Authors: Erich Andreas
Guitar Mastery Simplified: How Anyone Can Quickly Become a Strumming, Chords, and Lead Guitar Ninja (19 page)
Let’s try another example. Play a D major and then play a D
minor. Notice that the only note that changes is on the first string,
where the F# is flattened to an F to make the chord minor. Again we can
assume that all the other notes in this chord are ones and fives because the
only thing that changes between the major and minor chord is the third.
Diminished chord (1, b3, b5):
a diminished chord
consists of the 1st, flatted 3rd and flatted 5th scale steps of the major
scale. The distance between the 1st and 3rd steps is 1 and ½ steps.
The distance between the 3rd and 5th steps is 1 and 1/2
steps
. Since the only difference between the minor
chord and the diminished chord is the 5th scale step, it’s simple to convert
any minor chord into a diminished chord by simply flatting any “fifths” that
occur in the chord. For example, play a D minor chord. Your 2nd
finger should be playing the 2ns fret of the 3rd string. That note is the
only 5th in a D minor chord, so lowering it by half-step or one fret will
change that chord to a D diminished chord. In order to play this chord properly
you will most likely need to bar the 1st three strings with your 1st finger on
the 1st fret while your 3rd finger plays the 3rd fret of the 2nd string.
Augmented chord (1, 3,
#
5):
an augmented chord consists of the 1st, 3rd and sharpened 5th scale steps of
the major scale. The distance between the 1st and 3rd steps is 2
whole-steps. The distance between the 3rd and 5th steps is 2 and 1/2
steps. Since the only difference between the major chord and the
augmented chord is the 5th scale step, it’s simple to convert any major chord
to an augmented chord by simply sharpening any “fifths” that occur in the
chord. For example, play a D major chord. Do you remember where the
5th is from our last example? That’s right, the 2nd fret of the 3rd
string.
So the only thing we need to do to change this major chord
to an augmented chord is raise the 5th by a half step or 1 fret. I’m not
going to help you out on the fingering of this one. You are growing in
your skills and sometimes you won’t have instruction to rely on. So use
your intuition and common sense to discover a fingering for this new chord that
is logical and playable for you. There is no right answer per se.
There may be more logical answers for this type of thing however.
Being equipped with these 4 formulas and a movable major
scale will allow you to create literally hundreds of chord forms across the
guitar neck. For the intermediate and advanced guitar player this is
where we start upping our game. I use these formulas all the time when
formulating guitar parts for studio or live performance.
Now for the exercise portion of the program!
Strum an open G major chord. Now use any of the major
scale formulas that I have provided to determine which scale step each of the
notes of the G major chord represents. Basically, we are looking for the
scale degree number, not the letter name of the notes. For instance,
slowly strum or Arpeggiate the G major chord from the 6th string to the 1st
string. Now play a G major scale. The 1st or lowest note of the G
major chord is obviously the 1st note of the G major scale, so this note would
be a “one”, or the “one” of the chord. Play the next note which should be
a “B” on the 5th string. Now play through your G major scale saying out
loud each number of the scale as you play it and stop at that B note. The
number that you are saying when you land on the “B” should be “3”, making that
note the “3” of the chord. Get it? Now continue on with this same
technique to determine the scale step of every note in the G chord. You
will need to use your ear to compare and contrast notes as the scale form may
not always exactly match where the notes of your chord fall. For instance, the
5th
scale step
of the G major (form 1) scale is a “D”,
which will be played by the pinky on the 5th fret of the 5th string.
However, we are looking to identify the open 4th string (D string).
If your guitar is tuned correctly, the D on the 5th fret of the A string
should sound identical to the open 4th string. If you have not used this
technique before, you really need to get familiar with it as it is used very
frequently in the discovery of notes on your fret board.
At first this can be tricky, but don’t give up! The
payoff is huge in regards to mastering your fret board. Once you
have all the scale steps identified in the G chord, start moving on to your
other open chords. Remember that you must use the associated major scale
with the chord that you are analyzing. For instance, if you are analyzing
a C major chord, you must use a C major scale. If you are analyzing an A
minor chord, you must use an A major scale. Don’t forget that the major
scale is our cornerstone for all analysis when it comes to music. We
refer to it frequently, so it’s extremely important that you know it inside and
out. Once you master this technique you are going to start looking at chords
in a totally different way and it will truly empower
your
playing abilities.
Now go rock some new chords!
Seventh Chords
There is an expression that says, “Give a man a fish and he
eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”
That
is to say
, if I show you a chord and show you where to put your fingers on
what frets, you could memorize the chord easily. But if I show you how to
assemble chords from scratch, then I enable you for years to come. There
are literally thousands of chords. So it’s your choice: memorize each
chord or learn a method of assembling them and save yourself hundreds of hours.
How cool would it
be
if I could show you how to
make a seventh chord out of every chord that you already know instead of having
to memorize hundreds of chords, effectively doubling or tripling your chord
vocabulary in one night? If your answer was anything close to “Super-
uber
-mega-cool
!!!,
” then HANG ON,
because we are getting ready to rock!
As a rule, shortcuts typically “cut” some stuff out and
often times “short” you of the full picture. But you know that already,
and that’s why you are studying so diligently. So digesting this
information, understanding the concept and putting it into practice may take
extra time up front (the long way), but I promise you it won’t take you nearly
the amount of time it would take you to memorize a few hundred new chords (the
“shortcut”).
The definition of a seventh chord
is a chord
consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the
chords root. There are seven commonly used seventh chords in Western
music. You can easily master these first 3 (most often used) formulas -
immediately doubling your minor chord vocabulary and tripling your major chord
vocabulary. How cool is that? Take your time with these and get the
first three formulas down before moving to the others (FYI-The three most
popular formulas are Major 7th, Minor 7th and Dominant 7th.)
Major seventh - for example Dmaj7, DM7, DΔ, etc.
(these are chord symbols that you will see on charts)
Formation -(1, 3, 5, 7):
to easily convert any major
chord into a major seventh chord, find a higher octave of the root and flatten
it by a half-step (meaning, don't flat the lowest note - the root, but find a
higher octave to alter). For example, play a D major chord. To
convert this chord to a D major seventh, drop the high D on the second string
back one half-step to
Db
(or C#). To play this
easily, bar the second fret at strings 1, 2 and 3 while you play the 4th string
open.
Minor seventh - for example Emin7, Em7, E-7, etc.
Formation - (1, b3, 5, b7):
to easily convert
any minor chord into a minor seventh chord, find a higher octave of the root
and flatten it by one whole-step. For example, play an E minor chord.
To convert this chord to an E minor seventh, drop the E on the fourth
string back one whole-step to the open D. Then strum all the strings.
Dominant seventh - for example A7 or A7
Formation - (1, 3,
5
, b7):
to easily convert any major chord into a dominant seventh chord, find a higher
octave of the root and flatten it by 1 whole-step. For example, play an A major
chord. To convert this chord to an A dominant seventh, drop the A on the
3rd string back one whole-step to the open G. Then strum strings 1
through 5.
Half-diminished seventh - for example
“D minor seventh flat five” Dm7b5, D-7b5, Do, etc.
Formation - (1, b3, b5, b7):
to easily convert
any minor seventh chord into a half-diminished seventh chord, flatten the 5 by
a half-step. For example, play a D minor seventh chord. To convert
this chord to a D half diminished seventh chord, flatten the A on the 2nd fret
of the 3rd string by a half-step, to an
Ab
(or G#).
This chord can easily be played by barring strings 1-3 at the 1st fret
and strumming strings 1-4.
Diminished seventh - for example D°7, or Ddim7
Formation - (1, b3, b5, bb7 (or 6 - known as enharmonic 6)):
to easily convert any half-diminished seventh chord to a diminished seventh
chord, flatten again the already b7. On the above D half-diminished
seventh chord that we just played, flatten the C (on the second string) by a
half-step. The fretting should be as follows high E string (1st fret), B
string (open), G string (1st fret),
D
string (open).
Now, if you are anything like
me, that
double-flat seven (bb7) bothers you. This is how it is justified.
These are 7th chords we are talking about right? How can a 7th
chord NOT have a 7 (interval) in it, but a 6 instead? Things get a little
complicated with this type if theory, but no worries! I will guide you
through it. Too, I don't expect you to digest/retain all of this in one
sitting. It may take several days or weeks for this to really settle in,
depending on how much attention you give it. Let's keep moving forward.