Chords are an intricate web of logic and seemingly random rules. By understanding basic chord-naming and scale theory, it becomes much simpler to discover new chord shapes.
Basic guitar chords include major and minor triads as well as dominant sevenths. To remember these, just remember that each chord contains three intervals between its notes.
Major Chords
Beginner guitarists must master major chords as part of their repertoire. These chords often serve as the foundation of many popular songs and are easy to play on guitar.
Typically speaking, chords constructed from major scale can produce happier sounds than those constructed using minor scale. This also applies to chords sequenced using major scale notes as different chord positions create tension or resolution based on their placement in a progression.
Major chords consist of the first, third and fifth scale degrees from its associated scale; often written as “triad.” This formula applies regardless of key.
Fender Play makes learning guitar scales, chords and musical theory simple with songs you enjoy as practice tools. For instance, the A major chord can be found across many genres and styles of music and often used for I IV V progressions.
Minor Chords
Minor chords, much like major ones, consist of three notes – the root note, minor third and minor fifth – joined together. They are one of the key chord types to learn alongside major ones.
Minor chords create a sound that is often described as somber or serious, making them popular choices in classical and popular music songs like Fur Elise by Beethoven, Greensleeves by The Beach Boys, Round Midnight by Rachmaninoff and more.
There are other chord types using the letter m, such as minor six chords, seven chords and nine chords, but these are much less often utilized than major and minor chords.
Sustained Chords
Sus chords (commonly referred to as sus2 or sus4) can add interest and variety to guitar chord progressions, particularly in triad chords that lack major or minor thirds; their tension-inducing properties create an intriguing sense of ambiguity that ultimately resolves to its root chord.
Substituting sus chords for dominant sevenths in a key can create tension that adds emotion to songs – as evident in Bryan Adams’ classic Summer of 69 riff and Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love opening chords.
One common use for suspended chords is to manipulate them over a pedal tone to form musical phrases, as seen in songs by Tom Petty and Alicia Keyes, or using Csus2 chords over G pedal tones can sound beautiful; you’ll often find this approach used in 90s rock acoustic ballads such as Bon Jovi’s Dead or Alive.
Alternate Chords
There are various variations on open chords you might like to add to your repertoire, such as b5 (flat fifth), #5 (sharp fifth), and b9 (flat ninth). These altered chords do not belong to a diatonic scale and should therefore not be considered diatonic chords.
Utilizing variations on basic chords can prevent your sound from becoming murky when playing alongside another guitarist or bassist. Furthermore, alternate voicings of the same chord will add distinctive tones to the progression that will elevate your overall style and sound.
The F Major chord is an example of this. Beginning players often struggle with this chord; trying to use full barre fingering results in buzzy notes. Luckily, creating an alternative voicing that’s much simpler to fret can give an easier, jazzy sounding voicing – this version places your index finger directly onto the High E string – giving it a nice summer-y sounding chord!