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The theory of chord construction can appear a very complex subject. It is not!
If you can understand the major and minor scale you can understand the most complex chord construction. If not, Google “major scale” and “minor scale” and read as much as you need until you have a solid grip on these two concepts.
I will assume you understand these two scales for the purposes of this lesson.
Ok, let’s work in the key of C major. Here is the C major scale, the only major scale without sharps (# symbol) or flats (b symbol). In other words, using only the white keys on a piano. Start on a C and move up. The sound should be familar.
C D E F G A B C
Do re mi fa so la ti Do
Try it for yourself on this virtual piano (click on the notes with your mouse),
and then on your guitar by following the tab below
(click on tab to hear it played)
1) Major Chords
To make a major chord we take the 1st, 3rd and 5th of the major scale and play them together. Thus a C major chord is made of the 3 notes
C (the 1st or root), E (the 3rd) and G (the 5th)
So on a piano a C major chord looks like this
On a guitar we can play the same 3 notes like this,
playing the A, D and G strings fretted as shown
(click on chord box to play)
We can add any number of extra Cs, Es and Gs anywhere on the keyboard or fretboard to create bigger sounds, as long as the notes are only C, E and G. So another fingering for a C major chord on a piano could be
Which is recognisable on a guitar as the
full 5 string open position C major chord
(click on chord box to play)
2) Minor Chords
A minor chord is also made of the 1st, 3rd and 5th, but of the minor scale. Here, we will look at making an Am chord. The A minor scale is the only minor scale without any black notes.
A B C D E F G A
So an Am chord is made up of the 3 notes A, C and E. Here’s one possible fingering for Am on a piano keyboard...
And the most common fingering for an
Am chord on guitar
(click to play)
Yes I understand that, show me more (Power and Sus Chords)
Hmm, it all seems a little complex I need a different way to look at this
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
C
E
G
C
E
G
E
C
Learning the guitar is all about taking what seems impossible, getting it to a stage where it feels achievable, and steadily working toward making it feel easy. Anyone can do this, to any level they want, with a combination of desire, commitment, patience and naturally, good instruction.
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A
E
C
