Jazz Guitar Chord Theory (part 5)

Now you know how to find the notes of a chord, but how do you translate this to the guitar?

For starters: here are 2 chord charts that will help you in the process.

The first thing you need to know is that not every chord tone is equally important :

• 3 and 7 are the important notes of a chord because they decide the chord type. They are also important for voice leading.
• The 1 is the least important note, because it is most of the time played by the bass player.
• The 5 is not so important either and can be disturbing sometimes.
• Tensions add color and interest to a chord, so it's preferable to use tensions instead of 1 and 5.

• We'll start with a C triad : C E G (1 3 5)
  Let's have a look at the guitar chord diagram :
  
  
  X15135 :  C
  
  from left to right (from low E string to high E string) we have here :
  
  
  • X : the low E-string is not played
  • 1 : the 1 or root of the chord is played on the A-string
  • 5 : the 5th of the chord is played on the D-string
  • 1 : again the root, but now on the G-string
  • 3 : the third is played on the B-string
  • 5 : the 5th is played again, but this time on the high E-string
  
  You see that it is ok to duplicate chord tones, like the 1 and the 5 in our example, but it may sound a bit sluggish.
  
  This chord doesn't sound very jazzy though, so let's spice it up a bit :
  
  
  X15735 :  Cmaj7
  
  Instead of duplicating the root on the G-string, we exchanged it for the 7 of the chord.
  
  Now let's add some color :
  
  
  X1379X :  Cmaj9
  
  We exchanged the 5th on the D-string for the 3rd and we changed the 3rd on the B-string to a 9.
  
  This would be a nice chord if you're playing bossa nova, solo guitar or in duo setting, but if you play with a bass player and you don't want to get in his way, it's better to omit the root and to play on the higher strings only :
  
  
  XX3795 :  Cmaj9/E
  
  Instead of playing the root of the chord, we now play the 5th on the high E-string.
  
  A chord like this is called a chord inversion : a chord that has a note other then the root in the bass.  There are three types of chord inversions : with the 3rd in the bass (first inversion), with the 5th in the bass (second inversion) or with the 7 in the bass (third inversion).
  In our example we have got a Cmaj9 chord with the 3rd (E) in the bass.
  
  Now what needs to happen if we want to make this chord dominant?
  Simple : the 7 has to go a half step down (major is 1 3 5 7, dominant is 1 3 5 b7).
  Have a look at the chord diagram:
  
  
  XX3b795 :  C9/E
  
  And if we want to make this chord minor?
  Starting from the dominant chord we have to lower the 3rd a half step, as you can see on the guitar chord diagram:
  
  
  XXb3b795 :  Cm9/E

A great tool to help you with the constuction of guitar chords is the guitar chord finder.

To conclude our tutorial I give you some chords where you need to find the chord tones of  (the solutions are on the next page) :

For example :  Fm7 : F Ab C Eb

Now it's your turn :

Gm7 :
Abmaj7 :
C#maj7 :
A9sus4 :
B7 :
Edim7 :
Gdim7 :
D7b9 :
D#m7b5 :
Dmaj7 :

Part 6 of jazz guitar chord theory : solutions to the chord exercises  

  Return to guitar chord theory part 4