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INTRODUCTION
In the begining you should memorize as many chords and/or
chordshapesaspossibletoutilizeduringyourplay.Inthecase
ofmovableshapes,suchasbarrchords,youmightmemorize
the chord and its root note, in order to play different chords
withthesameshape.Thisisagoodfoundation,butitisonlya
foundation,onwhichyoushouldlearntobuild.Ifyouconsider
achordtobearigidshapeonthefretboard,youwillseverely
limit your options to color or stylize your sound. You should
also learn to modify them by adding variations, substitutions,
and the like. Chords are not just strict shapes to simply
memorizeandrepeat,butflexible.Onceyouknowhowtheyare
built, you can create and adapt them to fit your situation
greatly increasing the potential of your play. Knowing how
chords are built means knowing how intervals work on the
fretboard, and in this ebook you are given an introduction to
intervals,chords,andhowintervalscreatechords.

INTERVALS
In music, an interval is basically the distance between two
notes. In westernmusic, the smallest interval is the semitone.
The chromatic scale is composed of 12 semitones, so to play
thescaleyouneedtoplayallthesemitonesinorder.

ThechromaticscaleofCis:

CC#DD#EFF#GG#AA#BC
Intervalshavedifferentnamesdependingonthenumberof
semitonesbetweenthetwonotes.Hereisatableshowingthe
numberofsemitonesandtherespectivenamesoftheintervals
fromwikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_(music)
So, for example, the interval between the C note and the G
noteofourchromaticscale,is7semitoneslong.Lookingatthe
table,thisdistanceiscalledaperfectfifth.Inthesameway,if
youweretoplayfromthelowerCofthechromaticscaletothe
higher C, you would cover a path of 12 semitones. This is
referredtoastheperfectoctave.Adistancecanhavedifferent
names,dependingonthecontext.Forexample,adistanceof6
semitones, can be called either the augmented fourth or the
diminishedfifth,moreonthislater.

FRETBOARDOCTAVES
Thefirstintervalthatyoushouldmemorizeonthefretboardis
the octave. Knowing your octaves is a great shortcut for
fretboardnavigation.Asyouprobablyalreadyknow,twonotes,
spanning a distance of one octave, or 12 semitones, will have
thesamename(CandC),butdifferentpitchonenotesounds
lower than the other. If you know how octaves are placed on
thefretboard,youcaneasilynavigatethestrings.
Havealookatthepicturebelow:

Blackdotsalwaysrepresentthesamenote(supposeaC).The
first and the sixth strings have the same notes (in standard
tuning), thus you can find your note in the same fret (yellow
circle)onthefirstandthesixthstring.Intheredcircle,youwill
notice that a note on the second string, is also placed on the
fourthstring,twofretsin,andonthefifthstring,twofretsout.
Thepatternissimilarintheyellowandorangecircles,justlook
atthediagram.Ifyoumemorizewhereoctavesareplacedon
your fretboard, you'll have a helpful visual aid for more
advancedfretboardgeometryconcepts.
Using octave concepts, you can identify the same notes on
different strings. Take for example the minor third interval:

Therootnoteistheonemarkedwiththeblackdot(fourth
string).Youmayfindaminorthirdontheupperstring(fifth
string),but,usingyouroctaves,youmayalsofinditonthe
secondstring.
Inthenextdiagramyoucanseeanotherintervalexamplethe
diminishedfifth.Youcangetitondifferentstrings.Thisgives
youmanyoptionstovaryandtocoloryourstyleofplay.

INTERVALSGEOMETRY
Chordsarecomposedofanumberofnotesplayedatthesame
time. The distances between the root note, which gives the
nametothechord,andthenotesofthefollowingchords,are
called ntervals. Depending on which kind of interval, you will
get different chord qualities. For example,major and minor
chordsarecomposedoftherootnote,athirdinterval(majoror
minor),andafifthinterval.
Cmajor:rootC,majorthirdE,perfectfifthG
Cminor:rootC,minorthirdEb,perfectfifthG
Morecomplexchordsarecreatedbyaddingseventhintervals,
ninthintervals,andsoon.
Important interval patterns you should memorize are minor
and major thirds, perfect fifths, augmented fifths and
diminishedfifths.Anaugmentedfifthisaperfectfifthraised1
semitone(7>8semitones),adiminishedfifthisaperfectfifth
lowered1semitone(7>6semitones).
Ifyouaddoneoctavetoaninterval,yougetwhatiscalledan
extended interval; it is composed of the same notes by name
but the distance between the notes is one octave longer. For
example, a major second with one octave added becomes a
ninth(havealookatthefollowingdiagrams).
Thefollowingdiagramsshowthevariousoptionsthatyouhave
when you are building chords on the fretboard: it will help if
youdon'tthinkofchordsasstrictordersbutmorelikeflexible
suggestions. So learn the single intervals and then assemble
them in order to create specific chord shapes. With practice,
thiswillgeteasieruntilitisalmostsecondnature!
Graphic convention: in the following diagrams, the root note
ismarkedwithablackdot.Othernotesarerepresentedbyan
emptycircle.
3semitones

MinorThird

adding1octave:
MinorTenth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
AugmentedSecond

4semitones

MajorThird

adding1octave:
MajorTenth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
DiminishedFourth

6semitones

DiminishedFifth

adding1octave:
DiminishedTwelfth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
AugmentedFourth

7semitones

PerfectFifth

adding1octave:
PerfectTwelfth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
DiminishedSixth

8semitones

MinorSixth

adding1octave:
MinorThirteenth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
AugmentedFifth

CHORDSCONSTRUCTION
Nextyouwillseesomeexamplesofchordconstructions,using
the intervals you've just learned (minor and major thirds,
perfectfifth,diminishedandaugmentedfifth).Trytorecognize
visually the intervals geometries you've seen on the previous
diagrams. Due the nature of the fretboard, in which the same
note is placed on different strings, for a given chord can exist
different fingerings and positions. The following diagrams are
justoneofmanypossiblefingeringsyoucanuse.

Cmajchord
Namevariations:Cmajor,CM,C
This chord is a major triad: root, major third, perfect
fifth.

Cmchord
Namevariations:Cminor,Cm,C
This chord is a minor triad: root, minor third, perfect
fifth.

Caugchord
Namevariations:Caugmented
This chord is an augmented triad (root, major third,
augmentedfifth)

C5chord
Namevariations:Cdiminishedtriad,Cb5
Thischordiscomposedoftheroot,aminorthirdanda
flatfifth.

MOREINTERVALS
You can now move on and learn the remaining kinds of
intervals: minor second, major second, perfect fourth,
minorandmajorseventh,minorandmajorsixth,andso
on.

1semitone

MinorSecond

adding1octave:
MinorNinth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
AugmentedUnison

2semitones

MajorSecond

adding1octave:
MajorNinth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
DiminishedThird

5semitones

PerfectFourth

adding1octave
PerfectEleventh

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
AugmentedThird

9semitones

MajorSixth

adding1octave:
MajorThirteenth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
DiminishedSeventh

10semitones

MinorSeventh

adding1octave:
MinorFourteenth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
AugmentedSixth

11semitones

MajorSeventh

adding1octave:
MajorFourteenth

consonant
enharmonic
equivalent:
DiminishedOctave

CHORDS CONSTRUCTION EXAMPLES
PART2

Csus4chord
Namevariations:Csuspendedfourth,C4,C#3
Thischordiscomposedoftheroot,aperfectfourthand
hasnothird(suspended),thereforeisneithermajornor
minor.

C7chord
Namevariations:Cdominantseventh,Cdom7
Thischordisamajortriadwithaminorseventh.


Cmin7chord
Namevariations:Cminorseventh,Cm7,C7
This chord is a minor triad (root, minor third, perfect
fifth)withaminorseventh.

Cmaj7chord
Namevariations:Cmajorseventh,CM7,C7
This chord is a major triad (root, major third, perfect
fifth)withamajorseventh.

MORECHORDSTOCREATE
Nowthatyouhopefullyunderstandtheprocess,yourjobisto
create the other kinds of chords, exploiting the interval
diagrams you now know wellYou can check your answers on
theFachordsChordsLibrary
http://www.fachords.com/guitarchordslibrary/

C75chord
Name variations:C dominant seventh flat five chord,
C7b5,C7(5),C7(b5),C7/b5
This chord is composed of the root, a major third, a
diminishedfifthandaminorseventh.

C7+5chord
Namevariations:Cdominantseventhsharpfive,C7(#5),
C7#5
This chord is composed of the root, a major third, an
augmentedfifthandaminorseventh.

C6chord
Namevariations:Csixth,Cmajorsixth
Thischordiscomposedofamajortriadandamajorsixth

Cm6chord
Namevariations:Cminorsixth,Cm6,C6
Thischordisaminortriadwithamajorsixth

Cm9chord
Namevariations:Cminorninth,C9,Cmin9
This chord is a minor triad with a minor seventh and a
majorninth

C6/9chord
Namevariations:Cmaj6/9,CM6/9,CMAJ6/9,C6add9
This chord is composed of the root, a major third, a
perfectfifth,amajorsixthandamajorninth

C7sus4chord
Name variations:C seventh suspended fourth, C74,
C7sus
Thischordiscomposedoftheroot,aperfectfourthand
a minor seventh. It has no third (suspended), then is
neithermajornorminor.

C79chord
Namevariations:Cdominantseventhflatninth,C7(b9),
C7(9)
This chord is a major triad with a minor seventh and a
minorninth

C7+9chord
Name variations:C dominant seventh sharp ninth,
C7(#9),C7(+9)
Thischordisamajortriadwithaminorseventhandan
augmentedninth

C95chord
Name variations:C ninth flat five, C9b5, C9(5), C9(b5),
C7/9(b5)
This chord is a 7/b5 chord (root, major third, flat five,
minorseventh)withaddedamajor9th.

C9chord
Namevariations:Cdominantninth,Cdom9
This chord is a major triad with a minor seventh and a
majorninth
Cmaj9chord
Namevariations:Cmajorninth,CM9,C9
This chord is a major triad (root, major third, perfect
fifth)withamajorseventhandamajorninth.

C11chord
Namevariations:Cdominanteleventh,Cdom11
Thischordisamajortriadwithaminorseventh,amajor
ninthandamajoreleventh

C13chord
Namevariations:Cdominantthirteenth,Cdom13
Thischordisamajortriadwithaminorseventh,amajor
ninthandamajorthirteenth

What'snext?
Topracticeutilizingtheseconcepts,youshouldtakea
wellknownchordprogression,andplayitwithoutusing
theshapesthatyourmuscleshavememorizedinthe
past,butbuildingchordsontheflyindifferentfretboard
zones.
Forexample,playtheC,G,Am,Fprogressionstarting
withtheCrootnoteonthe8thfretofthehigherEstring.
Ifyouneedhelp,writemeatband@fachords.com
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