Guitar Chord Theory
Part 4 - Extended Chords

So what about chords that have more than 3 or 4 notes? Further notes can be added to triads and 7th chords to create fuller, extended chords, or as I prefer to call them, more interesting chords!

Hopefully this lesson will provide you with a good knowledge base to help you see how more complex chords are constructed on guitar.

Make sure you've learned the major scale in both E and A shape positions (E and A string root notes) - this page has these (and 6 more scale positions) mapped out for you. We'll look at the other major scale patterns (e.g. the descending, ascending and D string major scale positions) in the next guitar chord theory lesson when we look at alternate voicings.

Stacking chord tones - 9th chords

Ok, so you hopefully know the sequence of tones that make up the major scale, from tones 1 - 7. There's something else you should know though! Below is their natural order when it comes to constructing chords and knowing which tones take precedence when you write a chord...

• The 2nd is the same as the 9th
• The 4th is the same as the 11th
• The 6th is the same as the 13th

The latter numbers are to represent that tone's position in the hierarchy when it comes to abbreviating chord names. So, in actuality, the 2nd comes after the 3rd, 5th and 7th because in chord theory it's the 9th.

A major triad which is symbolized by just the root's letter (e.g. G) suggests there is a 3rd and 5th added to the root.

A dominant 7th chord which is the root's letter followed by a "7" (e.g. G7) suggests there is a 3rd, 5th and flat 7th (see part 3 if you're confused) added to the root.

A major 7th chord which is the root's letter followed by "maj7" (e.g. Gmaj7) suggests there is a 3rd, 5th and major 7th (7th in its natural position in the major scale) added to the root.

The highest number/tone in the chord is the number you use in the chord symbol - AS LONG AS - the notes/numbers preceding it are also included!

So we're just stacking the tones up, from the root, to higher levels for fuller chords.

Let's look at some practical examples.

Below are the tones involved in building a major 9th (maj9) chord...

Below is an example of a major 9th chord (but I've left out the 5th so I can get the other tones in - this is fine)...

We can also extend dominant 7th chords to include the 9th (2nd), giving us a dominant 9th chord...

1  3  5  b7  9

So if there's no "maj" in between the chord letter and the number, we assume the 7th is a dominant (flat) 7th as opposed to a major 7th. E.g. C9, D9, E9 etc.

Apply the same "stacking" process to minor chords. If we add a 9th to a minor 7th chord we get a minor 9th chord...

Add chords

So what happens if not all the tones that precede the highest tone in a chord are present?

Then we get "add" chords (e.g. Gadd6, Gadd9)

Let's look at the tones in an add9 chord...

Therefore, if the 7th is left out of the chord, it becomes an add chord. Think of it like a gap in the order of chord tones up to the highest tone - if there's a gap, it becomes an "add" chord.

Same thing applies with adding the 6th to chords with no 7th. Remember, the 6th becomes the 13th in the order of chord tones. So if the 7th is missing, we can note the chord as add6 or add13...

1  3  5  13

What if both the 9th and 13th tones are added to a chord with no 7th?

Good question! We could write this as add6/9, or add9/6 (e.g. Gadd9/6). The slash is like saying "and also add..."

1  3  5  9  13

Note that you'll see the 13th and 6th used interchangeably, as they're both the same tone. Strictly speaking, you should write "add13" when the 6th is present, but I see "add6" used a lot more to be honest.

To summarise, "add" is like saying "no 7th". This applies the same to minor chords (b3) as it does major. E.g. Cmadd9, Cmadd13.

11th and 13th extended chords

Here's the order of chord tones again for non-scrolling reference...

In theory, an 11th chord would include the elements of a dominant 9th chord plus an 11th...

1  (3)  5  b7  9  11

However, it's more common to use the 11th in the context of a suspended (no 3rd) chord, to avoid dissonance. We can still write it as an 11th chord, however (e.g. C11, D11, F11) and doing so helps us distinguish a stacked 11th suspended chord from a standard sus4 chord, which only includes the triad tones (no 7th).

Again, it's fine to leave out the 5th if the fingering doesn't allow it. Also, if the root is covered by the bass or other instrument, you can leave out the root as a guitarist and free up a finger/fret for the 5th anyway.

Unlike the 11th and major 3rd, the 11th and minor 3rd, are commonly used (mostly in jazz music), giving us a minor 11th chord...

1  b3  5  b7  9  11

With a lot of chords, it's common to leave out the 5th when you get into these tricky fingerings, because leaving out the 5th in most cases doesn't take away from the chord's overall sound. The 5th is a neutral tone.

Now, with 13th chords we leave out the 11th (also the 4th) because it tends to sound unharmonious as part of the chord (and, incidentally, it's hard to find enough strings and finger positions to include all these tones!). These are the inconsistencies you have to work around.

And of course, we can build major 13th chords (e.g. Gmaj13, Amaj13 etc.). The "maj" tells us the 7th is a major 7th as opposed to a dominant (flat) 7th, with the same overall stack of tones...

1  3  5  7  9  (11)  13

Another jazzy one there.

For minor 13th chords, such as Am13 and Gm13, it's just the same, except we flatten the 3rd, because a flat 3rd (b3) makes it a minor chord.

1  b3  5  b7  9  (11)  13

In the next lesson we'll bring all this stuff together and use our chord construction knowledge to create alternate chord voicings, not just the same old E/A shape barre/movable chords.

In the meantime, why not see what chord voicings you can discover by taking some time to study JamPlay's excellent guitar chord chart.