Chord Construction Formulas

Harmony - The Rules of Chord Construction

Chord Construction Formulas - The following construction rules should help you to learn how to build any chord you want. If this stuff is new to you, simply write out a C major scale and stack and alter the extensions to create any of the chords you desire. Remember the order is not mandatory, you don't have to stack the chords in 3rds. Ex: stacked in thirds: maj7#11 (1 3 5 7 #11), stacked randomly: maj7#11 (1 5 3 #11 7). Experiment with different voicings and have fun finding new sounds. Extensions written in parenthesis can be omitted freely.

triads

5	5	b5	#5
3	b3	b3	3
1	1	1	1
maj	min	dim	aug

Triads: Triads are three note chords (a music theory text book will probably state that a chord must have at least three notes to be considered a chord). Any of the notes can be repeated and the order of the notes makes no difference. Triads are often played above a bass note that is not present in the triad itself. This technique creates what is known as a slash chord because a slash mark is used in the chord symbol. Ex: G/A (a G triad placed over an A bass note).

sus chords

5	5
4	2
1	1
sus4	sus2

Sus chords: In sus chords the 3rd is replaced with a 4th or a 2nd. Although this is the general rule, these days some musicians voice the chord with the natural 3rd included also. Best to be careful when including the 3rd with the 4th, they kind of rub together causing a dissonance but good voice leading can make it work.

7th chords

7	7	7	b7	b7	7	b7	b7	b7	b7	bb7
5	#5	b5	5	b5	5	5	5	#5	b5	b5
3	3	3	b3	b3	b3	3	4	3	3	b3
1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
maj7	maj7#5	maj7b5	min7	min7b5	min/maj7	7	7sus	7#5	7b5	dim7

7th chords: 7th chords are four note chords. It may help you to think of them as triads with the extension of the 7th added on. You may want to figure out what triad the top three notes of a 7th chord make. Ex: C maj7#5 (C E G# B) = E/C (E triad over an C note).

6th chords

6	6
5	5
3	b3
1	1
6	min6

6th chords: A triad with an added major 6th. Since the 6th. chord doesn't contain a 7th, this chord can function as either a major or a dominant chord. The only other thing you may want to keep in mind about the 6th chord is that if you rearrange the order of notes, it turns into a min7th chord. Ex: C6 (C E G A) = Amin7 (A C E G). The notes of the min6th. chord can be rearanged to make a min7b5 chord. Ex: Amin6 (A C E F#) = F#min7b5 (F# A C E). For this reason, the min6 chord is a common substitution for a min7b5 chord. Try it yourself, any time a min7b5 chord shows up in a song, play a min6 chord a min3 above it. Ex: F#min7b5 = Amin6, Bmin7b5 = Dmin6, etc..

Rule: a 6 and a 13 are the same note, so what's the difference between a 6th chord and a 13th chord? Simple; a 6th chord contains no 7th while a 13th chord contains a 7th. Some textbooks may state that where the 6th is placed also makes a difference (placed above the octave makes it a 13th) but I don't buy it.

9th chords

9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	b9	#9	b9	#9	b9	#9	9	b9
7	-	6	b7	-	6	b7	b7	b7	b7	b7	b7	b7	b7	b7	b7
5	5	5	5	5	5	b5	5	5	5	b5	b5	#5	#5	5	5
3	3	3	b3	b3	b3	b3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4
1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
maj9	add9	69	min9	minadd9	min69	min9b5	9	7b9	7#9	7(b5,b9)	7(b5,#9)	7(#5,b9)	7(#5,#9)	9sus	b9sus

9th chords: I've included chords with and without altered extensions.

Remember: 9ths are the same as 2nds. Also, you may from time to time run into a chord with both a raised and lowered 9th. Ex: E7(b9,#9).

Rule: Without a 7th present in the voicing, the 9th chord turns into an add 9 chord. Ex: maj9 (1 3 5 7 9), add9 (1 3 5 9).

11th chords

#11	11	#11
(9)	(9)	(9)
7	b7	b7
5	5	5
3	b3	3
1	1	1
maj7#11	min11	7#11

11th chords: When chords get this big you may have to leave some notes out. An 11th chord doesn't need a 9th. After that the 5th will not change the quality of the chord so it can technically be left out. If you are playing with a bassist you won't need to play the root (some bass players actually get mad at you if you play roots at all).

Remember: 11ths are the same as 4ths.

Rule: technically a major 3rd and natural 11th (4th) can not be included in the same chord (They kind of rub together being so close and all). For this reason, when a major 3rd is present in the chord the 11th gets raised to a #11th. The 3rd can also be omitted, this will however turn the chord into a sus4 chord (when a 3rd is not present, the 11th is considered a 4th). Ex: 7#11 (1 3 5 b7 #11), 7sus4 (1 4 5 b7). For this reason I consider the lydian mode the perfect major scale because the raised 11th doesn't rub against anything. When dealing with the major scale you have to be carefull of the natural 4th, but by building chords using the lydian mode, anything goes. The rule about 4ths don't apply to minor chords, the min 3rd doesn't get in the way of anything so don't even worry about it.

Breaking the Rules: Although the natural 3rd and 4th technically can't be included in the same major or dominant chord, you can pull it off by placing the 4th in a different octave, either above or below the 3rd and it will keep them from rubbing together. It will create a few naming problems but it still can be done. Try these voicings from the 5th string and you'll see what I mean: C add4 (C F G C E) or B7#9(11) (B D# A D E). Your ear is the final judge on these matters.

13th chords

13	13	13	13	13	13
(#11)	(11)	(#11)	(#11)	(#11)	-
(9)	(9)	(9)	b9	#9	(9)
7	b7	b7	b7	b7	b7
5	5	5	5	5	5
3	b3	3	3	3	4
1	1	1	1	1	1
maj13	min13	13	13b9	13#9	13sus

13th chords: The biggest of all the chords. All scale notes are included. Feel free to omit the 11ths, 9ths, 5ths and roots (when a bassist is present).

Remember: 13ths are the same as 6ths.

Rule: As I stated before, without a 7th present, the 13th is considered a 6th.

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