How to figure out any chord.
The Fretboard Structure Maps.
Have you ever looked at the fretboard of your guitar and wondered just how many possible chords are available? Perhaps you have discovered some cool shapes of chords, but you have no idea what they are called. Let’s take a look.
It has been calculated that there are as many as 22,000 possible chord structures on the guitar. Yes, 22,000! I would surmise that the majority of these chords are what I would call “nonsensical”; and probably don’t sound like much by themselves.
There are six strings on a standard guitar. This means that you can only play up to six notes in any given chord. Taking into consideration that any chord on the guitar should probably have at least two notes, we can assume that many of the regular chords on the guitar, are fairly easy to figure out and understand.
Jazz and extended chords might be a little intimidating for beginners, but this is just a matter of understanding what is needed to build any chord. Just because a chord has a long name with a lot of numbers and symbols, doesn’t mean it can’t be played by everyone.
In the diagrams below, we will be looking at the very basics in chord structures on both the 6th and 5th string roots only. We also need to establish what the numbers and symbols in these diagrams actually mean. So, let’s do that first.
Learning Interval names
1 (I) = The Root note. This is usually the name and/or the starting point for building the chord.
b2/b9 (ii/ix) = Also known as the minor 2nd of the root note. In an extended chord, the b2nd can sometimes become the b9th (flatted ninth) in the second octave of the chord structure.
2/9 (II/IX) = Also known as the major 2nd or major 9th of the root note. The 2nd is normally used as a “suspended 2nd” note to replace the major 3rd of the chord. In an extended chord, the major second can sometimes become the major ninth in the second octave of the chord structure.
b3/#9 (iii/#IX) = Also known as the minor 3rd of the root note. In an extended chord, the b3rd can sometimes become the #9th (sharped ninth) in the second octave of the chord structure.
3 (III) = Also known as the major 3rd of the root note.
4/11 (IV/XI) = Also known as the perfect 4th of the root note. The 4th is normally used as a “suspended” note to replace the major 3rd of the chord. In an extended chord, the 4th can sometimes become the perfect 11th in the second octave of the chord structure.
b5/#11 (v/#XI) = Also known as the diminished 5th (°5th) of the root note. In an extended chord, the diminished 5th can sometimes become the #11th (sharped eleventh) in the second octave of the chord structure.
5 (V) = Also known as the perfect 5th of the root note. Think of the 5th as the perfectly balanced equal to the root note.
#5/b6 (#V/vi) = Also known as the augmented 5th (+5th) of the root note. In some cases, the +5th interval can sometimes be called the minor 6th (b6th), if there is already a 5th in the chord structure. In an extended chord, the augmented 5th can sometimes become the b13th (flatted thirteenth) in the second octave of the chord structure.
6/13 (VI/XIII) = Also known as the major 6th of the root note. In an extended chord, the major 6th can sometimes become the major 13th in the second octave of the chord structure.
b7 (vii) = Also known as the dominant 7th (7th) of the root note. When a chord has a dominant 7th in it, and higher chord notes are added (i.e. 9’s, 11’s and 13’s), the higher number is used instead of the 7. The dominant 7th retains it’s name if any lower number intervals are used in the chord structure (i.e. minor or major 2nd, minor or major 3rd, suspended (4th), alternate (alt.) chords like diminished or augmented 5ths, perfect 5ths and sometimes minor or major 6ths).
7 (VII) = Also known as the major 7th (Δ) of the root note. When a chord has a major 7th in it, and higher chord notes are added (i.e. Δ9’s, Δ11’s and Δ13’s), the higher number is used instead of the 7.
The 6th string root fretboard map:
The 5th string root fretboard map:
As you can see in both diagrams, just about any chord combination you could possibly think of is available within a four to five fret frame - left or right of the root note.
You can learn more about chord structures in any of my previous articles:
Part One - Part Two - Part Three
These articles will help you figure out how to put most of the common chord structures together for both the 5th and 6th string roots.
The above structures are “static”, but the diagrams themselves are “moveable”, which means they can be applied to any location on the fretboard.
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