Guitar Chords Theory

The FretBoard:

The first that you will need to learn is the notes on the fretboard.
It is very important to any theory on guitar to know where the notes
are on the neck. At first, memorize the notes on the first couple
of strings. Then figure out what the notes on the rest of the
strings will be. In a pretty short amount of time you should be
able to do that. In time you'll develop more of a feel for where
the notes fall, without having to think about it, but that's not
necessary for chord theory. What you really need to be able to do
is to be able to figure out what notes you're playing in a given
chord.


e-F---F#--G---G#--A--
B-C---C#--D---D#--E-- Note: # = sharp
G-G#--A---A#--B---C-- b = flat
D-D#--E---F---F#--G--
A-A#--B---C---C#--D---D#--E---F---F#--G---G#--A--
E-F---F#--G---G#--A---A#--B---C---C#--D---D#--E--




Notice that there is a full step between all notes except for B and
C, and E and F. For the sake of simplicity I have only shown
sharps, but it is important to understand where.the flats are. A#
(# = sharp) is equal to Bb (b = flat). D# is equal to Eb. B# is
equal to C, and Cb is equal to B. Once again, for the purpose of
chord theory, it is not necessary to be instantly familiar with
every note on the fretboard. What is necessary is to be able to
figure out the notes of any given chord that you are playing.

Keys (the Circle of fifths)

The next step in understanding any guitar theory is to understand
the circle of fifths. Its importance is that it diagrams several
important concepts. First, it is used in determining scales.
Second, it is used to determine which chords are in any given key.
Third, it is the basis for chord substitutions.

To begin with, I'll demonstrate how the circle of fifths is used in
a blues progression in G (something that hopefully everyone is
familiar with). Twelve bar blues in G begins with 4 bars of G, 2
bars of C, 2 bars of G, one bar of D7, one bar of C, one bar of G,
and finally one bar of D7 (as shown below). This progression is
also commonly known as

G G G G C C G G D7 C G D7

a I - IV - V progression. If you are not familiar with this
progression, learn it. It is one of the most basic building blocks
in rock music. Traces of it can be found in everything from Led
Zeppelin to Doo-Wop to surf music to Eric Clapton.

The next diagram shows the chords that are in the key of G.

I II III IV V VI VII
G A B C D E F#

As you can see, the G is the I, the C is the IV, and the D7 is the V
in the I- IV - V progression. Any F chords played in the key of G
need to be sharped, otherwise they are considered to be out of key.

In the same way, the circle of fifths shows which notes need to
sharped or flatted in chord constuction. To form a major chord, the
first, third, and fifth notes of the scale need to be played. In
the case of Gmajor (or just G as it is commonly called), a G note
would be 1, a B note would be 3, and a D note would be 5.

e-------o---- G (1) As you can see, the open G chord
B------------ B (3) is made up entirely of G, B, and D notes
G------------ G (1) (I, 3, and 5). Note that any G chord
D------------ D (5) requires a 7 note to be played would
A----o------- B (3) be an F#, not an F.
E-------o---- G (1)


For the third part, the Circle of fifths gives an indication of when
to play minors, etc. The following chart shows some guidelines.
Later on

I = major
II = minor7
III = minor7
IV = major
V = dominant7
VI = minor (known also as the relative minor)
VII = diminished

I will show some substitution rules for incorporating more unusual
chords into a progression. It is important to remember that these
rules are only general guidelines. If you look at the chords of
some songs that you know, you will probably see that as a general
trend, these rules are followed, but on many occasions they aren't.

One thing to keep in mind: a chord progression may be in the key of
A (A is the I chord) without playing an A chord first. Look at the
following
example.

E E A D

This the chord progression in Lola, by the Kinks. In this case, it
is in the key of A (A = I, D = IV, E = V). This shows that the
first chord played in a progression does not determine the key.
Another example is the IIm - V - I chord progression, which is one
of the most common in western music. As you can see, it starts on
the IIm chord.

Since I don't have very good graphics capabilities here, I will
represent the circle of fifths in chart form, as would be read
clockwise from 12 o'clock.

C - no sharps or flats.
G - F#
D - F#, C#
A - F#, C#, G#
E - F#, C#, G#, D#
B - F#, C#, G#, D#, A#
F# (Gb) - F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E# (F)
Db - Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
Ab - Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
Eb - Bb, Eb, Ab
Bb - Bb, Eb
F - Bb

Notice the spacing between chords is the same for each key. Here is
the example again in the key of G.

I II III IV V VI VII
G A B C D E F#

Notice that there is a whole step between all chords except between
III and IV, and between VII and I. This will be true for all keys.

That pattern is also the same as that for the major scale. The
above diagram shows the notes contained in the G major scale.

The VI chord is called the relative minor, because it shares many
notes with the tonic (I chord). If C were the tonic, Am would be
the relative minor. If you play one after the other, you will
notice they sound good together. If something is played in an Am
key, you use the exact same chords as if it were being played in the
key of C. In this way, you can determine all of the mionr keys as
well from the circle of fifths.

Chord Construction

A chord is a group of three or more different notes played together.
Every chord is based on a specific formula which relates back to the
major scale after which it is named. As shown earlier, the formula
for a major chord is 1 3 5 hence a G major (GM) chord consists of
the first, third, and fifth notes of the G major scale, G B D (refer
to the circle of fifths chart). **Note the ROOT note is the note
after which the chord is named (the 1 note).
The formula for a minor chord is 1 b3 5. In the case of a G minor
(Gm) the notes would be G Bb D. **Note: a G flat major (Gb) is Gb
Bb Db, therefore a Gbm (G flat minor) would be Gb Bbb Db, or Gb A
Db. There are many cases where a flatted note has to be flatted
again according to the chord formula.