Guitar Music Theory

In this online music theory tutorial you'll learn the theory behind
guitar chords. Spending a little time on guitar music theory and
harmony will save you a lot of time learning how to play guitar
chords and will deepen your understanding of the guitar. Music
theory provides you the means to communicate better with your
fellow musicians. You'll learn songs faster because you actually now
what you are playing. So do yourself a favor and go through this free
music theory tutorial.

The topics covered:

• the difference between major, minor, dominant, diminished, ...

• how to name chords
• how to find the notes of a chord
• how to construct your own guitar chords

It's best to go through this tutorial in chronological order, but in case

you're looking for something specific here's a brief description of the
pages to come:

• page 1: constructing triads

• page 2: constructing seventh chords
• page 3: tensions
• page 4: guitar chord list & shortcut
• page 5: applying music theory on guitar
• page 6: solutions to the exercises

The starting point in many music theory tutorials is the C major

scale:

C Major Scale C D E F G A B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The C major scale (also called the Ionian scale) is the foundation on
which the most of Western music is built.

The letters in the scale are the note names: C is do, D is re, E is mi, F
is fa, G is sol, A is la and B is si. The numbers are what we call the
function of the note in the scale or chord. The 1 is also known as the
'root'.
There are 5 more notes: the sharps and flats.
A sharp (written like #) is a note raised by a half note.
A flat (written like b) is a note lowered by a half step. So between C
and D comes the C# or Db. C# and Db are the same note named
differently. Between D and E lies the D# or Eb. Between E and F is
nothing because E and F are only a half note apart. Between F and G
comes the F# or Gb. Between G and A the G# or Ab. And between A
and B comes the A# or Bb. B and C are also only one half note apart.

The first type of chord we'll have a look at is the triad. A triad is a
chord that has 3 different notes. Triads are built by stacking thirds. A
third (also written like 3) is a particular interval between two notes.

There are 2 kinds of thirds:

minor third interval of 3 half notes notation: b3

major third interval of 4 half notes notation: 3

We'll construct our first chord by stacking 2 thirds on the first note (C
or 1) of the C major scale. First we count 4 half notes beginning from
the first note: from C to C# to D to D# to E. Then we count 3 half
notes from the E: from E to F to F# to G.

C E G

1 3 5

This results in a C major triad or C. C to E makes a major third and E

to G a minor third : this structure is typical for every major chord and
can be written in a chord formula.
Chord formula for major chords: 1 3 5

Let's do the same for the 2 of the C major scale :

D F A

1 b3 5

This results in a D minor triad or Dm. D to F makes a minor third and

F to A a major third: this structure is typical for every minor chord.
chord formula for minor chords : 1 b3 5

I'm not going to repeat this for every note in the scale, I think you
got the picture by now.
Let's do one more together, let's built a chord on the 7th note of the
scale:
B D F

1 b3 b5

This results in a B diminished triad (Bdim). B to D makes a minor

third and D to F also a minor third: this structure is typical for
diminished triads.
Chord formula for diminished chords: 1 b3 b5

Here's a list with all triads made on the C major scale:

Notes Formula Name Symbol

1 C E G 1 3 5 C major C
2 D F A 1 b3 5 D minor Dm or D- or Dmin
3 E G B 1 b3 5 E minor Em or E- or Emin
4 F A C 1 3 5 F major F
5 G B D 1 3 5 G major G
6 A C E 1 b3 5 A minor Am or A- or Amin
7 B D F 1 b3 b5 B diminished Bdim or B°

Constructing seventh chords

This online music theory tutorial will teach you 2 systems to construct
guitar chords

1. The first system starts from the major scale.

• Construct the major scale with the same root as the chord you
want to construct (how to construct major scales).
For example: when you want to create an Am chord, construct
the A major scale : A B C# D E F# G#
• Find the notes of the major chord : 1 3 5
In our example in the key of A this would be : A C# E
• Apply the chord formula on the major chord.
The minor chord formula is 1 b3 5, so the 3rd of the major
chord has to be lowered with a half note : A C E

2. The second system involves some memorization and will be

explained later in the tutorial.

Now we know how to make chords with 3 different notes, but what
about chords with 4 or more notes? Chords with 4 different notes are
called seventh chords and are used a lot in jazz and some kinds of
pop music. Let's have a look at how to construct seventh chords:
We'll begin with the C major scale again:

C Major Scale C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Seventh chords are made the same way as triads : by stacking 3rds
on top of the root.
Triads were constructed by stacking 2 thirds, seventh chords are
constructed with 3 thirds.

Let's try to construct a chord on the 1 of the C major scale :

C E G B
1 3 5 7

This results in a C major 7 chord (Cmaj7). C to E makes a major

third, E to G a minor third and G to B a major third : this structure is
typical for major 7 chords.
Chord formula for major 7 chords: 1 3 5 7

The 2nd note of the C major scale :

D F A C
1 b3 5 b7

This results in a D minor chord (Dmin7). D to F makes a minor third,

F to A a major third and A to C a minor third : this structure is typical
for minor 7 chords.
Chord formula for minor 7 chords: 1 b3 5 b7

Let's jump to the 5th note of the C major scale :

G B D F
1 3 5 b7

This results in a G dominant 7 chord (G7). G to B makes a major

third, B to D a minor third and D to F a minor third: this structure is
typical for dominant 7 chords.
chord formula for dominant 7 chords: 1 3 5 b7

Let's do it on the 7th note of the scale:

B D F A
1 b3 b5 b7

This results in a B half diminished chord (Bm7b5). B to D makes a

minor third, D to F a minor third and F to A a major third: this
structure is typical for half diminished chords.
Chord formula for half diminished 7 chords: 1 b3 b5 b7
Here's the list with all the seventh chords of the C major scale: :

Notes Formula Chord Name Symbol

1 C E G B 1 3 5 7 C major 7 Cmaj7
2 D F A C 1 b3 5 b7 D minor 7 Dm7 or D-7 or
Dmin7
3 E G B D 1 b3 5 b7 E minor 7 Em7 or E-7 or
Emin7
4 F A C E 1 3 5 7 F major 7 Fmaj7
5 G B D F 1 3 5 b7 G dominant G7
6 A C E G 1 b3 5 b7 A minor 7 Am7 or A-7 or
Amin7
7 B D F A 1 b3 b5 b7 B half Bm7b5 or
diminished Bmin7b5

Tensions

Until now we constructed chords by stacking thirds on top of each

other. The resulting triads or seventh chords form the basis. Other
notes can be added to these basic chords, notes that we call tensions.

The C major scale (again):

C Major Scale C D E F G A B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Construct a chord on C --> Cmaj7:

C E G B

1 3 5 7

We use 4 notes in this chord, what means that there are 3 notes left
from the C major scale: 2, 4, 6.If one or more of these notes become
part of the chord, we call them tensions or chord tensions.

Usually tensions are played one octave higher compared to the chord
tones. This benefits the clarity of the chord.

Let's add an octave to the tensions:

• 2 becomes 9 (2+7(one octave)=9)

• 4 becomes 11
• 6 becomes 13

Let's apply this to Cmaj7: Add 2 to Cmaj7 and we get Cmaj9

C E G B D

1 3 5 7 9

Maybe major chords are not a very good example to explain tensions
because the two other tensions that are left, 4 and 6, behave in a
special way in combination with major chords.

The first thing we have to look at are avoid notes : tensions that are
a half note above a chord note. These notes sound very disharmonic
in the chord so they are almost never used, only in case the
disharmonic sound is wanted as an effect.
The 4 of the C major scale is a half note above the 3 (chord tone) of
that chord (f is a half note above e) --> the 4 is an avoid note for
major chords.
A possible way to deal with this is raising the 4 half a note : f turns
into f# and is no longer an avoid note. The basic scale is no longer C
major (C Ionian) though, but C Lydian (a kind of guitar scale or
mode). We call this chord a Cmaj7(#11).

The 6 also behaves differently in combination with major

chords. When we add the 6 to a major chord we don't play the 7 and
there is no octave added to the 6. This is because the 6 and 7 sound
too close to each other.

Add 6 to C major and we get a C6 :

C E G A

1 3 5 6

The same happens to the 6 in combination with minor chords : the

7 is not played.
Add the 6 to Dm7 and we get Dm6 (watch out : the 6 is no longer the
note a because the root of the chord changed to D. The six of D is B
(D E F# G A B C#) :

D F A B

1 b3 5 6

The 4 is not an avoid note for minor chords because it is two half
notes away from the b3 and not one half like it is with major chords.
So we can safely add the 4 to Dm7 and we get Dm11:

D F A C G
1 b3 5 b7 11

The 4 added to a dominant chord is also a special case.

When a 4 is combined with a dominant chord, the 3 of the chord is
not played. We call chords like this sus4 chords.
As a guitar chord sus4 chords are often combined with a 9:

G C D F A

1 4 5 b7 9

Here's an overview of chord types and possible tensions:

Chord Type Added Note Symbol

Major 2 Cmaj9
4 / avoid note
#4 Cmaj7#11 #11 from
lydian scale
6 C6 no 7
Minor 2 Cm9
4 Cm11
6 Cm6 no 7
Dominant 2 C9 b2 and #2 from
b2 C7(b9) altered scale
#2 C7#9
4 C7sus4
6 C13 b6 comes from
b6 C7(b13) altered scale
 Guitar chord list & shortcut

Here's a list of all common chords and their formula's:

Chord Type Chord Formula

Major Triad 1 3 5
Minor Triad 1 b3 5
Diminished Triad 1 b3 b5
Augmented Triad 1 3 #5
Major 7 1 3 5 7
Minor 7 1 b3 5 b7
Dominant 7 1 3 5 b7
Half Diminished 7 1 b3 b5 b7
Diminished 7 1 b3 b5 bb7
Augmented 7 1 3 #5 b7
Suspended 4 1 4 5 b7
minor/major 7 1 b3 5 7

On guitar music theory page 2 we learned the first system to

construct chords.
Here's the second system:

1. Memorize the chord names, chord notes and chord formula's of

all the chords (7) in the C major scale:

Cmaj7 C E G B
Dm7 D F A C
Em7 E G B D
Fmaj7 F A C E
G7 G B D F
Am7 A C E G
Bm7b5 B D F A
2.

3. Once you know the chords of C major it's easy to find other
chords.

Example: how to find the chord tones of Emaj7:

1. You already know the chord tones of Em7 : E G B D

2. You know the chord formula of minor chords: 1 b3 5 b7
3. You know the chord formula of major chords : 1 3 5 7
4. Adapt the chord tones of Em7 to the chord formula of major
chords: bring the 3 and the 7 a half note up
5. The chord tones of Emaj7 are : E G# B D#
Example 2: Adim7:

6. You already know the chord tones of Am7 : A C E G

7. You know the formula of minor chords: 1 b3 5 b7
8. You know the formula of diminished chords : 1 b3 b5 bb7
9. Adapt the chord tones of Am7 to the chord formula of diminished
chords : bring the 5 and the 7 a half note down
10.The chord tones of Adim7 are : A C Eb Gb

Example 3: C#7:

11.You already know the chord tones of Cmaj7 : C E G B

12.Now we have to add a step: we have to find the chord tones of
C#maj7. To find these we just have to raise each chord tone with
a half note: C# E# G# B#
13.You already know the formula of major chords : 1 3 5 7
14.You know the formula of dominant chords : 1 3 5 b7
15.Adapt the chord tones of C#maj7 to the chord formula of
dominant chords : bring the 7 a half note down
16.The chord tones of C#7 are : C# E# G# B

Applying music theory on guitar

Now you know the most important parts about guitar music theory
and harmony, but how do we bring this knowledge in action, how can
it help us becoming a better guitar player? Read on...

The first thing you need to know: not every chord tone is equally
important :

• 3 and 7 are the most important notes of a chord because they

make a chord major, minor or dominant.
• The 1 is the least important note, because it's the bass
player's job the play the 1 (amongst other notes luckily for
him)..
• The 5 is the second least important note and doesn't sound
very good most of the times.
• Tensions add interest and color, so it's better to use tensions
instead of the 1 and 5

The second thing you need to know: 1 half note equals one fret on
the guitar neck.

Let's have a look at some guitar diagrams:

• Take a C chord: C E G (1 3 5)
Here's the guitar chord diagram:

X15135

Let me explain the symbols you see under the chord diagram.
Read from left to right (from low E string to high E string) and
we have:

o X : don' play the low E string

o 1 : the 1 is played on the A string
o 5 : the 5 is played on the D string
o 1 : the 1 again, now on the G string
o 3 : the 3 is played on the B string
o 5 : the 5 again, this time on the high E string

It's ok to use a note more then one time, like the 1 and 5 in
this example, but this can sound a bit harsh.

Let's spice this chord up a bit:

X15735

Instead of playing the 1 again on the G string, we changed it to

the 7.

Let's add some color :

X1379X

We exchanged the 5 on the D string for the 3 and we changed

the 3 on the B string to a 9.

If you play in a band and you don't want to get in the way of
the bass player you better leave the 1 out of your chords.
Another good idea when playing in a band is to voice your
guitar chords on the higher (4) strings.

XX3795

We exchanged the 1 on the A string for the 5 on the high E

string.

This chord is what we call a chord inversion : a chord voicing

that has a note other then the 1 as it's lowest note. There are
three types of chord inversions : 3 is the lowest note (first
inversion), 5 is the lowest note (second inversion) or 7 is
the lowest note (third inversion).

Our example is a Cmaj9 chord and the 3 is the lowest note, so

this is the first inversion of Cmaj9.

How can we make this major chord a dominant chord?

Easy: bring the 7 half a note down (major 1 3 5 7, dominant 1
3 5 b7).
The chord diagram:

XX3b795

How can we make this chord minor?

We have to lower the 3 from the dominant chord half a note
(dominant 1 3 5 b7, minor 1 b3 5 b7)
The guitar chord diagram:

XXb3b795

Another system to construct your own guitar chords is by using

the guitar chord finder. Select the root and the type of chord
you're looking for and the guitar chord finder displays all the
notes of your chord on the guitar neck. Now it's up to you to
pick out the notes you want in the position you want.
 Here's a chord exercise for you: find me the chord tones of the
following chords (the solutions are on the next page) :

For example : Gm7 : G Bb D F

Now it's your turn :

Fm7 :
Abdim7 :
C#maj7 :
E9sus4 :
A7 :
Edim7 :
Gm7b5 :
B7b9 :
D#m7b5 :
Bmaj7 :

Here are the solution for the guitar chords:

Fm7: F Ab C Eb
Abdim7: Ab Cb Ebb Gbb
C#maj7 : C# E# G# B#
E9sus4 : E A B D F#
A7 : A C# E G
Edim7 : E G Bb Db
Gm7b5 : G Bb Db F
B7b9 : B D# F# A C
D#m7b5 : D# F# A C#
Bmaj7 : B D# F# A#