Andy Mclaughlan

Chord Construction Part III

By Andy Mclaughlan

Welcome to the third and final part of my chord construction series. Today we are going to finish up on the 7th chords and learn a bit about 9th,11th and 13th chords. We will then round up everything we have spoke about in the last 2 lessons as well as this one. So, without further ado lets just start where we finished off last time.....

Did you all manage to figure out the system of working out the notes of a 7th chord? I'm sure you did. Just to clarify and make sure everyone is on the same level I'll give a little example below to show how it is done. I'm sure you will remember this very same concept from the triad lesson.

Here we go.....the concept behind building 7th chords is exactly the same as building triads. We take one note and then use every 2nd note and hey presto! We have a chord. Below I will give a couple of examples just incase anyone is still unclear about this. Since we now have 4 notes in our chord I will list the notes of the C major scale twice so as to avoid confusion.

So,

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B – The underlined notes form a C major 7th chord with the formula 1,3,5,7

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B – The underlined notes form a D minor 7th chord with the formula 1,b3,5,b7

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B– The underlined notes form a G dominant 7th chord with the formula 1,3,5,b7

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B – The underlined notes form a B minor 7b5 chord with the formula 1,b3,b5,b7

The best thing you could do with this information is apply it to all keys and practice this as much as possible. The formula is always the same in any major key. So when writing out the notes of any key, the 7th chord built on the 5th degree will always be a dominant 7th, the 7th chord built on the 7th degree will always be a minor 7b5 etc.

There's not really that much to it is there? I am now going to briefly discuss 9th,11th and 13th chords. I don't feel we need to go as in-depth as the last two lessons, since the same general concepts are applicable to 9th,11th and 13th chord forms.

9th,11th and 13th chords are what we call extension chords, as they go above the octave within a chord. Above the octave we have the following.

9th - An octave above a 2nd

10th - An octave above a 3rd

11th - An octave above a 4th

12th - An octave above a 5th

13th - An octave above a 6th

In a triad (which is the basis of all the chord forms we have been discussing), we already have 2 of these intervals. The 10th (3rd) and the 12th (5th), therefore the use of these intervals is not an extension. However use of the other 3 does constitute an extension.

Essentially, just like a 7th chord is a triad plus the seventh degree...a 9th chord is a 7th chord plus the 9th degree...an 11th chord is a 9th chord plus the 11th degree and a 13th chord is an 11th chord plus the 13th degree.

Now with concern to 11th chords, there are a couple of exceptions. If there is a major third in the chord we would use a #11. This applies to major and dominant chords. This is because if you add a perfect 11th to a chord containing a major third it will create a very dissonant chord. So, a general rule is: if it has a major 3rd , use a #11th and if it has a minor 3rd, use a perfect 11th.

The way these chords are formed is using the exact same principles as the triad and 7th chord forms. We take one note and then use every second note as necessary. I will give one example below of a 9th chord and one of a 13th chord. Hopefully this should be sufficient as we are really covering no new ground

So,

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B – The underlined notes form a C major 9th chord, which has the formula of 1,3,5,7,9

C D E F G A B C D E F G A B – The underlined notes form a C major 13th chord, which has the formula of 1,3,5,7,9,11,13

It must be noted that extensions don't change the function of a chord. So, a dominant V chord, will remain a dominant V chord no matter what extension is placed on it , a minor chord will remain minor etc.

Below, I have created a table which essentially lists the 3 basic chord forms for triads and the 4 forms for 7th chords and our new extended chords. For example, lets take our diminished chord. In C major that would be the B diminished triad. So add the 7th and we have a B minor7b5 chord, add the 9th we have a B minor 7b5b9, add the 11th we have a B minor 11b5b9, add the 13th we have a B minor 13 b5b9b13. Anyway, I think you get the point.

And so this 3 part series comes to an end. I hope everyone now has a clear understanding of how to create any of these chords from any major scale. And above all, I hope everyone now thinks of chords as a collection of notes with a harmonic function, and not just a collection of shapes you get out of a '1001 Guitar Chords' book.

And, the chords we have spoken about are not the only chords out there. There are so many different types and varieties that it would be impossible to write a full article for every type. However, the point in this series is not merely to teach you triads, 7th,9th,11th and 13th chords. Sure, on the surface that is how it seems, and I hope I did a good job at that. But, beyond that, the point is to get you to start thinking more about chords and their inner workings. Once you work on the materials I have provided and gain effortless knowledge, you will have a much easier time creating and playing chords than remembering a set of shapes which you don't even understand. And, of course, what point is there in the learning process if you don't seek out every small detail.

They say music is a language. Not knowing the notes of a chord and how they are constructed is like knowing lots of different words without first knowing the letters of the alphabet.

So start having fun with your chord playing and I'll see everyone next time!