Chords Construction | How Chords Are Made

In this mega lesson on chords theory, we're going to discover what's the logic behind the chord shapes that are familiar to us.

You'll learn how to use intervals to create new chord voicings , across the entire fretboard , aligning the rules of music theory with the fingerboard geometry.

The classic music theory says that a chord is a sound composed of 3 or more notes played simultaneously .

We can be a bit less rigorous and say that a chord, on the guitar, is created when you play some frets on different strings at the same time, thus more notes that play together.

This is the opposite of playing a scale, in which you play one fret at a time. Depending on the chord shape you play, you can use 3 or more strings.

For example, with a G major chord , first position, you play all the 6 strings, while in the case of a D minor chord you play only 4 strings.

The powerchord is an exception to the classic music theory, because you can play it with just 2 notes, but it plays a big role in rock music.

Chord Roots and Qualities

There are two main elements that describe a chord:

A chord is usually identified by its root and its type (or quality, or kind)

Chord root: the "C" in "C major"

C Major Chord:

The root of the chord is simply the note that gives the name to the chord.

The root of the chord is the most important tone of the chord, as it is the foundation ( home base ) for the other tones that compose the chord.

Often you'll find this note as the lowest string in a chord fingering. When this happens, we say that the chord is in root position .

If the root of the note is not the lowest, we have a chord inversion ; we'll see later what this means.

For now, you only have to know that a chord in root position has the root note at the bottom and that note gives the name to the chord.

Some examples:

• In the C major chord , the root note is C , and this is also the lowest note of the chord
• In the A minor chord , the root and lowest note is A
• In the E7#9add13 chord , the root note is E . The complicated part is the type of chord (a dominant with a sharp ninth with and an added thirteen, don't worry if you don't get it now)

Chord quality: the "major" in "C major"

The type, or quality, of a chord, is given by:

• The number of the other notes in the chord
• The distance, in terms of pitch, of these notes from the root

Depending on these factors, we can have a lot of different types: major , minor , dominant , seventh , diminished , suspended , to name a few.

We're going to learn more about this in a moment.

Chords can be created starting from a scale, and the first scale you should consider is the Major scale . Music theory tells us that we can create the chords from a scale by stacking notes in third intervals.

That means starting from a note of the scale and then skip every alternating note .

Let's take the C major scale as an example:

C D E F G A B C

The first chord of the scale is created from the first note of the scale, C, skipping one note, adding the next one, skipping again a note, and adding the next. So we get:

C E G

If we repeat the process for each note in the scale, we can build all the chords in this scale

• C E G - Major chord
• D F A - Minor chord
• E G B - Minor chord
• F A C - Major chord
• G B D - Major chord
• A C E - Minor chord
• B D F - Diminished chord

Why Major, Minor and Diminished? What's the Logic?

Depending on the distance between their notes, the chords above can be major, minor, or diminished. To explain this concept, now we need to introduce intervals:

The most important concept you should understand if you want to master chords theory is called interval . An interval is simply a distance between two pitches . This thing translates easily on the fretboard, because we can express an interval in terms of distance between 2 frets.

Before moving on, you should be aware of some oddness of the intervals world:

• The same distance between 2 pitches, can be called with different interval names
• Two intervals with different names can have the same sound

These apparently strange behaviors are heredity of the development of western music theory across the centuries.

Having different names or sounds for the same thing could create confusion, but don't worry, with the proper indications, it will easy to understand intervals and avoid

Let's start with the major scale :

C D E F G A B C

Here are the notes of the major scale laid out horizontally on the fretboard:

Here's a bit of terminology that we'll need:3

the "unit of measurement" of intervals is the whole-step . We guitarist have to know that a whole-step is equivalent to 2 frets on the instrument. What about a half-step? Yes, just 1 fret. So, to recap:

• 2 frets = 1 whole-step (often denoted with W), also called tone
• 1 fret = 1 half-step (often denoted with H), also called semitone

By looking at the picture above, we can observe a few things:

• The distance between each note and the next is 2 frets ( 1 whole-step ), except for the couples E-F and B-C, that are just 1 fret distance ( 1 half-step )
• From C and D there is 1 whole-step ( 2 frets ), we call this distance a Major Second
• From C and E there are 2 whole-steps ( 4 frets ), we call this distance a Major Third
• From C and F there are 2 whole-steps + 1 half step ( 5 frets ), we call this a Perfect Fourth
• From C and G there are 2 whole-steps + 1 half-step + 1 whole-step ( 7 frets ), we call this a Perfect Fifth
• From C and A there are 2 whole-steps + 1 half-step + 2 whole-steps ( 9 frets ), we call this a Major Sixth
• From C and B there are 2 whole-steps + 1 half-step + 3 whole-steps ( 11 frets ), we call this a Major Seventh
• From C and the upper C there are 2 whole-steps + 1 half-step + 3 whole-steps + 1 half-step ( 12 frets ), we call this an Octave

You find more diagrams on the fretboard intervals reference page.

So what W W H W W W H means? (you should know the answer now)

It's likely you've already stumbled upon the notation above. Now you should know that this strange set of symbols is just a way to describe the major scale.

Indeed, WWHWWWH means 2 whole-steps, 1 half-step, 3 whole steps, 1 half-step

C-W-D-W-E-H-F-W-G-W-A-W-B-H

(have a look at the fretboard picture above and you'll notice that between E-F and B-C are only 1 fret apart, or 1 half-step (also called semitone)

Intervals Types

The table below shows the 7 main types of interval of the major scale:

And now the tricky part: we can raise or lower an interval and get a different type of interval. By "raising" and "lowering" I mean increasing or decreasing the distance between the two notes that compose an interval.

We can change that distance by 1 half-step up or down (1 fret on the fretboard), or even 1 whole-step (2 frets on the fretboard).

The table below shows you what happens if you lower (by 1 half-step) or you raise (by 1 half-step) one of the main intervals of the major scale

See the potential confusion? We have some intervals that have different names , but the same distance (thus the same sound).

Also, why sometimes an interval lowered by 1 step is called " minor " (e.g. minor second) and sometimes " diminished " (e.g. diminished fifth)?

Well, welcome to the strange world of the...

Enharmonic Equivalents

"In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature but "spelled", or named differently (source: Wikipedia ")

Ok, but why do intervals have the same name?

Well, the answer is.... context !

The same note or interval may have a different function depending on the musical context in which is used. For example, you can play the 4th fret of the E lowest string and call it G# or Ab depending on the music key you're in.

Don't worry if this concept is not totally clear now, when you'll start creating your chords you'll understand better. Or you can have a look at our complete enharmonics tutorial.

A note on sharps and flats

In music notation, we have 2 symbols that act on a note and raise or lower its pitch.

• The sharp, #, raises a note by 1 half-step , thus, on fret up on the fretboard.
• C# means C raised by one fret, so we instead of playing the C on the 8th fret of the lowest E string, we play the 9th fret.
• Conversely, the flat, b, lowers a note by 1 half-step (1 fret down on the fretboard)
• Cb means C lowered by one fret, we play the 7th fret of the lowest E string.

Wait, please! I was convinced that on the 7th fret of the lowest E string we had a B!

That's right, we have a B but also a Cb; as explained before in the Enharmonic Equivalents section , the name of a note depends on its musical context.

This case is a perfect example: our context was the C note , that we flattened by one half-step and thus we obtained a Cb (that has the same pitch of B but its name is Cb)

Back To Chords Generated From The Major Scale

Now we have all we need to know for explaining why a chords can be major or minor. Let's write down the C major scale again, this time with a 12 steps layout

By looking at the distances between notes, we can say that:

• C E G - Major Chord: from C to E we have 4 semitones, that's a Major Third. From E to G with have 3 semitones, that a Minor Third. From C to G we have 7 semitones, a Perfect Fifth.
• D F A - Minor Chord: from D to F we have 3 semitones, that's a Minor Third. From F to A with have 4 semitones, that a Major Third. From D to A we have 7 semitones, a Perfect Fifth.
• E G B - Minor Chord: from E to G we have 3 semitones, that's a Minor Third. From G to A with have B semitones, that a Major Third. From E to B we have 7 semitones, a Perfect Fifth.
• F A C - Major Chord: from F to A we have 4 semitones, that's a Major Third. From A to C with have 3 semitones, that a Minor Third. From F to C we have 7 semitones, a Perfect Fifth.
• B D F - That's a Diminished chord: from B to F there are 6 half-steps (semitones), this is Diminished Fifth, and from B to D we have a Minor Third, 3 semitones.

We can spot some patterns:

Major Chords are composed of the Root, a Major Third and a Perfect Fifth (0, 4 and 7 semitones)

Minor Chords are composed of the Root, a Minor Third and a Perfect Fifth (0, 3 and 7 semitones)

There are many other chord types, such as diminished (root, Minor Third, Diminished Fifth), dominant (root, Major Third, Perfect Fifth and Minor Seventh), to name a few.

Have a look at the table below, taken from my ebook Chords Domination | Play Any Chord You Want Across All The Fretboard . In the diagrams, each gray dot is a semitone. Notice the use of sharp (#) and flats [b) to denote, for example, a Minor Third (b3, 3 semitones), or a Diminished Fifth (b5, 6 semitones).

Chords table from the ebook Chords Domination | Play Any Chord You Want Across All The Fretboard

Major Scale Chords - Roman Numbers Table

The table below shows the chords in the C major scale. Chord degrees (the position in the scale) are denoted with Roman Numbers, the lower case represents a minor chord, the upper case a major , and the 'o' represents a diminished chord.

Minor Scale Chords

We can repeat the same chords building process starting from a Minor Scale, let's take the A minor scale as an example:

The chords created from the A Minor Scale are:

• A C E - Minor chord
• B D F - Diminished chord
• C E G - Major chord
• D F A - Minor chord
• E G B - Minor chord
• F A C - Major chord
• G B D - Major chord

Minor Scale Chords - Roman Numbers Table

You find the chords for all the music key in our chord in keys chart pdf

You can create chords from any type of scales, not only from the Major and the Minor ones; if you use a modal scale such as the Lydian mode, or the Mixolydian mode, you'll create the so called modal chords , that deserve a separate tutorial.

Other fingerings for the C major chord

Now we can try to create new fingering for our C major chord . As we can know now, we have only to find some strings configurations that contain at least one C, one E, and one G. Let's have a look at the image below. What about the two shapes below?

See? All of the chord shapes above contain exactly the same notes C, E and G. We can use different frets and strings combinations , that's the beauty of the guitar, but also a difficulty: having too many options could be confusing at the beginning .

It's likely that you already know the bar chord shape at the 8th fret , it's identical to the F major , moved 8 frets upper. Do you see the logic in this ? The chord type is always " major ", and indeed the shape of the bar chord for F major and C major is the same, what changes is the root , C instead of F, and in fact, the shape has been moved to the C root.

Seeing Intervals on the Fretboard

Now we can go a step ahead in our music theory journey and begin thinking in terms of intervals . What does this mean?

Well, the guitar is an instrument strongly based on geometry. Each interval has its specific shape, so we can assemble these geometries for creating chords, without thinking too much of notes names .

Let's see an example.

We have just seen that the C major chord is composed of the root, the major third and the perfect fifth .

What about the A major ? The A major is composed of the root, the major third, and the perfect fifth .

The same structure of the C major! The only difference is the root, in case of C major , the root is C , while in the A major the root is...A (surprised?)

This takes us to our first chords rule:

All the major chords are composed of the root, a major third and a perfect fifth .

And what about minor chords?

All the minor chords are composed of the root, a minor third and a perfect fifth.

To create a chord, major or minor, starting from whatever note on the fretboard, we have to choose the root , and then pick a major/minor third and a perfect fifth . That's all.

If you want to go beyond major and minor types and explore the structure of Seventh , Ninth , Diminished and so forth, have a look at our complete reference page on chords formulas .

How to find intervals on the fretboard?

Our mission now is to memorize the shapes of:

• Major third interval
• Minor third interval (that actually is a major third 1 fret below)
• Perfect fifth interval

Once you'll have these intervals under your belt, you can assemble them as you like and create a great number of chords.

Major Third Intervals

Here below you find the shape of a major third interval starting from each string. You'll notice that they have all the same shape, except for the interval between the second and the third strings , that is moved up one fret.

This behavior is due the way guitar is tuned , you'll find more info on this in our full tutorial on guitar fretboard notes .

In the following diagrams, the root note is marked with a black dot. Other notes are represented by an empty circle.

To help you nail down intervals, I even developed this fretboard intervals memorization game.

So far we have considered intervals as geometric concepts . But we are musicians and we deal with sound! It's crucial to familiarize with the sound of these intervals .

Take a moment to play some major seconds, major thirds and perfect fifths on your guitar. On one single string, select a fret , play it, then go up horizontally 2, 4 and 7 frets and play the second note , on the same string. Try to focus on the sound of the interval , and sing what you are playing (singing helps a lot develop the inner ear, as Steve Vai suggests ). Pay attention to the differences in the interval sounds.

One powerful way to memorize and internalize intervals sounds is to associate them to the first notes of a song you already know. Here are some examples taken from very famous tunes, but you should select songs that you really like . Memory is all about emotion! (here's a post on memory and practice strategies )

• Major third : first two notes of " When the Saints Go Marching In "
• Perfect fifth : beginning notes of " Twinkle Twinkle Little Star "

There are really infinite options; for example, are you an Iron Maiden fan like me? Well, here are some memory hooks courtesy of The Irons :

• Major third : first notes of the intro riff of " The Number of The Beast "
• Perfect fifth : first two notes of the riff in the polka-style of " Mother Russia ", soon after the arpeggiated section (min 0:54)

Try to experiment with different intervals and find melodies that contain them.

Stacking intervals

Ok, I hope you have followed me to this point. Now we're going to learn how to combine intervals for creating new chords.

To construct a chord, we start from the root of that chord and add 2 or more notes.

What About Seventh, Ninth, or Other Types of Intervals?

If you want to go one step further and learn more intervals, jump to the fretboard intervals tutorial, on which you'll find the fretboard maps for every type of intervals.

I hope that now you have a good understanding of how chords are built and guitar music theory in general.

Here below you find several links to some other resources that will help you improve your music theory applied to the guitar.

• Complete Guitar Ebooks : my two complete ebooks, Chords Domination and 52 Chord Progressions, will help improve your music theory knowledge. Check them out here.
• Guitar fretboard notes : a comprehensive tutorial for understanding the fretboard
• Guitar triads : a simple but powerful concept that you can apply now to your melodies
• Guitar Chords Formula : learn the structure of seventh, ninth, augmented, diminished, sixths chord and many other types.
• Chord Scale Tables: here you find all the chords generated from all scale types in all keys.

For questions, feedback and comments please drop a line below, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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