Chords are the basic building blocks of guitar music. However, learning them can be daunting due to their use of sharps and flats; for instance a C major chord consists of C, E and G – commonly referred to as Csus4.
Guitars and pianos are multi-timbral instruments, meaning they can play more than one note at the same time to produce full, lush chords.
Major chords
Major chords are composed of three notes and form the backbone for many songs. As beginners, it’s recommended that they first focus on mastering all major chords before expanding their knowledge to other forms and progressions.
Most likely, the first chords you will learn are major triads. Triads consist of three notes spaced a third apart. Some major chords contain an additional sixth note called an “augmented chord”. Suspended chords do not feature this additional sixth note and are written with letters such as Asus2 or Esus4.
Major chords will help you better comprehend keys, or groups of notes related to one another. Each major key has an associated minor key; learning these chords in different keys will broaden your songwriting capabilities and open up more opportunities for improvisation. There are various methods for writing chords – sheet music notation is the most commonly used technique; fretboard diagrams also exist which display chord shapes on guitar frets.
Minor chords
Chords play an instrumental role in creating the sound of any song. Their harmonic progression conveys emotion while providing musical form for lyrics. Their tones differ significantly: Major chords have brighter sounds while Minor chords create melancholy tones that help songwriters evoke various feelings in listeners.
To create a minor chord, start with a major triad and lower its third note by half step or one fret – this creates an A minor chord consisting of C, E and G notes.
An alternative way of playing a minor chord is with the minor seventh chord, similar to its regular seventh counterpart but using minor triad instead of major. It’s often notated Cm(maj7) and has the notes C, Eb and G – making it a fantastic way to add minor feel.
Dominant chords
Dominant chords (commonly known as dominant sevenths, flat sevenths and dominant triads) can be found throughout tonal music – from Mozart symphonies to Top 40 pop. Dominant chords tend to feel unstable, often needing resolution back to their tonic triad (root). Dominant chords can also be decorated or altered, usually providing options of adding sharp-9’s, flat-11’s and flat-13’s into their standard voicings.
One simple approach to understanding chord shapes is to think of them as major triads with minor thirds layered on top – for instance a C dominant seventh chord contains major thirds, perfect fifths, and minor sevenths above its root note. A great way to identify between major and dominant seventh chords is listening out for their distinctive sound: at the end of chorus in “Then You Begin To Make It Better” this buildup at the end is indicative of dominent seventh chord extending up and down the scale.
Suspended chords
Beginners can feel overwhelmed by the number of chords they need to learn, but there are several strategies you can employ to increase dexterity and broaden their repertoire.
First step to improving chord playing: Practice rhythmic strumming and switching chords without getting stuck into one particular riff for too long. You should also experiment with fingering different chords so as to familiarise yourself with their shapes and fingerings.
Suspended chords are an effective way of adding tension and dissonance to music. They usually involve replacing the third of a major or minor chord with either its second or fourth tone – known as sus2 or sus4 chords – for added effect.
Many popular songs feature sus chords; for instance, The Police’s Message in a Bottle features four sus2 or sus4 chords that can either precede or follow an adjacent major or minor chord.