Guitar Chord Theory
Part 5 - Chord Voicings

Now you need to focus on how to construct chords, using your chord theory knowledge, all over the fretboard to create alternate voicings. This allows you to experiment with a wider choice of chord tones, adding more color to your songwriting (in...theory anyway!)

So in this lesson we'll look at using the major scale and its scale tones in different positions to build chords around those initial shapes.

Have you learned the major scale in 8 different positions? If not, go here (opens in a new window so you can switch to and from it for reference) to find out more.

I will, however, reference those scale shapes with clickable pop-ups (the helpful, non-annoying kind!) during this lesson.

Try out these chord positions below...

13th chords

In part 4 we looked at major 13th chords and how they included the root, 3rd, 5th, dominant 7th (b7), 9th and 13th (also the 6th) from the major scale of tones. The 11th is left out because it clashes with the rest of the chord as dissonant.

Below are a couple of ways, voicings, you could play the chord A13...

From the "boxed" major scale shape on the E string (click here for reference)

From the "descending" major scale shape on the E string (click here for reference)

Although the same chord, A13, this is taken from the "G shape" barre chord and modified appropriately. The descending E string major scale pattern should help you find the right tones for this chord voicing.

Now, compare the two...

The only difference is:

- a lower voiced "9th" in the descending G shape!

But it gives it a different voicing nevertheless. I actually prefer that lower sounding 9th, but this is where your creative side comes in - what do you want to hear?

If you're confused, let's look at another couple of chord voicings to see if we can straighten things out...

Major 7th chords (Maj7)

Back in part 3 we looked at 7th chords - 4 note chords built from the major scale.

If you followed that lesson, you'll know that a maj7 chord basically included all the scale tones up to the 7th - Root, 3rd, 5th and 7th.

So, let's look at a couple of different voicings for the same Gmaj7 chord...

From the "boxed" major scale shape on the E string (click here for reference)

Standard E shape voicing for Gmaj7 there. But if you want a higher voicing, you'll need that second root note from the boxed major scale as a starting point, so one option is to have the chord built around the...

"Descending" major scale shape on the D string (click here for reference)

Notice how the root note of the second voicing is in the same position as the octave root note from the first voicing's scale pattern (here) - this means we can stack up the chord from that higher voiced root note into the descending D string major scale, meaning we get an overall higher voiced Gmaj7!

- the 5th is higher in the second voicing
- the 7th is also higher in the second voicing

So, same chord, two very different voicings that only you know which one will fit best in your song/chord progression.

-------Side note-------

Go back and look at the second Gmaj7 and also play the open A string, unfretted, you get a nice addition to the chord - it becomes Gmaj7/A!

Minor add9 chords

We looked at "add" chords in part 4. Basically, the number symbolized in the chord name after the "add" is the highest tone from the major scale used in the chord. But because not all the tones below that are also used, it becomes an "add" chord.

So to recap, an add9 chord includes Root, 3rd, 5th and 9th - no dominant 7th, otherwise it would have included all the tones up to the 9th and would be just a "9" chord (e.g. G9)

Let's look at a couple of voicings of the Emadd9 chord...

"Ascending" major scale shape on the A string (click here for reference)

This is quite a high voicing of this chord, so let's use the descending major scale on the same string to see what we can come up with...

"Descending" major scale shape on the A string (click here for reference)

- Higher 5th in the second voicing
- Lower flat 3rd (b3) in the second voicing (the b3 is what makes it a minor)

The 9th stays the same pitch though, because the B string at fret 7 (in the second voicing above) is the same as the G string at fret 11 (in the first voicing above).

-------Side note-------

It's useful to look at these relationships between strings with the same note - in the example above, the G string at fret 11 is 4 frets higher than the same note on the B string.

More chord voicings to experiment with

A good way to try this by yourself at first, while you're still learning the relationships between strings and notes etc. is to learn at least where all the root notes lie for the E, A and D string based major scale shapes.

Now, If you play a standard E shape barre chord and you see that the root note lies on "A", you can find "A" on the other strings and try to build that chord around the major scale patterns on that string (learn the major scale patterns for the E A and D strings here). This is just what we've been doing above in this lesson.

Try some of these...

Dadd9

If you have learned the major scale shapes, see if you can build Cadd9 (Root, 3rd, 5th, 9th) in the ascending position and on the E string in both ascending and descending positions

HINTS: the E string shapes for this chord involve blocking out a string, using just 5 strings. You get a higher sounding 5th with the descending E string position for Dadd9.

Now finger this chord on the D string, both ascending and descending

HINT: for the ascending, you can use the open D string for the root and build the chord up within the first 5 frets.

Next!...

Fadd6

Use this Chord Finder! Click on the note that the root lies on, and then the type of chord you want to build from it (e.g. "maj9") and then click "variations" to see where it can be played.

If you're going to use this, you big cheat (sorry, only joking), then at least try and figure out how these positions derive from the major scale in that shape. It's good to understand how these chords are built.

And to finish this lesson - a weird one

What on earth is this jazzy-bluesy chord (you can always trust jazz to throw up strange chords)?...

Let's just try to deconstruct this to understand it more before we go...

• Root note is on Eb (A string, 6th fret)

• Built from the descending A string major scale

• The flat 3rd (b3) is actually the sharp 9 (#9) because if you already use the major 3rd (3) then you can't also have the minor 3rd so it needs to be noted as a #9 (a sharp 9th is in the same spot as a flat 3 anyway!) - Also, the dominant chord in this is Ebaug7 because from the root you have the 3rd, sharpened 5th (#5) and dominant 7th (b7) - therefore, it takes major precedence so you can't write the flat 3 in as minor, it's an added note so it becomes an unobstructing sharp 9th!

Phew! Hope that made sense. More tense chords like this in the jazz section and how to use them effectively in chord progressions. Sounds quite harsh just on its own...

You'll eventually know where the "6th/13th" lies in relation to the "5th" on more than one string.

Investigate the fretboard.

We're gonna be doing this in more depth in the next (and last) lesson for more advanced chord voicings and chord inversions, where the root isn't the lowest note in the chord!

Come back in your own time, when you're ready.

Use the links below for more quality lessons, and happy investigating...