Inmusic, aguitarchord is aset ofnotes played on aguitar. A chord's notes are often played simultaneously, but they can be played sequentially in anarpeggio. The implementation of guitar chords depends on the guitar tuning. Most guitars used inpopular music have six strings with the"standard" tuning of theSpanish classical guitar, namely E–A–D–G–B–E' (from the lowest pitched string to the highest); in standard tuning, theintervals present among adjacent strings areperfect fourths except for themajor third (G,B). Standard tuning requires four chord-shapes for themajor triads.
There are separate chord-forms for chords having theirroot note on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth strings. For a six-string guitar in standard tuning, it may be necessary to drop or omit one or more tones from the chord; this is typically the root orfifth. The layout of notes on thefretboard in standard tuning often forces guitarists topermute the tonal order of notes in a chord.
The playing of conventional chords is simplified byopen tunings, which are especially popular infolk, blues guitar and non-Spanish classical guitar (such asEnglish andRussian guitar). For example, the typicaltwelve-bar blues uses onlythree chords, each of which can be played (in every open tuning) by fretting six strings with one finger. Open tunings are used especially forsteel guitar andslide guitar. Open tunings allow one-finger chords to be played with greater consonance than do other tunings, which useequal temperament, at the cost of increasing thedissonance in other chords.
The playing of (3 to 5 string) guitar chords is simplified by the class ofalternative tunings calledregular tunings, in which the musical intervals are the same for each pair of consecutive strings. Regular tunings includemajor-thirds tuning,all-fourths, andall-fifths tunings. For each regular tuning, chord patterns may be diagonally shifted down the fretboard, a property that simplifies beginners' learning of chords and that simplifies advanced players'improvisation. On the other hand, in regular tunings 6-string chords (in the keys of C, G, and D) are more difficult to play.
Conventionally, guitaristsdouble notes in a chord to increase its volume, an important technique for players without amplification; doubling notes and changing the order of notes also changes thetimbre of chords. It can make possible a "chord" which is composed of the all same note on different strings. Many chords can be played with the same notes in more than one place on the fretboard.
The theory of guitar-chords respectsharmonic conventions of Western music. Discussions of basic guitar-chords rely onfundamental concepts inmusic theory: the twelve notes of the octave, musical intervals, chords, and chord progressions.
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The octave consists of twelve notes.Its natural notes constitute theC majorscale, (C,D,E,F,G,A,B, and C).
The intervals between the notes of achromatic scale are listed in a table, in which only theemboldened intervals are discussed in this article's section on fundamental chords; those intervals and other seventh-intervals are discussed in the section on intermediate chords. Theunison and octave intervals have perfectconsonance. Octave intervals were popularized by the jazz playing ofWes Montgomery. The perfect-fifth interval is highly consonant, which means that the successive playing of the two notes from the perfect fifth sounds harmonious.
Asemitone is the distance between two adjacent notes on thechromatic circle, which displays the twelve notes of anoctave.[a]
| Number of semitones | Minor, major, or perfect intervals | Audio | Harmoniousness[1][2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Perfect unison | Playⓘ | Open consonance |
| 1 | Minor second | Playⓘ | Sharp dissonance |
| 2 | Major second | Playⓘ | Mild dissonance |
| 3 | Minor third | Playⓘ | Soft consonance |
| 4 | Major third | Playⓘ | Soft consonance |
| 5 | Perfect fourth | Playⓘ | Ambivalence |
| 6 | Augmented fourth | Playⓘ | Ambiguous |
| 7 | Perfect fifth | Playⓘ | Open consonance |
| 8 | Minor sixth | Playⓘ | Soft consonance |
| 9 | Major sixth | Playⓘ | Soft consonance |
| 10 | Minor seventh | Playⓘ | Mild dissonance |
| 11 | Major seventh | Playⓘ | Sharp dissonance |
| 12 | Octave | Playⓘ | Open consonance |
As indicated by their having been emboldened in the table, a handful of intervals—thirds (minor and major), perfect fifths, and minor sevenths—are used in the following discussion of fundamental guitar-chords.
As already stated, the perfect-fifths (P5) interval is the most harmonious, after the unison and octave intervals. An explanation of human perception of harmony relates themechanics of avibrating string to themusical acoustics ofsound waves using theharmonic analysis ofFourier series. When a string is struck with a finger or pick (plectrum), it vibrates according to itsharmonic series. When an open-note C-string is struck, its harmonic series begins with the terms (C,C,G,C,E,G,B♭,C). The root note is associated with a sequence of intervals, beginning with the unison interval (C,C), the octave interval (C,C), the perfect fifth (C,G), the perfect fourth (G,C), and the major third (C,E). In particular, this sequence of intervals contains the thirds of the C-major chord {(C,E),(E,G)}.[3]
With a note of music, one strikes the fundamental, and, in addition to the root note, other notes are generated: these are the harmonic series.... As one fundamental note contains within it other notes in the octave, two fundamentals produce a remarkable array of harmonics, and the number of possible combinations between all the notes increases phenomenally. With a triad, affairs stand a good chance of getting severely out of hand.
The perfect-fifth interval is featured in guitar playing and in sequences of chords. The sequence offifth intervals built on the C-major scale is used in the construction of triads, which is discussed below.[b]
Concatenating the perfect fifths((F,C), (C,G), (G,D), (D,A), (A,E), (E,B),...) yields thesequence of fifths (F,C,G,D,A,E,B,...); thissequence of fifths displays all the notes of the octave.[c] This sequence of fifths shall be used in the discussions of chord progressions, below.
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The perfect-fifth interval is called a power chord by guitarists, who play them especially in blues androck music.[7][8]The Who's guitarist,Peter Townshend, performed power chords with a theatrical windmill-strum.[7][9] Power chords are often played with the notes repeated in higher octaves.[7]
Although established, the term "power chord" is inconsistent with the usual definition of a chord in musical theory, which requires three (or more) distinct notes in each chord.[7]
The musical theory of chords is reviewed, to provide terminology for a discussion of guitar chords. Three kinds of chords, which are emphasized in introductions to guitar-playing,[10][d] are discussed. These basic chords arise in chord-triples that are conventional in Western music, triples that are called three-chord progressions. After each type of chord is introduced, its role in three-chord progressions is noted.
Intermediate discussions of chords derive both chords and their progressions simultaneously from theharmonization ofscales. The basic guitar-chords can be constructed by "stacking thirds", that is, by concatenating two or three third-intervals, where all of the lowest notes come from the scale.[12][13]
Both major and minor chords are examples of musicaltriads, which contain three distinct notes. Triads are often introduced as anorderedtriplet:
| Chord | Root | Major third | Fifth |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | E | G |
| D | D | F♯ | A |
| E | E | G♯ | B |
| F | F | A | C |
| G | G | B | D |
| A | A | C♯ | E |
| B[e] | B | D♯ | F♯ |
For example, aC-major triad consists of the (root, third, fifth)-notes (C, E, G).
The three notes of a major triad have been introduced as anorderedtriplet, namely (root, third, fifth), where the major third is four semitones above the root and where the perfect fifth is seven semitones above the root. This type of triad is in closed position. Triads are quite commonly played in open position: For example, the C-major triad is often played with the third (E) and fifth (G) an octave higher, respectively sixteen and nineteen semitones above the root. Another variation of the major triad changes the order of the notes: For example, the C-major triad is often played as (C,G,E), where (C,G) is a perfect fifth and E is raised an octave above the perfect third (C,E). Alternative orderings of the notes in a triad are discussed below (in the discussions ofchord inversions anddrop-2 chords).
In popular music, a subset of triads is emphasized—those with notes from the threemajor-keys (C, G, D), which also contain the notes of theirrelative minor keys (Am, Em, Bm).[16]
The major chords are highlighted by thethree-chord theory ofchord progressions, which describes thethree-chord song that is archetypal in popular music. When played sequentially (in any order), the chords from a three-chord progression sound harmonious ("good together").[f]
The most basic three-chord progressions of Western harmony have only major chords. In each key, three chords are designated with theRoman numerals (of musical notation): The tonic (I), the subdominant (IV), and the dominant (V). While the chords of each three-chord progression are numbered (I, IV, and V), they appear in other orders.[f][18]
| Key | Tonic (I) | Subdominant (IV) | Dominant (V) |
| C | C | F | G |
| D | D | G | A |
| E | E | A | B |
| G | G | C | D |
| A | A | D | E |
In the 1950s the I–IV–V chord progression was used in "Hound Dog" (Elvis Presley) and in "Chantilly Lace" (The Big Bopper).[20]
Major-chord progressions are constructed in the harmonization ofmajor scales in triads.[21] For example, stacking theC-major scale with thirds creates a chord progression, which is traditionally enumerated with the Roman numerals I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, viio; its sub-progression C–F–G (I–IV–V) is used in popular music,[22] as already discussed. Further chords are constructed by stacking additional thirds. Stacking the dominant major-triad with a minor third creates the dominant seventh chord, which shall be discussed after minor chords.
A minor chord has the root and the fifth of the corresponding major chord, but its first interval is a minor third rather than a major third:
| Chord | Root | Minor third | Perfect fifth |
|---|---|---|---|
Cm[e] | C | E♭ | G |
Dm | D | F | A |
Em | E | G | B |
Fm[e] | F | A♭ | C |
Gm[e] | G | B♭ | D |
Am | A | C | E |
Bm[e] | B | D | F♯ |
Minor chords arise in the harmonization of the major scale in thirds, which was already discussed: The minor chords have the degree positions ii, iii, and vi.
| Key | Tonic I | Sub dominant IV | Dominant V |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cm | Cm | Fm | G7 |
| Dm | Dm | Gm | A7 |
| Em | Em | Am | B7 |
| Gm | Gm | Cm | D7 |
| Am | Am | Dm | E7 |
Minor chords arise as the tonic notes ofminor keys that share the samekey signature with major keys. From the major key's I–ii–iii–IV–V–vi–viio progression, the "secondary" (minor) triads ii–iii–vi appear in the relative minor key's corresponding chord progression as i–iv–v (or i–iv–V or i–iv–V7): For example, from C's vi–ii–iii progression Am–Dm–Em, the chord Em is often played as E or E7 in a minor chord progression.[24] Among basic chords, the minor chords (D,E,A) are the tonic chords of the relative minors of the three major keys (F,G,C):
The technique of changing among relative keys (pairs of relative majors and relative minors) is a form ofmodulation.[25]Minor chords are constructed by the harmonization ofminor scales in triads.[26]
Adding aminor seventh to a major triad creates adominant seventh (denoted V7). In music theory, the "dominant seventh" described here is called a major-minor seventh, emphasizing the chord's construction rather than its usual function.[27] Dominant sevenths are often the dominant chords in three-chord progressions,[18] in which they increase thetension with the tonic "already inherent in the dominant triad".[28]
| Chord | Root | Major third | Perfect fifth | Minor seventh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C7 | C | E | G | B♭ |
| D7 | D | F♯ | A | C |
| E7 | E | G♯ | B | D |
| F7[e] | F | A | C | E♭ |
| G7 | G | B | D | F |
| A7 | A | C♯ | E | G |
| B7 | B | D♯ | F♯ | A |
The dominant seventh discussed is the most commonly playedseventh chord.[29][30]
An A-major I–IV–V7 chord progression A–D–E7 was used byPaul McCartney in the song "3 Legs" on his albumRam.[32]
These progressions with seventh chords arise in the harmonization of major scales in seventh chords.[33][g]
Be they in major key or minor key, such I–IV–V chord progressions are extended overtwelve bars in popular music—especially injazz,blues, androck music.[36][37] For example, atwelve-bar blues progression of chords in thekey of E has three sets of four bars:
this progression is simplified by playing the sevenths as major chords.[36] The twelve-bar blues structure is used by McCartney's "3 Legs",[32] which was noted earlier.
The implementation of musical chords on guitars depends on the tuning. Since standard tuning is most commonly used, expositions of guitar chords emphasize the implementation of musical chords on guitars with standard tuning. The implementation of chords using particular tunings is a defining part of the literature on guitar chords, which is omitted in the abstract musical-theory of chords for all instruments.
For example, in the guitar (like otherstringed instruments but unlike thepiano),open-stringnotes are not fretted and so require less hand-motion. Thus chords that contain open notes are more easily played and hence more frequently played inpopular music, such asfolk music. Many of the most popular tunings—standard tuning,open tunings, andnew standard tuning—are rich in the open notes used by popular chords. Open tunings allow major triads to be played bybarring one fret with only one finger, using the finger like acapo. On guitars without azeroth fret (after thenut), the intonation of an open note may differ from then note when fretted on other strings; consequently, on some guitars, the sound of an open note may be inferior to that of a fretted note.[38]
Unlike the piano, the guitar has the same notes on different strings. Consequently, guitar players often double notes in chord, so increasing the volume of sound.Doubled notes also changes the chordaltimbre: Having different "string widths, tensions and tunings, the doubled notes reinforce each other, like the doubled strings of a twelve-string guitar add chorusing and depth".[39] Notes can be doubled at identical pitches or in different octaves. For triadic chords, doubling the third interval, which is either a major third or a minor third, clarifies whether the chord is major or minor.[40]
Unlike a piano or the voices of a choir, the guitar (in standard tuning) has difficulty playing the chords as stacks of thirds, which would require the left hand to span too many frets,[41] particularly for dominant seventh chords, as explained below. If in a particular tuning chords cannot be played in closed position, then they often can be played in open position; similarly, if in a particular tuning chords cannot be played in root position, they can often be played in inverted positions. A chord isinverted when thebass note is not the root note. Additional chords can be generated with drop-2 (or drop-3) voicing, which are discussed for standard tuning's implementation of dominant seventh chords (below).
When providing harmony in accompanying a melody, guitarists may play chords all-at-once or as arpeggios. Arpeggiation was the traditional method of playing chords for guitarists for example in the time of Mozart. Contemporary guitarists using arpeggios includeJohnny Marr ofThe Smiths.
A six-string guitar has five musical-intervals between its consecutive strings. In standard tuning, the intervals are four perfect fourths and one major third, the comparatively irregular interval for the (G,B) pair. Consequently, standard tuning requires four chord shapes for the major chords. There are separate chord forms for chords having their root note on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth strings.[42] Of course, a beginner learns guitar by learning notes and chords,[43] and irregularities make learning the guitar difficult[44]—even more difficult than learning the formation ofplural nouns inGerman, according toGary Marcus.[45] Nonetheless, most beginners use standard tuning.[46]
Another feature of standard tuning is that the ordering of notes often differs fromroot position. Notes are ofteninverted or otherwise permuted, particularly with seventh chords in standard tuning,[47] as discussed below.
As previously discussed, eachpower chord has only one interval, aperfect fifth between the root note and thefifth.[7] In standard tuning, the following fingerings are conventional:
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Triads are usually played with doubled notes,[48] as the following examples illustrate.
Commonly used major chords are convenient to play instandard tuning, in which fundamental chords are available inopen position, that is, the first three frets and additionalopen strings.
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For the C major chord (C,E,G), the conventional left-hand fingering doubles the C and E notes in the next octave; this fingering uses two open notes, E and G:
Major Chords (Guide for Guitar Chord Charts)
For the other commonly used chords, the conventional fingerings also double notes and feature open-string notes:
_svg_hariadhi.svg)
_svg_hariadhi.svg)
_svg_hariadhi.svg)
_svg_hariadhi.svg)
Besides doubling the fifth note, the conventional E-major chord features a tripled bass note.[48]
TheB major andF major chords are commonly played asbarre chords, with the first finger depressing five–six strings.
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B major chord has the same shape as the A major chord but it is located two frets further up the fretboard. The F major chord is the same shape as E major but it is located one fret further up the fretboard.
Minor chords (commonly notated asC-,Cm,Cmi or Cmin) are the same as major chords except that they have aminor third instead of a major third. This is a difference of one semitone.
To create F minor from the F major chord (in E major shape), the second finger should be lifted so that the third string plays onto the barre. Compare the F major to F minor:
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The other shapes can be modified as well:
| Chord name | Fret numbers |
|---|---|
| E minor | [0 2 2 0 0 0] |
| A minor | [X 0 2 2 1 0] |
| D minor | [X X 0 2 3 1] |
Movable Suspended Chords Guide (for chord charts)
(in standard tuning)
Sus2
Sus4
The suspended fourth chord is often played inadvertently, or as an adornment, by barring an additional string from a power chord shape (e.g., E5 chord, playing the second fret of the G string with the same finger barring strings A and D); making it an easy and common extension in the context of power chords.
_tuning_for_six_string_guitar.png)
As previously stated, a dominant seventh is a four-note chord combining a major chord and aminor seventh. For example, the C7 dominant seventh chord adds B♭ to the C-major chord (C,E,G). The naive chord (C,E,G,B♭) spans six frets from fret 3 to fret 8;[50] such seventh chords "contain some pretty serious stretches in the left hand".[47] An illustration shows a naive C7 chord, which would be extremely difficult to play,[50] besides theopen-position C7 chord that is conventional in standard tuning.[50][h] The standard-tuning implementation of a C7 chord is asecond-inversion C7 drop 2 chord, in which thesecond highest note in a second inversion of the C7 chord is lowered by an octave.[50][52][53] Drop-two chords are used for sevenths chords besides the major–minor seventh with dominant function,[54] which are discussed in the section on intermediate chords, below. Drop-two chords are used particularly in jazz guitar.[55] Drop-two second-inversions are examples ofopenly voiced chords, which are typical of standard tuning and other popular guitar tunings.[i]
"Alternatively voiced" seventh chords are commonly played with standard tuning. A list of fret number configurations for some common chords follows:
Already in basic guitar playing, inversion is important for sevenths chords in standard tuning. It is also important for playing major chords.
In standard tuning, chord inversion depends on the bass note's string, and so there are three different forms for the inversion of each major chord, depending on the position of the irregular major thirds interval between the G and B strings.
For example, if the note E (the open sixth string) is played over the A minor chord, then the chord would be [0 0 2 2 1 0]. This has the note E as its lowest tone instead of A. It is often written asAm/E, where the letter following theslash indicates the new bass note. However, in popular music it is usual to play inverted chords on the guitar when they are not part of the harmony, since the bass guitar can play the root pitch.
There are many alternate tunings. These change the way chords are played, making some chords easier to play and others harder.
Anopen tuning allows achord to be played by strumming the strings when "open", or while fretting no strings. The base chord consists of at least three notes and may include all the strings or a subset. The tuning is named for the base chord when played open, typically a major triad, and each major triad can be played bybarring exactly one fret.[60] Open tunings are common inblues andfolk music,[59] and they are used in the playing ofslide andlap-slide ("Hawaiian") guitars.[60][61]Ry Cooder uses open tunings when he plays slide guitar.[59]
Open tunings improve the intonation of major chords by reducing the error ofthird intervals inequal temperaments. For example, in the open-Govertones tuning G–G–D–G–B–D, the (G,B)interval is amajor third, and of course each successive pair of notes on the G- and B-strings is also a major third; similarly, the open-string minor-third (B,D) induces minor thirds among all the frets of the B-D strings. The thirds of equal temperament have audible deviations from the thirds ofjust intonation: Equal temperament is used in modern music because it facilitates music in all keys, while (on a piano and other instruments) just intonation provided better-sounding major-third intervals for only a subset of keys.[65] "Sonny Landreth, Keith Richards and other open-G masters often lower the second string slightly so the major third is in tune with the overtone series. This adjustment dials out the dissonance, and makes those big one-finger major-chords come alive."[66]
Repetitive open-tunings are used for two non-Spanish classical-guitars. For theEnglish guitar the open chord is C major (C–E–G–C–E–G);[67] for theRussian guitar which hasseven strings, G major (G–B–D–G–B–D–G).[68][69][70] Mixing a perfect fourth and a minor third along with a major third, these tunings are on-average major-thirds regular-tunings. While on-average major-thirds tunings are conventional open tunings, properly major-thirds tunings are unconventional open-tunings, because they haveaugmented triads as their open chords.[71]
Guitar chords are dramatically simplified by the class of alternative tunings called regular tunings. In eachregular tuning, the musical intervals are the same for each pair of consecutive strings. Regular tunings includemajor-thirds (M3),all-fourths,augmented-fourths, andall-fifths tunings. For each regular tuning, chord patterns may be diagonally shifted down the fretboard, a property that simplifies beginners' learning of chords and that simplifies advanced players' improvisation.[72][73][74] The diagonal shifting of a C major chord in M3 tuning appears in a diagram.
Further simplifications occur for the regular tunings that arerepetitive, that is, which repeat their strings. For example, the E–G♯–c–e–g♯–c' M3 tuning repeats its octave after every two strings. Such repetition further simplifies the learning of chords and improvisation;[73] This repetition results in two copies of the three open-strings' notes, each in a different octave. Similarly, the B–F–B–F–B–F augmented-fourths tuning repeats itself after one string.[75]
A chord is inverted when the bass note is not the root note.Chord inversion is especially simple in M3 tuning. Chords are inverted simply by raising one or two notes by three strings; each raised note is played with the same finger as the original note. Inverted major and minor chords can be played on two frets in M3 tuning.[76][77] In standard tuning, the shape of inversions depends on the involvement of the irregular major third, and can involve four frets.[78]
It is a challenge to adapt conventional guitar chords tonew standard tuning, which is based on all-fifths tuning.[j]
After major and minor triads are learned, intermediate guitarists play seventh chords.
The fundamental guitar-chords—major and minor triads and dominant sevenths—aretertian chords, which concatenatethird intervals, with each such third being either major (M3) or minor (m3).
As discussed above, major and minor triads are constructed by stacking thirds:
Similar tertian harmonization yields the remaining two triads:
Stacking thirds also constructs the most used seventh-chords. The most important seventh-chords concatenate a major triad with a third interval, supplementing it with a seventh interval:
Four of these five seventh-chords—all but the diminished seventh—are constructed via the tertian harmonization of amajor scale.[81] As already stated,
While absent from the tertian harmonization of themajor scale,
Besides these five types there are many more seventh-chords, which are less used in thetonal harmony of thecommon-practice period.[80]
When playing seventh chords, guitarists often play only a subset of notes from the chord. The fifth is often omitted. When a guitar is accompanied by a bass, the guitarist may omit the bass note from a chord. As discussed earlier, the third of a triad is doubled to emphasize its major or minor quality; similarly, the third of a seventh is doubled to emphasize its major or minor quality. The most frequent seventh is the dominant seventh; the minor, half-diminished, and major sevenths are also popular.[82]
The previously discussed I–IV–V chord progressions of major triads is are a subsequence of thecircle progression, which ascends by perfect fourths and descends by perfect fifths: Perfect fifths and perfect fourths areinverse intervals, because one reaches the samepitch class by either ascending by a perfect fourth (five semitones) or descending by a perfect fifth (seven semitones). For example, thejazz standard "Autumn Leaves" contains the iv7–VII7–VIM7–iiø7–i circle-of-fifths chord progression;[83] its sevenths occur in the tertian harmonization in sevenths of theminor scale.[84] Other subsequences of the fifths-circle chord progression are used in music. In particular, theii–V–I progression is the most important chord progression injazz music.
Major inversions for guitar in standard tuning. The low E is on the left. The A demonstrates three of the different movable shapes.
Besides the dominant seventh chords discussed above, other seventh chords—especially minor seventh chords and major seventh chords—are used in guitar music.
Minor seventh chords have the following fingerings in standard tuning:
Major seventh chords have the following fingerings in standard tuning:
Inmajor-thirds (M3) tuning, thechromatic scale is arranged on three consecutive strings in four consecutive frets.[86][87] This four-fret arrangement facilitates theleft-hand technique forclassical (Spanish) guitar:[87] For each hand position of four frets, the hand is stationary and the fingers move, each finger being responsible for exactly one fret.[88] Consequently, three hand positions (covering frets 1–4, 5–8, and 9–12) partition thefingerboard of classical guitar,[89] which has exactly 12 frets.[k]
Only two or three frets are needed for the guitar chords—major, minor, and dominant sevenths—which are emphasized in introductions to guitar-playing and to thefundamentals of music.[92][93] Each major and minor chord can be played on exactly two successive frets on exactly three successive strings, and therefore each needs only two fingers. Other chords—seconds,fourths,sevenths, andninths—are played on only three successive frets.[94]
Thecircle of fifths was discussed in the section on intermediate guitar chords. Other progressions are also based on sequences of third intervals;[95] progressions are occasionally based on sequences of second intervals.[96]
As their categorical name suggests,extended chords indeed extend seventh chords by stacking one or more additional third-intervals, successively constructingninth,eleventh, and finallythirteenth chords; thirteenth chords contain all seven notes of the diatonic scale.In closed position, extended chords contain dissonant intervals or may sound supersaturated, particularly thirteenth chords with their seven notes. Consequently, extended chords are often played with the omission of one or more tones, especially the fifth and often the third,[97][98] as already noted for seventh chords; similarly, eleventh chords often omit the ninth, and thirteenth chords the ninth or eleventh. Often, the third is raised an octave, mimicking its position in the root'ssequence of harmonics.[97]
Dominant ninth chords were used by Beethoven, and eleventh chords appeared inImpressionist music. Thirteenth chords appeared in the twentieth century.[99]Extended chords appear in many musical genres, includingjazz,funk,rhythm and blues, andprogressive rock/progressive metal.[98]
(Standard tuning, read from left to right, low E to high e)
Major 9
Minor 9
Conventional music usesdiatonic harmony, the major and minor keys and major and minor scales, as sketched above.Jazz guitarists must be fluent withjazz chords and also with manyscales andmodes; "of all the forms of music, jazz ... demands the highest level of musicianship—in terms of both theory and technique".[100]
Whole tone scales were used byKing Crimson for the title track on itsRed album of 1974;[101][102] whole tone scales were also used by King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp on "Fractured".[101]
In popular music, chords are often extended also withadded tones, especially addedsixths.[103]
Chords are also systematically constructed by stacking not only thirds but also fourths and fifths, supplementing tertian major–minor harmony withquartal andquintal harmonies. Quartal and quintal harmonies are used by guitarists who play jazz, folk, and rock music.
Quartal harmony has been used injazz byguitarists such asJim Hall (especially onSonny Rollins'sThe Bridge),George Benson ("Skydive"),Kenny Burrell ("So What"), andWes Montgomery ("Little Sunflower").[104]
Harmonies based on fourths and fifths also appear infolk guitar. On her 1968 debut albumSong to a Seagull,Joni Mitchell used bothquartal and quintal harmony in "Dawntreader", and she used quintal harmony in "Seagull".[105]
Quartal and quintal harmonies also appear inalternate tunings. It is easier to finger the chords that are based on perfect fifths innew standard tuning than in standard tuning. New standard tuning was invented byRobert Fripp, a guitarist forKing Crimson. Preferring to base chords on perfect intervals—especially octaves, fifths, and fourths—Fripp often avoidsminor thirds and especiallymajor thirds,[106] which are sharp inequal temperament tuning (in comparison to thirds injust intonation).
Alternative harmonies can also be generated by stacking second intervals (major orminor).[107]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Professors at the Department of Guitar at theBerklee College of Music wrote the following books, which like their colleagues'Chapman (2000) andWillmott (1994) are Berklee-course textbooks:
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