Chords Intervals Construction

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INTRODUCTION

Beginner guitar players are used to memorize as much as

possible chord shapes, and use them during their playing. In

case of movable shapes, such as barr chords, they memorize

the shape of the chord and the root note, in order to be able to

play different chords with the same shape. This is a good

approach to learn playing guitar, but it's not complete. Indeed,

if you consider a chord like an immutable shape on the

fretboard, you can't have any options to color your sound,

adding variations, substitutions, and the like. Chords are not

just static shape to memorize and repeat, but, knowing how

they are built, you can create and adapt them on the fly,

expanding all the potentiality of your playing. Knowing how

chords are built means knowing how intervals work on the

fretboard. In this ebook I'd like to give you an introduction

about intervals, chords, and how intervals create chords.

INTERVALS

In music, an interval is basically a distance between two notes.

In western music, the smallest interval is the semitone. The

chromatic scale is composed by 12 semitones, so to play the

scale you need to play all the semitones, one after the other.

The chromatic scale of C is:

C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G-G#-A-A#-B-C

Depending on the number of semitones between two notes, an

interval gets different names. Here's the intervals table name

from wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_(music)

So, for example, the interval between the note C and the note

G of our chromatic scale, is 7 semitones long. Looking at the

table, this distance is called a perfect fifth.

In the same way, if we start from the lower C of the chromatic

scale and we stop to the higher C, we cover a path of 12

semitones, named on the table perfect octave.

A distance can have different names, depending on the context.

For example, a distance of 6 semitones, can be called

augmented fourth or diminished fifth. We'll see this later.

FRETBOARD OCTAVES

The first interval that you should memorize on the fretboard is

the octave. Knowing your octaves is a great shortcut for

fretboard navigation. As you probably already know, two notes

spanning a distance of one octave (12 semitones) have the

same name (C-C), but different pitch: one note sounds lower

than the other. If you know how octaves are placed on the

guitar fretboard, you can easily navigate among the strings and

find your way. Have a look at the picture below:

Black dots represent always the same note (suppose a C). The

first and the sixth strings

tuning), thus you can

circle) on the first and the sixth string

notice that a note on the second string, is placed also on the

fourth string, two frets upper, and on the fifth string, two frets

below. Same story

look at the diagram

on your fretboard,

advanced fretboard geometry concepts.

Using octave concepts, you can identify the same notes on

different strings. Let's take as example the minor third interval:

The root note is the one marked with the black dot (fourth

string). We find a minor third on the upper string (fifth string),

but, using our octaves, we can


first and the sixth strings have the same notes

, thus you can find your note at the same fret (yellow

on the first and the sixth string. In the

note on the second string, is placed also on the


for the yellow and the orange circles

look at the diagram. If you memorize where octaves

on your fretboard, you'll have a helpful visual aid

advanced fretboard geometry concepts.




a minor third on the upper string (fifth string),

but, using our octaves, we can find it also on the second string


have the same notes (in standard

note at the same fret (yellow

. In the red circle, we

note on the second string, is placed also on the


for the yellow and the orange circles, just

octaves are placed

visual aid for more




a minor third on the upper string (fifth string),

it also on the second string.

Another example: diminished fifth interval

different strings. This give us many options to vary and

our playing.

INTERVALS GEOMETRY

Chords are composed by a

time. The distances between the root note of the chord, which

gives the name to the chord, and each note of the chords, are

what we call intervals

intervals, we can have different chords

major and minor chords a

interval (major or minor), and a fifth interval.

C major: root C, major third

C minor: root C, minor third

More complex chords are created

ninth intervals, and so on.

diminished fifth interval. We can get

ent strings. This give us many options to vary and

INTERVALS GEOMETRY

Chords are composed by a number of notes played

The distances between the root note of the chord, which


intervals. Depending on the kind of these

can have different chords qualities

ajor and minor chords are composed by the root note, a third

or minor), and a fifth interval.

, major third E, perfect fifth G

, minor third Eb, perfect fifth G

More complex chords are created by adding seventh intervals,

ls, and so on.

can get it on

ent strings. This give us many options to vary and to color

played at the same

The distances between the root note of the chord, which


. Depending on the kind of these

qualities. For example,

re composed by the root note, a third

ing seventh intervals,

Important intervals geometries you should memorize are then

minor and major thirds, perfect, augmented and diminished

fifths. An augmented fifth is a perfect fifth raised 1 semitone (7

-> 8 semitones), a diminished fifth is a perfect fifth lowered 1

semitone (7 -> 6 semitones).

If you add one octave to an interval , you get what we call an

extended interval; it is composed by the same note names but

the distance between the notes is one octave longer. For

example, a major second with one octave added becomes a

ninth (have a look at the following diagrams).

The following diagrams show the various options that one has

when he's building chords on the fretboard: it's useful to not

consider chords like immutable shapes but to learn the single

intervals and to assemble them in order to create specific

chords shapes as it needed. With practice, this will be easy and

automatic!

Graphic convention: in the following diagrams, the root note

is marked with a black dot. Other notes are represented by an

empty circle.

3 semitones

Minor Third

adding 1 octave:

Minor Tenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Second

3 semitones

Minor Third

1 octave:

Minor Tenth

enharmonic

Augmented Second

4 semitones

Major Third

adding 1 octave:

Major Tenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Fourth

4 semitones

Major Third

1 octave:

Major Tenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Fourth

6 semitones

Diminished Fifth

adding 1 octave:

Diminished Twelfth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Fourth

6 semitones

Diminished Fifth

1 octave:

Diminished Twelfth

enharmonic

Augmented Fourth

7 semitones

Perfect Fifth

adding 1 octave:

Perfect Twelfth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Sixth

7 semitones

Perfect Fifth

1 octave:

Perfect Twelfth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Sixth

8 semitones

Minor Sixth

adding 1 octave:

Minor Thirtee

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Fifth

8 semitones

Minor Sixth

1 octave:

Minor Thirteenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Fifth

CHORDS CONSTRUCTION

Let's see some examples of chords constructions, using the

intervals we've just learnt (minor and major thirds, perfect fifth,

diminished and augmented fifth). Try to recognize visually the

intervals geometries you've seen on the previous diagrams.

Due the nature of the fretboard, in which the same note is

placed on different strings, for a given chord can exist different

fingerings and positions. The following diagrams are just one

among all the possible fingerings you can use.

Cmaj chord

Name variations: C major, CM, C

This chord is a major triad: root, major third, perfect

fifth.

Cm chord

Name variations: C minor, Cm, C-

This chord is a minor triad: root, minor third, perfect

fifth.

Caug chord

Name variations: C augmented

This chord is an augmented triad (root, major third,

augmented fifth)

C-5 chord

Name variations: C diminished triad, Cb5

This chord is composed by the root, a minor third and a

flat fifth.

MORE INTERVALS

We can now move on and learn the remaining kinds of

intervals: minor second, major second, perfect fourth, minor

and major seventh, minor and major sixth, and so on.

1 semitone

Minor Second

adding 1 octave:

Minor Ninth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Unison

1 semitone

Minor Second

1 octave:

Minor Ninth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Unison

2 semitones

Major Second

adding 1 octave:

Major Ninth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Third

2 semitones

Major Second

1 octave:

Major Ninth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Third

5 semitones

Perfect Fourth

adding 1 octave

Perfect Eleventh

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Third

5 semitones

Fourth

1 octave

Perfect Eleventh

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Third

9 semitones

Major Sixth

adding 1 octave:

Major Thirteenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Seventh

9 semitones

Major Sixth

1 octave:

Major Thirteenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Seventh

10 semitones

Minor Seventh

adding 1 octave:

Minor Fourteen

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Sixth

10 semitones

Minor Seventh

1 octave:

Minor Fourteenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Augmented Sixth

11 semitones

Major Seventh

adding 1 octave:

Major Fourteenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Octave

11 semitones

Major Seventh

1 octave:

Major Fourteenth

consonant

enharmonic

equivalent:

Diminished Octave

CHORDS CONSTRUCTION EXAMPLES

PART 2

Csus4 chord

Name variations: C suspended fourth, C4, C#3

This chord is composed by the root, a perfect fourth and

has no third (suspended), then is neither major nor

minor.

C7 chord

Name variations: C dominant seventh, Cdom7

This chord is a major triad with a minor seventh.

Cmin7 chord

Name variations: C minor seventh, Cm7, C-7

This chord is a minor triad (root, minor third, perfect

fifth) with a minor seventh.

Cmaj7 chord

Name variations: C major seventh, CM7, C7

This chord is a major triad (root, major third, perfect

fifth) with a major seventh.

MORE CHORDS TO CREATE

Now you should have understood the mechanism, your job is to

create the other kinds of chords, exploiting the intervals

diagrams you now know well.

You can check your answers on the Fachords Chords Library

http://www.fachords.com/guitar-chords-library/

C7-5 chord

Name variations: C dominant seventh flat five chord,

C7b5, C7(-5), C7(b5), C7/b5

This chord is composed by the root, a major third, a

diminished fifth and a minor seventh.

C7+5 chord

Name variations: C dominant seventh sharp five, C7(#5),

C7#5

This chord is composed by the root, a major third, an

augmented fifth and a minor seventh.

C6 chord

Name variations: Csixth, Cmajor sixth

This chord is composed by a major triad and a major sixth

Cm6 chord

Name variations: Cminor sixth, Cm6, C-6

This chord is a minor triad with a major sixth

Cm9 chord

Name variations: Cminor ninth, C-9, Cmin9

This chord is a minor triad with a minor seventh and a

major ninth

C6/9 chord

Name variations: Cmaj6/9, CM6/9, CMAJ6/9, C6add9

This chord is composed by the root, a major third, a

perfect fifth, a major sixth and a major ninth

C7sus4 chord

Name variations: C seventh suspended fourth, C7-4,

C7sus

This chord is composed by the root, a perfect fourth and

a minor seventh. It has no third (suspended), then is

neither major nor minor.

C7-9 chord

Name variations: C dominant seventh flat ninth, C7(b9),

C7(-9)

This chord is a major triad with a minor seventh and a

minor ninth

C7+9 chord

Name variations: C dominant seventh sharp ninth,

C7(#9), C7(+9)

This chord is a major triad with a minor seventh and an

augmented ninth

C9-5 chord

Name variations: C ninth flat five, C9b5, C9(-5), C9(b5),

C7/9(b5)

This chord is a 7/b5 chord (root, major third, flat five,

minor seventh) with added a major 9th.

C9 chord

Name variations: Cdominant ninth, Cdom9

This chord is a major triad with a minor seventh and a

major ninth

Cmaj9 chord

Name variations: C major ninth, CM9, C9

This chord is a major triad (root, major third, perfect

fifth) with a major seventh and a major ninth.

C11 chord

Name variations: Cdominant eleventh, Cdom11

This chord is a major triad with a minor seventh, a major

ninth and a major eleventh

C13 chord

Name variations: Cdominant thirteenth, Cdom 13

This chord is a major triad with a minor seventh, a major

ninth and a major thirteenth

What's next?

To assimilate these concepts, you should take a well

know chords progression, and play it without using the

shapes that your muscles memorized in the past, but

building chords on the fly on different fretboard zones.

For example, play the C, G, Am, F progression starting

with the C root note on the 8th fret of the higher E string.

If you need help, write me at [email protected]

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Chords Intervals Construction

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