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Guitar Chords Tutorial -
Chord Formulas

A chord is a group of notes, two or more, sounded simultaneously to form a harmony. A 'triad' is a chord made up of three notes including the root, third, and fifth scale degrees. The Major scale is made of seven scale degrees and the octave. In the case of the C Major scale, the scale degrees and their intervals are:

C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C	(Scale Degrees)
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	(Intervals, 8=Octave)

As you'll notice from the diagram below, all Major triads are made up of a Root (1), third and fifth. In the C Major triad, the notes of the chord are C (the root), E (the third), and G (the fifth). This concept pertains to all keys. However, for other keys you will start on a different root and select the appropriate third and fifth from the scale.

Refer to the Major Scales tutorial to review the scale degrees of all 12 Major Scales.

There are four essential triad chord types. In addition to the Major form, there are minor, Augmented, and diminished forms, too.

The triad chord formulas for these additional chord forms are presented in the diagram. As you can see, the same concept applies to all, except that the 3rd and 5th scale degrees are either raised or lowered.

There is another chord type known as the 7th chord. Seventh guitar chords are four-note chords. As you'll notice in the diagram, a seventh guitar chord consists of a root, third, fifth, and a 7th. The chord formulas apply here as well, except that a 7th is included in the chord. While the other basic chord forms are Major, minor, Augmented, or diminished, the seventh chord can be Major, Dominant (7), minor, and minor 7 flat 5 (m7b5).

The diagram also shows in parenthesis, how the various guitar chords are likely to be represented on a piece of music or on a chord chart.

There is no need to buy a chord book if you understand 3 basic things; all of the Major Scales, the Chord Formulas, and where the notes are on the Fretboard. The Really Learn Guitar™ course goes into great depth on all of these topics.

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