I realize that for many of you that lesson 2 lacked entertainment, however it essential that you know the intervals between notes in order to fully understand how chords are formed.  The subject of chord formation is lengthy at best. (That’s why there are so many chord books).  However if you understand the basics of how chords are constructed you will save yourself a lot of time, money,  and headaches, so lets get started. We will use our infamous C Major scale for this demonstration.

1(I)            2(ii)           3(iii)        4(IV)        5(V)          6(vi)        7(vii*)         1(I)       

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

  \ whole /    \ whole /     \   half  /   \  whole / \  whole  /   \ whole  /   \   half /

      step           step             step           step         step            step            step

There is really two ways of looking at how chords are constructed; by NOTE/NUMBER or by INTERVAL (DISTANCE).  I typically prefer the note/number method but will try to explain using both.

TYPICALLY…A chord consist of at least three different individual notes

Three notes together are also called a triad.

The important notes/numbers of any chord are the I(1), iii(3), and the V(5).  From the C Major scale this would be C, E, and G which is a “C Major Chord”. If you know these three notes (1 3 5), you know whether the chord is major or minor. It is the 3^rd (iii) of the chord that determines if the chord is major or minor.  If the third (in this case E) is 2 whole steps away from the root note (in this case C) the chord is Major.  If the third (would be Eb) is only 1 ½ steps away from the root note (C) than the chord is minor…..JUST A NOTE….If the chord would be C minor, chances are 99% that we are not playing in the key of C, but that’s another lesson 

So in a nutshell …1 (C), 3 (E), and 5 (G) = “Major chord”

Interval speaking = 2 whole steps and then 1 ½ steps.

Also                 …1 (C), b3 (Eb), and 5 (G) = “minor chord”

Interval speaking = 1 1/2 steps and then 2 whole steps.

Notice how all of the notes of refer back to the numbers of the major scale.  Like I said before, virtually all music revolves around this one scale.

In the key of C Major

C = 1

D = 2 (will always be referred to as 9 because D = 9 )

E = 3

F = 4 (will be referred to as 4 only if the chord is neither major nor minor)( See ** below)

G = 5

A = 6

B = 7

C = 8 (you’ll never see an 8 because it’s the root)

D = 9

E = 10 (you’ll never see a 10 because it’s really the third of the chord)

F = 11 (you’ll see this when the chord IS major or minor)(See ** below)

G = 12 (you’ll never see 12 because it’s the 5^th of the chord)

A = 13 (I think you’ll only see this when a b7 is present)(if not it’s a 6)

B = 14 (you’ll never see this)(always a 7)

** There are chords that are neither major nor minor because they have no 3^rd.  They are referred to as sus (short for suspended) chords.  Instead they consist of a 1, 4, 5, 

For Example.

C-F-G = Csus.  If the chord was major or minor and had the added 4^th note it would be this….. C-E-F-G = Cadd11 (just like it sounds C with an ADDed 11 note)….remember when a chord is major or minor and a 4^th is added, it is referred to as an 11.

Power chords are also one of these chords that are really neither major nor minor.  In fact, a power chord really isn’t a chord per say.  It’s nothing more than an interval because it only consists of only 2 notes. For example the power chord C consists of only C and G.  Also known as C5.   You’ve probably seen this in any tab book you have looked in.  Now you know what it means.  Say for example G was the root of the two notes G-C, it would be a G4. Ya dig?

I could go on all day about how chords get their name, but from the following chart you can understand and analyze to understand at your own pace based on the info below.  Trust me; you won’t remember this chart overnight, in a week, or in a month.  Once you start analyzing which chords you play and how they sound is when you’ll really grasp it.  So, in short, don’t rush it, it will come to you. Just be aware of how it works.  To be quite honest in the last 12 years that I have been dealing with this, I really only know about (and use) 25% without having looking at the chart.  A lot of the chords listed on the chart (especially the 11’s and 13’s) are used in jazz type songs which I don’t play very much. 

A Few side notes.

1) Aug = Augmented.  This is referred to having a 1 - 3- #5

2) Dim = Diminished.  This is having 1 - b3 and b5.

3) You will eventually notice that some chords can have multiple names (especially when dealing with diminished chords which most people stay away from anyhow) You’ll rarely encounter them unless your looking for them.  In such cases base the names off of the root of the chord if possible.  In the following chart the numbers between ( ) can be omitted if desired

Chord Name	Chord Formula	Abbreviation	Chord Notes
Major	1 3 5	C	C E G
Suspended	1 4 5	Csus	C F G
Major Add Nine	1 3 5 9	Cadd9	C E G D
Minor	1  b3  5	Cm	C  Eb  G
Augmented	1  3  #5	Caug	C  E  G#
Major Six	1 3 5 6 9	C6/9	C  E  G  A  D
Minor Six	1  b3  5  6	Cm6	C  Eb  G  A
Minor Six Add Nine	1  b3  5  6  9	Cm6/9	C  Eb  G  A  D
Dominant Seven	1  3  5  b7	C7	C  E  G  B
Seven Suspended	1  4  5  b7	C7sus	C  F  G  Bb
Minor Seven	1  b3  5  b7	Cm7	C  Eb  G  Bb
Diminished (Seven)	1  b3  b5  bb7	Cdim	C  Eb  Gb  Bbb(A)
Major Seven	1  3  5  7	Cmaj7	C  E  G  B
Minor Major Seven	1  b3  5  7	Cm(maj7)	C  Eb  G  B
Ninth	1  3  5  b7  9	C9	C  E  G  Bb  D
Minor Nine	1  b3   5  b7  9	Cm9	C   Eb  G  Bb  D
Major Nine	1  3  5  7  9	Cmaj9	C  E  G  B  D
Eleventh	1  (3)  5  b7  9  11	C11	C  (E)  G  Bb  D  F
Minor Eleventh	1  b3  5  b7  9  11	Cm11	C  Eb  G  Bb  D  F
Thirteenth