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After the first lesson on Chord Theory, here i will try and explain in more details how chords actually work. Lets first understand a major scale, the major scale is the thing that sounds like “Do re mi fa sol la ti (do)”, let us change each of those syllables to the numbers “1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (8).” Each number represents the corresponding scale degree above. So… “4″ would mean the fourth degree of the major scale, “fa.” #4 (sharp) means that the fourth scale degree is raised by a half step, or one fret, and b4 (flat)means it is lowered by 1/2 step.

As i explained the formation of major and minor chords in the previous lesson,
Major–1  3  5
Minor–1 b3 5

So apply the following notes on your major and natural minor scales and you get the respective major & minor chords.

Now the diminished and augmented chords.
diminished–1 b3  b5
augmented–1 #3 #5

The simplest thing that is treated as a chord (in common practice, not in theory) is the “power chord” or “Five” chord. Compared to a major scale, it is:

1 - 5 …(Root - fifth or Do - sol)

Next come seventh chords. Those are produced simply by adding and altering “7.” As a rule, unless the word “major” appears in the name of the chord, the seventh will be flatted. There are a lot more possible combinations with seventh chords, for example:

Major 7             1 - 3 - 5 - 7
minor 7             1 -b3 - 5 -b7
Dominant 7      1 - 3 - 5 -b7
diminished 7    1-b3 -b5 -bb7
Augmented 7    1- 3 - #5 - b7

There are lots more. This is the procedure that is followed for every other higher number. So any sort of 9th chord is some type of 1 3 5 7 9, any type of 11th chord is 1 3 5 7 9 11, and any type of 13th chord is some type of 1 3 5 7 9 11 13. It doesn’t go any farther. When you get to 15, you have started over.

I will be coming up with more advanced Guitar chords in a lesson very shortly. Also Guitar Books and Guitar Video lessons are
available at our homepage(www.guitarheat.com).

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