Fretwise

Chapter 8

Chord Construction

Every chord — from a power chord to a Cmaj13#11 — is built by stacking intervals. Learn the recipe and you'll never need a chord chart again.

A chord is just three or more notes played together. The most common ones are built by stacking thirds: take a scale, pick every other note. That’s it. Once you understand this, you can derive any chord from scratch and find it anywhere on the neck.

We’ll cover triads (major, minor, diminished, augmented), seventh chords (maj7, m7, dom7, m7♭5), extensions (9, 11, 13), inversions, voicings, and the harmonised major scale that powers most songs you’ve ever heard.

Lessons in this chapter

  1. 1 Triads — the four basic chord flavors Major, minor, diminished, augmented — the four three-note chord shapes that everything else is built from.
  2. 2 Seventh chords — adding the 7th Stack one more third on a triad and you get a 7th chord. The basis of jazz, soul, and modern pop harmony.
  3. 3 Extensions — 9ths, 11ths, 13ths Keep stacking thirds and you get extended chords. The flavor of jazz, fusion, neo-soul, and modern R&B.
  4. 4 Inversions — same chord, different bass Move a chord's bass note up and you get an inversion. The secret to smooth bass lines and pro-sounding progressions.
  5. 5 The harmonised major scale Stack thirds on every note of a major scale and you get the seven chords every pop song uses.