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LESSON #7Chord Spellings If we were to look at each of the 4 note chords of the scale of C,
in isolation we could say that each chord has a specific spelling, according to it's type.
To begin, let us look at the chord of C Maj7. If we compare this to the scale of C we can see that it is made up of the following
tones. The 1st, 3rd, 5th, and natural (or major) 7th.
Comparing the chord of Dm7 to the scale of D, we can see that it is made up of the tones, 1st, b3rd, 5th, and Dominant (or flatted) 7th.
The only 2 other types of
chords that we have learned are (dominant) 7th chords and m7b5 chords. If we examine the notes of G7 in relation to the scale of G, you can see that it is made up of the tones, 1st, 3rd, 5th, and (dominant) 7th. In case you are
unsure of the difference, a natural 7th is the 7th note of a particular scale (naturally), the dominant 7th is the same note flattened or moved down a single tone (fret). Sometimes the dominant 7th is refered to as a flatted 7th.
The tones of the Bm7b5 when compared to the scale of B is made up of the tones 1st, b3rd, b5th, and (dominant) b7th. The notes of the diminished
chord are 1st, b3rd, and b5th, so we can think of the m7b5 chord as a diminished chord with a flatted 7th or ø7 chord.
We can summarise the chord spellings like so...
Maj7 1st 3rd 5th 7th
dom7(b7) 1st 3rd 5th b7th
m7 1st b3rd 5th b7th
m7b5 1st b3rd b5th b7th
note the following commonalities...
A chord is designated major or minor according to it's 3rd tone. If it is a flatted 3rd then the chord is minor. Some chords omit the 3rd tone and in this case you must decide from the
melody scale or other instruments whether it is a major or minor chord. Lots of rock tunes deliberately omit the 3rd of chords and play only 1st's and 5th's (power chords). You can usually guess from the melody scale though.
The 5th of the note is almost always a natural 5th. Flatted or sharped 5th chords are referred to as altered chords.
Chord Inversions We can find alternative voicings for chords by 'discovering' the various inversions of a specific chord. Let us take, as a
simple example, the chord of Em. One fingering of the Em chord is like so...
E---------X------
B---------X------
G---------4------ 5th
D---------2------ Root
A---------X------
E---------3------ b3rd
Now, by moving each of the notes up to it's next logical position, we could find an alternative voicing for the Em chord.
By next 'logical position' I mean like so...
Root --> b3rd --> 5th --> Root --> b3rd --> etc
The first note, on the bottom string is a b3rd so we have to move it up to a 5th. The next note, on the 4th string is a Root
so we move it up to a b3rd. The last note on the 3rd string is a 5th so we move it up to a Root. This would give us the new inversion...
E---------X------
B---------X------
G---------9------ Root
D---------5------ b3rd
A---------X------
E---------7------ 5th
You will probably see that if a chord only has 3 notes then it can also only have 3 possible inversions. A 4th inversion, obviously, will simply be the same as the 1st but 12 frets higher. Our last inversion then would be...
E---------X------
B---------X------
G--------12------ b3rd
D---------9------ 5th
A---------X------
E--------12------ Root
Doing this for 4 note chords, I hope that you can see that there would be 4 possible inversions. I am not going to outline
them all, but by experimenting you can find some excellant inversions of common or garden chords, here is just one.
CMaj7
E---------X------
B---------8------
G---------5------
D---------9------
A---------7------
E---------X------
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