Category: Chords

  • Gmaj7 (open)

    Where major and minor triads have 3 different notes, 7th chords have 4. The major seventh chord refers to where the “seventh” note is a major seventh above the root .  This is also known as the major/major seventh chord, and it can be written as maj7, M7.

  • G Shape Sixth Chord Barred

    This barre chord serves as a great substitute for the standard G major shape barre chord (which is difficult to play). 

  • Added 9th (add9) Chords (Closed Position Shapes)

    An added ninth chord (add9) is a major triad with an added ninth.  Added ninth chords are different from other ninth chords (9,  maj9)  because the seventh is not included. 

  • Diminished 7th Chords

    In most sheet music books, Cdim or C° denotes a diminished seventh chord with root C.  Some modern jazz books and some music theory literature use  Cdim or C°  to denotes diminished chord, while Cdim7 or C°7 denotes a diminished seventh chord. A diminished 7th chord is comprised of a diminished triad ( is a…

  • A/E

    The A/E chord is a slash chord or compound chord. Just imagine playing an A chord, but substituting an E note as the lowest note instead of an A note. This diagram is one of the more common ways to play it when using an open A chord as your base.  

  • Connecting the Tonic and Submediant

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    When a song is in the key of C major, the Am chord will seamlessly intertwine with the tonic.  “Tonic” is a  fancy word for the root chord. It’s often referred to as the 1 chord, or the Roman numeral I chord. This chord is dependent upon the key signature of the song- in this…

  • Chord Phrasing: The Relative Minor

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    Fig. 1: C Major & A Minor Scales Fig. 2: A Minor Chord Fig. 3: Extended C Major/A Minor Scale Fig. 4: For Comparison…  

  • The Open C Chord Scale Pattern

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    The open C chord is one of the first things a guitarist will learn, but did you know that it has its very own scale pattern? You can intermix notes from this scale pattern with the open C chord to create fills, chord variations, and more. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play it!…

  • Chord Phrasing: D, G Progression

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    What if you’re playing a song and you want to do something more sophisticated than just simply strumming the chords? That’s where this lesson comes in! It’s a discussion of things you can do that can spice up a simple D and G chord progression. You can download the full tab for this lesson here:…

  • Slash Chords For Open C: C/A, C/B, C/D, C/E, C/F, C/G

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    Let’s pretend that you’ve got an audition coming up in a couple of days for a hip new band looking for a guitar player. The band gives you some sheet music with the band’s songs on it so you can get a little practice in before the big day. The time comes for practice and…