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Chord Theory Part 4
Guitar
Chord Theory
Part
4 - Extended Chords
In guitar chord theory part
3 we looked at constructing 7th chords
(chords with 4 notes) from the major scale, the scale
western music is based on and notated against.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, "more
interesting chords!"
The only problem is, when we delve into this kind of guitar chord
theory, we begin to realise how inconsistent
the rules are when it comes to noting chord elements. This is one thing
you have to be clear of now: sometimes you'll see a chord written one
way, other times you'll see it written another.
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
voicings.
The order of
chord tones
Ok, so you hopefully know the sequence of tones that make up the major
scale.
There's something else you should know though! Below is their natural
order when it comes to constructing chords and knowing which
tone takes
precedence when you write a
chord...
A few things to note here, when writing chord symbols...
- The 4th
is the same as the 11th
- The 6th is the same as the 13th
The latter, larger numbers are
to represent that tone's position in the
"priority" list when it comes to noting down the tones in a chord. So,
in actuality the 6th comes after the 9th because in
chord theory it's the 13th.
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/note 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 a practical
example:
Below are the notes involved
in a Maj9 chord...
So because the Maj9 (Major 9th) chord includes all
the
notes up to the 9th,
the 9 becomes the dominant number for the chord
symbol. Without
the 9, it would be Maj7 because all the chord tones
up to the 7th
would be included.
Below is an example of a Major
9 chord (but I've left out the 5th so I can get the other notes in -
this is fine)...
If you find that you can't include all the notes in the chord for the
fingering you've chosen, you can usually leave out the 5th
from the chord and it won't destroy it (or the bassist could play the
root note and you could finger the chord from the 5th upwards).
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 notes in an add9
chord...
Now, there's one note missing from that lot - the 7th
Therefore, if any
tones/numbers preceding that highest number (the 9th in this case) are
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.
That's Gadd9 above - notice how there's no 7th
involved.
If there was
a 7th involved it would just be G9, because all the
notes preceding the highest note, the 9th, would be
present...
C9 - R, 3, 5, b7
(dominant 7), 9
You could
just write this as C7add9 to avoid any confusion as
to what tones are in the chord!
Same thing applies with adding
the 6th - because, remember, the 6th is in fact the
13th when it comes to the order of chord
tones. So if any notes preceding the 13th are missing, we can note the
chord as add6 (e.g. Gadd6 - R, 3, 5, 13).
What if we
have both the 9th and 6th notes added to a chord?
- good question! In this case the highest note would be the 13th (6th),
but if there's no 7th included, then the notes are R, 3, 5, 9,
13.
We could write this as add6/9,
or add9/6 (e.g. Gadd9/6). The slash is like saying
"and also add..."
A bit later in the lesson,
it'll become clear as to why the highest number "rule" is important...
11th and
13th extended chords
Here's the order of chord
tones again for non-scrolling reference!
So, you can hopefully imagine what an A11 chord
(remember, the 11th is also the 4th) should include...
Yes, every note UP
TO the 11th in the order of chord tones
However, this is where it gets
inconsistent - If...
a) You are
unable to play every note in the chord (not enough strings/fingers
etc.)
or
b) a
particular note that's meant to be in there doesn't sound "right" or
particularly harmonious with the other tones...
...you just have to leave that
tone out. A pianist would be able to get all the notes of A11 in, but
the 3rd is not possible on a standard
tuned guitar...
That's A11 without the 3rd (where the red X is).
Because of certain physical
limitations humans have, we still get to
call it A11, because leaving the 3rd out doesn't really take away from
the chord's "message" in a progression, as the 11th (4th) becomes a
dominant note.
With a lot of chords, it's
common to leave out the 5th
when you get into these tricky fingerings, because leaving the 5th out
in most cases doesn't take away from the chord's overall feel.
Now, with 13th
chords we leave out the 11th (also known as the
4th) because it clashes and sounds unharmonious as
part of the chord (and it's hard to find enough strings and finger
positions to include all these notes anyway). These are the
inconsistencies you have to work around.
So with a G13, the "13" (also known as the 6th)
suggests that all the notes preceding that number are included (except
the 11th for reasons above). Incidentally the 13th is the highest
note in the order of chord tones.
So that's G13 above. It would also be G13 with
the 11th to complete it fully, but the reasons above explain.
Stacking up extended
minor chords
For minor extended
chords, such as Am11 and Gm13,
it's just the same, except we flatten the 3rd, because a flat 3rd (b3)
makes it a minor chord.
So where a major
13th chord will include: R, 3, 5, b7 (dominant 7), 9, (11), 13
...its minor
version will include: R, b3,
5, b7, 9, (11), 13 (however, the 11th/4th is not possible in standard
tuning whilst also fingering the other notes in the chord).
Delving even
deeper into chord theory...
We often refer to
extended chords as "stacked" because what we are doing with chords like
13th chords is stacking 3rds. Count the 3rd
intervals on the major scale like this...
Root - 3rd
= 3rd interval
3rd - 5th = 3rd interval
5th - 7th = 3rd interval
7th - 9th = 3rd interval
9th - 11th = *exception* remember,
we leave out the 11th in 13th chords! However, still count this 3rd
interval in.
11th - 13th = 3rd interval
So we're stacking 3rds
to get the extended 13th chord.
You can also "stack
4ths" to create jazzy sounding fourth chords.
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With guitar chord theory,
don't get hung up on inconsistencies. People
will write chords differently, but I hope the above has given you an
insight into the
more complex chords you can create.
In the next lesson we'll bring
all this stuff together and use our chord construction knowledge to
create different chord voicings, not just the same
old E/A shape barre chords.
Use the links below and see
you soon...
Go
Straight to Part 5 - Chord Voicings
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