Embedded Files
Now that you know all about Triads, let's look at chords that larger than 3 notes! We call a group of 4 a "Tetrad".
Here's some of the most common shapes - plus some options for extending them into 9th chords.
For a detailed explanation of how these chords are constructed, make sure to read over Building A Chord. We'll be going over two shapes for each of the 7th chords we've looked at so far, that being the Major 7th, Minor 7th, and Dominant 7th chord.
Remember that the 5th is frequently dropped from extended chord shapes, so they are presented here as optional additions.
The "closed" shapes here keep the notes in their original order, and quite close together. The "open" shapes move the 3rd an octave up, above the 7th. Make sure to try them both out!
Here we have the Major 7th shapes, and if you know the Major Scale's notes, you should be able to see how these chords are made.
You can play any of the options for the 5th, or omit them entirely.
The closed shape also has a convenient way to extend up to a 9th, if you bar the fret.
Major 7th (Closed)
Major 7th (Open)
For the Minor Shapes, we have two ways to add in a 9th.
Again, these chords provide a 5th but don't require it to be played.
You can play all the optional notes in the open shape at once using a barre, this is an awesome way to play a Minor 9th chord on guitar.
Keep in mind, the 9th there is an octave higher than we might normally play it.
Minor 7th (Closed)
Minor 7th (Open)
You can see the classic "triangle shape" as I've called it, in the closed Dominant 7th shape here.
In reality, the "triangle shape" is simply a root with the nearest Major 3rd and Minor 7th above it.
The open shape here bears similarity to the classic Dom7 shape we know for barre chords. Can you see it?
Dominant 7th (Closed)
Dominant 7th (Open)
Getting a feel for these chord shapes will start to show you how malleable chords are, when using a guitar. We have a wealth of options to choose from, far more than I've outlined here! Getting comfortable with this idea of manipulating chords this way leads us down the path to understanding and utilizing voicings. We will explore this concept in detail at a later date.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse