Basic Guitar Chords Chart
From Music Maker Guitar Lessons
Basic Guitar Chords Chart
Guitar chords are displayed on the basic guitar chords chart. But chord charts often do not tell us what notes should be played; just the location on the fretboard. You will really benefit by getting to know what notes make up each chord as it will help you decide what notes to use in your lead solo's. Like scales chords are formed using chord templates called chord templates. So let’s use the first of the "Guitar Chord Templates" on the C Major Scale or Ionian Mode to learn the basic guitar chords available. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C D E F G A B A triad chord is formed by applying the 1st 3rd & 5th template from each note in a Scale or Mode. As there are 7 notes in the C Major Scale there must be 7 different triads. The first triad in the C Major Scale is a C Major Chord. This is formed combining the 1st 3rd & 5th notes & has C E & G notes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C D E F G A B
1st 3rd 5th
So now let's look at the second of the "guitar chord templates" The second chord is a Dm & is made up using D F & A notes. How do we know it’s a D Minor not a D Major chord? We can identify the Chords Shape Templates as follows: Major Chord Shape will always be:
0 4 3 Minor Chord Shape will always be:
0 3 4 Diminished Chord Shape will always be:
0 3 3 Augmented Chord Shape will always be:
0 4 4 Suspended 2nd will always be:
0, 2, 5 Suspended 4th will always be:
0, 5, 2
In the above example the 0 represents the first note in the chord, 4 represents a distance of 4 frets between the first & the second notes & 3 represents 3 frets between the second & third notes in the major triad. We find that basic guitar chords chart will reflect all these intervals. Therefore the first chord or C Major triad will look like this: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B
0 4 3 So the second chord formed out of the C Ionian Mode is a D minor shape & here’s why. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B
0 3 4So the third chord formed out of the C Ionian Mode is an E minor shape & here’s why. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B
0 3 3So the fourth chord formed out of the C Ionian Mode is an F Major shape & here’s why. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B
3 0 4 So the fifth chord formed out of the C Ionian Mode is an G Major shape & here’s why. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B
3 0 4
So the sixth chord formed out of the C Ionian Mode is an A minor shape & here’s why. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B
3 4 0
The seventh chord formed out of the C Ionian Mode is a B Diminished chord shape & can be seen when forming a chord from the B note in the C Ionian Mode: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B
3 3 0
So as you can see, "guitar chord templates" are essential to setting a solid foundatin for your musical journey... Hopefully you undestand that it is very important to get to grips with identifying the notes used to make up the chords displayed on the basic guitar chords chart.
Chords Drawn from Scales
The chords displayed on the basic guitar chords chart are drawn from scales… this will be studied shortly but firstly look at the following: Musical arrangements are created by taking chords & arranging them in a set order. Chords are made up from a group of notes played together & displayed in a basic guitar chords chart. Chords can be two notes (Power Chords or 5th chord) three notes (triads), 4 notes (6th or 7th) 5 notes (9th) 6 notes (11th) 7 notes (13th). Here are the 6 main triad chords we cover, all of which appear on our basic guitar chords chart: Major Triad: 1st - 3rd 5th
Minor Triad: 1st- minor 3rd - 5th
Diminished Triad: 1st - minor 3rd - Diminished 5th
Augmented Triad: 1st - 3rd - Augmented 5th,
Suspended 2nd: 1st - suspended 2nd - 5thSuspended 4th: 1st - suspended 4th - 5th The chords found in the C Major Scale are known as diatonic triads this means that all of the notes in the chord (or a melody) are contained within a particular scale or key; the C major Scale in this case. So here’s the rule used to create the chords from a scale as displayed in the basic guitar chords chart. Identify the ‘Scale Template’; then apply it to the Chromatic Scale, then use the ‘Chord Template’ against the Scale or Mode to identify the chords. So here in the basic guitar chords chart below you will find the templates for many chords. So study the basic guitar chords chart until you get it! Why not take advance of taking the Theory test on the Test links to see just how far you have come on your guitar journey?
Chord Template Notes Used
Note Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Note Number 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Notes with sharps C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B
Notes with flats C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B
C 0,4,3, C E G
Cm 0,3,4, C Eb G
Cdim 0,3,3 C Eb Gb
CAug 0,4,4 C E G#
CSus2 0,2,5 C D G
CSus4 0,5,2 C F G
CAdd9 0,4,3,7 C D E G
C5 0,5 C G
C6 0,4,3,2 C E G A
C6add9 0,4,3,2,5 C D E G A
C7 0,4,3,3 C E G Bb
C7sus4 0,5,2,3 C F G Bb
C7b5 0,4,2,4 C E Gb Bb
C9 0,4,3,3,4 C D E G Bb
C9sus4 0,5,2,3,4 C D F G Bb
C11 0,4,3,3,4,3 C D E F G Bb
C9b5 0,4,2,4,4 C D E Gb Bb
C13 0,4,3,3,4,7 C D E F G A Bb
CM7 0,4,3,4 C E G B
CM7b5 0,4,2,5 C E Gb B
CM7#11 0,4,3,4,7 C E F# G B
CM9 0,4,3,4,3 C D E G B
CM11 0,4,3,4,3,3 C D E F G B
CM13 0,4,3,4,3,3,4 C D E F G A B
CmM7 0,3,4,4 C Eb G B
Cm6 0,3,4,2 C Eb G A
Cm7 0,3,4,3 C Eb G Bb
Cm9 0,3,4,3,4 C D Eb G Bb
Cm11 0,3,4,3,4,3 C D Eb F G Bb
Cm13 0,3,4,3,4,7 C D Eb G A Bb
Cm7b5 0,3,3,4 C Eb Gb Bb
learn guitar chord progressions from guitar lessons for beginners
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Essential Guitar Theory
