Guitar Chord

Usually chords are constructed by taking every other note of a scale, constructing the chord in thirds. However this isnt the only way of constructing chords, they also be built up in 4ths (called quartal harmony) and 5ths (quintal harmony).

The notes of our chord are: C, G, D, A

Quartal and quintal chords have an open sound quite different to chord built in 3rds in the traditional way, they are often used in modal music - that is music based around a mode rather than harmonic chord progression. The chords are then taken through the scale, you could for example try taking this chord through the C major scale e.g. 
D, A, E, B
E, B, F, C
F, C, G, D etc

Although this chord is not constructed in a traditional way, we can also think of it as C69 (no 3rd).

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Todays Guitar Chord of the Day is B Major 9. Major 9 chords are nice sounding extensions and alternatives to play in place of ordinary major 7 guitar chords. Major 9 chords can also be written Δ9, so B major 7, B maj9 and BΔ9 would all be played on the same way on the guitar.

This chord has the root note on the guitars A string as indicated by the box on the chord diagram.

Major 9 guitar chords can be replace major 7th chords, and can often be played in place of major chords. It can replace I and IV chords in major keys.
Major 9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

The B Major 9 guitar chord uses the notes: B, D#, F#, A#, C#
Our B Major 9 chord uses the notes in this order: D#, B, C#, F#, A#, D#


Dont forget you can use Guitar Chord Of The Day as a chord dictionary by looking up different inversions and types of chords using the labels and tags. Learn a new guitar chord every day by subscribing to the RSS feed - tune up and tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day

Todays Guitar Chord of the Day is C major 7#11. The #11 adds a nice lydian flavour to the major guitar chord. Lydian mode is a favourite of guitarists Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. This guitar chord can replace chord IV in major keys and to add harmonic interest also replace chord I.


The #11 in the C major7#11 chord gives this guitar chord a nice sound based on the lydian mode. It can replace chord IV in major keys and if you want to add harmonic interest replace chord I.

Major 7#11 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 7, #11

C Major 9#11 uses the notes: C, E, G, B, F#

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: G, C, E, F#, B

Record a vamp using this #11 guitar chord and the major9#11 guitar chord and practice your Lydian guitar solos over the top.

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The Body.

The body of the guitar has some straight forward names. The top, the back and the sides. An acoustic guitar has a wooden bridge, a bridge saddle, the piece of bone or plastic that the strings rest on, and either bridge pins or a tailpiece. Bridge pins hold the strings in, the tailpiece is metal and the strings run through it and then over the bridge. The soundhole, as its name implies, is where the sound comes from. Most steel string guitars also have a pickguard. Its there to protect the top of the guitar from pick scratches from overly active strumming.

The Neck.

No, its not the handle! The neck is the long, skinny piece of wood that attaches to the body. There are usually either little dots, big dots or fancy inlays on it. These are not just decorative, theyre position markers and you use them to find your way around. On most guitars theyre at the 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th fret, and many guitars have others as well. The frets are the little metal bars that look like lines. You press the strings down between them to make notes.

The Peghead.

Thats the place at the top where the strings attach to the tuning pegs. A lot of guitars also have little plastic cover that houses the truss rod. The truss rod is a metal bar that runs the length of the fingerboard, inside of it, to keep the neck straight. Even though your new guitar will come with an allen wrench and a little instruction sheet, leave the adjustments to a professional. The tuning keys or tuning pegs, are the knobs or buttons that you use to tune the guitar. That little plastic piece that the strings pass through is called the nut.

Not all guitars will have all of the parts, but theyll have most of them.

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Answers to frequently asked theory questions

Q. What is a key?

A. Simply put, a key is writing a song using the notes of a particular scale. For example, if the song is in the key of G Major, the notes used are from the G Major scale. This means that certain chords will be present and there will be one sharp note, F#. The theory definition of a key is simply notes taken from a scale and made into a song.

Q. What is a chord progression?
A. A chord progression is a term used to describe chords that follow each other in a certain order. Sometimes youll hear someone refer to a 1, 4, 5 or something similar. This is the number system used to describe the chords in a scale. Each scale note has a chord that goes with it and the number tells you the chords place in the scale. For example, the C Major scale notes are: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, so a 1, 4, 5 in C would be the C, F and G chords. Thats not all thats involved, but its the basic idea.

Q. Whats the melody?
A. The melody is the tune that you sing. If you were to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, thats the melody. I was explaining to a banjo student how he had to pick a little harder to bring out the melody and he looked at me and said "what the hecks the melody?" I was sure I was making things as plain as can be!

Q. What does transpose mean?
A. Transpose means to change a song from one key to a different key. So using the example above, if the song was in the Key of G Major and you wanted to transpose to C Major, youd substitute the C scale notes for the G scale notes.

Those are some of the common theory questions I get when I teach. If you have any others youd like answered, leave a post in the comment section or send an email to: blguitars@sbcglobal.net. 

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