shown four three octave major scale fingerings. These will eventually help you play horizontally (on the fingerboard, that is not while layng down), which is a very natural approach for all stringed instruments. When you start improvising with the mayor scale you will find that your ideas are very different when you approach the scales in the manner. You may find, depending on the length of your fingerboard, that your instrument will not accommodate a three octave scale in some key. Simply practice these fingerings only in keys in where the full three octaves can be played.


e]-------------------------5-7-8---8-7-5----------------------------[
B]-------------------5-6-8---------------8-6-5----------------------[
G]-------------4-5-7---------------------------7-5-4----------------[
D]---------5-7---------------------------------------7-5-------------[
A]---5-7-8-----------------------------------------------8-7-5------[
E]-8-----------------------------------------------------------8------[

e]--------------------------------7-8---8-7-------------------------------------[
B]---------------------------8-10-----------10-8------------------------------[
G]--------------------7-9-10---------------------10-9-7----------------------[
D]-------------7-9-10-----------------------------------10-9-7---------------[
A]------7-8-10-------------------------------------------------10-8-7--------[
E]-8-10---------------------------------------------------------------10-8-----[

7th Chords

Major 7th Chords

Major 7th chords (maj7) are commonly used in place of plain major chords. The formula for a Maj7 chords is Root-3-5-7. In the key of F this would be F-A-C-E. In the key of Bb it's Bb-D-F-A. Practice spelling Maj7 chords for the other ten keys.
                                                                

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Minor 7th Chords

Minor 7th chord (min7) are common replacements for plain minor chords. The formula for a minor7 chords is Root-b3-5-b7. In the key of G this would be G-Bb-D-F. In the key of D it's D-F-A-C. Natural signs will be used in these examples to show when sharped notes are naturaled for note b3 or b7. Practice spelling the min7 chords in the other ten keys.

                                                           

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Dominant 7th Chords

Dominant 7th chords (7), sometimes simply refered to as "dominant" play a very important role in chord progressions. You will be learning about this in great detail in the intermediate book of this series. For now, it is enough to know that the formula for a 7 chord is Root-3-5-7. It has a natural 3, like a major chord and b7 like min7 chord. In the key of E it is spelled E-G#-B-D. In the key of A it's A-C#-E-G. As you have done with the other chords, practice spelling these in all keys.

6th Chords

Major 6th Chords

Major 6th chords are common in jazz because they are a good substitute for major chords. The formula for Maj6 chords is as follows: Root-3-5-6. In a key of F, this would be spelled F, A, C, and D. In the key of C it would be C, E, G and A. Practise spelling major sixth chords for the other ten keys. Notice that some of these voicings require you to dampen an inside string. If a string is marked with an "x" in the fingering, it should not be sounded. For instance, in the first voicing below, you can use 4 to dampen to fifth string. The only other solution is to fingerpick instead of strum. There are dozens and dozens of possible voicings. A good chord book can be a handy eference to have, but do try to come up with some voicings of your own. This will reinforce your knowledge of chord theory.

                             

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Minor 6th Chords

In jazz, minor 6th chords (min6) are common replacements for minor chords. After you learn some of these voicings, play any song you know and try using them in place of the minor chords you would ordinarily use. The 6th adds a beautiful element to the minor quality.

The formula for min6 chords is: Root-3-5-6. In the key of GMajor, this would be G, Bb, D, and E. In DMajor it would be D, F, A and B. Practise spelling the min6 chords in the remaining keys. Here are some sample voicing:

Constructing Large Chords

Constructing Large Chords - Building larger chords is no different than bulding triads there are just a few more notes involved. Like triads, we use formulas. If we want to construct a CMaj7 chord, we need to know the formula for major 7th chords. In the lessons that follow, you will learn exactly what the various formulas are. It will be easy since they are not that complex and you will be digesting this information a little at a time.


How Larger Chord Formulas Work

Most chords are built on top of triads, so constructing larger chords is simply a matter od adding additioanal scale tones to the original triad.

Formula CMajor : C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C

The formula for Major7 chords is Root 3-5-7. This means that we combine the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th degrees of the major scale to build the chord. Notice that what we have actually done is add the 7thdegree to a major triad.

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Extensions

Many chords use notes that actually lie beyond a one octave major scale. Since an octave contains only eight notes, these would include chords that have 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. These are called extensions. Where do these notes come from?, we get the extended notes (beyond the octave) by continuing the major scale up through a second octave. Work  using Cmin11 chord, the formulas is Root-b3-5-b7-9-11. Chords are usually named for the highest extension present. So, even though the b7 and 9 are part of the chord, it is still called min11.

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Interval Larger Chords

Larger chords can be inverted like triads, too. The only difference is that since they have four notes, they invert three times instead of only two.

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Voicings

Other arrangements of the notes, or voicings, can also be used. In this case, each note in a chord is referred to as a voice. Here are two examples of voicings gor the CMaj7 chord.

The guitar presents fingering problem that don't exist on the keyboard, ourchordal cousin. It will sometimes be necerssary to eliminate certain tones from the chord you are building. These will be explained as each type of chord is discussed in future lessons. Don't let this limitation bother you. There are more great sounding chords to play than you could ever learn.

Another consideration is how to execute these larger chords with the right hand. Most chords in this book can be played with a pick, while some work better when fingerpicked.

Basic Theory Scale

THE CHROMATIC SCALE

In our western music system we have twelve tones that are repeated over and over spaning many octaves. We call this set of tones the chromatic scale. All of the notes in the chromatic scale are one half step (one fret on the guitar) away from each other. Two half steps would equal a whole step (two fret on the guitar).

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THE MAJOR SCALE

To Build a C Major scale start with the note C. Now we move one whole step up to find the next note, which is D. Another whole step will bring us to the note E. One half step away from E is F. Continuing a whole step up from F is G, another whole step up brings us to A, and yet another brings us to B. Our last move will be a half step up from B to C. We have just constructed a Major scale.

C Major Scale:

What you need to do now is construct all twelve major scale on paper, away from your guitar. Construct them in the following order : C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, B, E, A, D and G. Check your result against the example below and start memorizing them by theoretical concept will be based on this information, and the better you know these scales, the easier your musical studies will be.

When arranged in this order, the number of flats in each flat scale in creases by one. This is a helpful memory tool. Notice that each scale starts four steps above the last (from C to F is four whole steps: C, D, E, F). This is called and many of the concepts.

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INTERVALS

The distance between two notes identifies their musical relationship. An interval name describes this distance. It is imprortant to be able to recognize intervals by both sight and sound, and know where they lie on the fingerboard. When determining an intervals name, be sure to include both notes in your count through the musical alphabet, starting with the bottom note and counting upward. For instance, the distance from C to F would be counted like this: C-1, D-2, E-3, F-4. So, the interval from C to F is a 4th. Along with the numerical name of each interval there is a qualifying name (Major, minor, etc) As you continue with your studies, you will see that this is very important information to have about an interval.

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MAJOR SCALE FINGERINGS

You wil be learning six different fingering for the major scale. Three of these fingerings will have their roots on the sixth string and three will have their roots on the fifth string. We will identify these fingerings by what string the lowest root is found on and with which finger that root is played. The first fingerings bellow will be labeled because the lowest root is found on the sixth string and fingered with the first finger. Example show how the melodic patterns that can be continued through the rest of the scale fingerings as given above. Just keep repeating the same melodic shape until to reach the highest note in the fingering. Then be sure to turn it around and play it backwards.

Use Pattern: