Interval Functions• In any chord, each interval has a ‘job’ or ‘function’ • The root is the most fundamental part of the

chord and it gives it it’s name and ‘tone’ or pitch • The third is what makes the chord sound happy or

sad. • The fifth ‘bulks’ up the chord • The seventh adds the ‘spice’ on top of the chord

• Perfect intervals are the 4, 5 and 8 (octave). These are intervals whose frequencies divide into neat fractions.

• Perfect Intervals are considered ‘consonant’ as opposed to ‘dissonant’

Intervals (Advanced)

Note Frequency Note Frequency

A1 28 A4 220

B1 31 B4 247

C1 33 C4 262

D1 37 D4 294

E1 41 E4 330

F1 44 F4 349

G1 49 G4 392

A2 55 A5 440

B2 62 B5 494

C2 65 C5 523

D2 73 D5 587

E2 82 E5 659

F2 87 F5 698

G2 98 G5 784

A3 110 A6 880

B3 123 B6 988

C3 131 C6 1047

D3 147 D6 1175

E3 165 E6 1319

F3 175 F6 1397

G3 196 G6 1568

CG

3349

23

ROUGHWORK

• Non-perfect intervals are 2, 3, 6 and 7. They can be either a major or minor interval.

Interval Name Interval Alternate NameUnison 0 Aug Diminished Second

Minor Second Dim m2 Major

Augmented Unison

Major Second Minor M2 Aug Diminished Third

Minor Third Dim m3 Major

Augmented Second

Major Third Minor M3 Aug Diminished Fourth

Perfect Fourth Dim 4 Aug Augmented Third

Diminished Fifth/Augmented Fourth Dim Tritone Aug Diminished Fifth/Augmented Fourth

Perfect Fifth Dim 5 Aug Diminished Sixth

Minor Sixth Minor m6 Major

Augmented Fifth

Major Sixth Dim M6 Major

Diminished Seventh

Minor Seventh Minor m7 Aug Augmented Sixth

Major Seventh Minor M7 Aug Diminished Octave

Perfect Octave Dim Octave Augmented Seventh

Up One Semi-toneDown One Semi-Tone

• The term ‘Harmonic interval’ refers to two notes being played at the same time

• By contrast, the term ‘Melodic Interval’ refers to notes being played one after the other

• Simple Intervals are intervals which are no larger than one octave

Basic Chord Formulas

Name 1st Note 2nd Note 3rd Note 4th Note

Maj 1 3 5

Min 1 b3 5

Sus2 1 2 5

Sus4 1 4 5

Add9 1 3 5 9

5th 1 5

Chord Dictionary

NOTE: All root notes are lowest note in the chord unless stated otherwise

Part 1 - The Basics

Open Major Chords

A Major

C Major

D Major

E Major

G Major

B and F covered later…

Open Minor Chords

A Minor

D Minor

E Minor

Open Sus2 Chords

A Sus2

C Sus2

D Sus2

E Sus2

G Sus2

A Sus4

Open Sus4 Chords

C Sus4

D Sus4

E Sus4

G Sus4

Open add9 Chords

A add9

C add9

D add9

**Root note on: String 2, Fret 3

E add9

G add9

Barre Chords1st form Major Barre Chord

1st Form Minor Barre Chord

2nd form Major Barre Chord

2nd Form Minor Barre Chord

1st Form sus2 Barre Chord

• This chord can’t really be played as a standard Barre Chord, so we will cover it later in ‘Strat Style

Chords’

1st Form sus4 Barre Chord

2nd form sus2 Barre Chord*

2nd Form sus4 Barre Chord

1st form Major add9 Barre Chord

1st Form Minor add9 Barre Chord

F and BF Major

B Major

**Root note on: String 3, Fret 4

‘Strat Style’ ChordsMajor Triad

Minor Triad

Sus2 Triad

Sus4 Triad

Diminished ChordsA# Diminished

Note: Move a diminished Chord around by 3 frets and you’ll have the same diminished chord

F# Diminished

Tip: Move a diminished Chord around by 3 frets and you’ll have the same diminished chord. So you now know 5 positions for this chord.

Augmented ChordsG# Augmented

Note: Move an Augmented Chord around by 4 frets and you’ll have the same diminished chord

C# Augmented

Note: Move an Augmented Chord around by 4 frets and you’ll have the same diminished chord

The Number System• The number system is a way of ‘neutralising’ a key

so that all keys have commonalities. • The system uses Roman Numerals to represent

each scale degree rather than note names • It’s a good idea to know exactly where on the neck

each number lays in each key. • This can all be done from the 6th string, but it’s

good to know the number system from the 5th string too.

The Number System

I. ii. iii. IV. V. vi. vii°

Note: Large letters are Major, whereas small letters are Minor

The CAGED System• A system of playing the same chord in five

different positions around the neck (all in one octave)

• Once you learn the 5 chords, you apply them to the CAGED system, and you suddenly know 25

• Once all major chords are mastered, you can start applying the CAGED system to all types of chords ie. Major, Minor, Sus, 7th, Minor 7th etc. giving you hundreds of chords.

The CAGED System• Learn the chord shapes

1. C 2. A 3. G 4. E 5. D • Then apply them in that same order to the neck

Chord Dictionary

NOTE: All root notes are lowest note in the chord unless stated otherwise

Part 2 - The CAGED Shapes

The CAGED Shapes

C-Shape

**Root note on: String 3

A-Shape

G-Shape

**Root note on: String 3

E-Shape

D-Shape

Inversions

DEFINITION: An inversion is a chord where the lowest note is any note in that chord apart from the

root note

Inversions

• When speaking in terms of inversions, the regular way of playing a chord, with the root at the bottom, is called it’s ‘root position’

• A chord is in it’s ‘First Inversion’ if the lowest note in that chord is the 3rd of that chord

• A chord is in it’s ‘Second Inversion’ if the lowest note in that chord is the 5th of that chord

Inversions

• The ‘Third Inversion’ position happens when we are playing a 7th chord and the 7th is the lowest note

• The remaining notes can be in any order

Chord Dictionary

NOTE: All root notes are lowest note in the chord unless stated otherwise

Part 3 - Inversions

A/E

Inversion Examples

A/C#

Am/E

Am/C

C/G

C/E

Dm/F

D/F#

D/A

Dm/A

E/G#

E/B

Em/B

Em/G

F/A

F/C

G/B

G/D

The Chord ScaleVertical & Horizontal Application

• You should become aware of how to play the full chord scale horizontally and vertically

• This way you can jump from scales easily

Chord FunctionsHow different chords in the scale function

• Each chord in a key creates a kind of ‘feel’ or ‘pull. • If the chord fulfils it’s function, the progression feels

satisfying to listen to. When the chord function isn’t fulfilled, most of the time it sounds unsatisfying.

• There’s no rules however, and you could write a hit song breaking all the chord function rules in the book

• In any major scale, the fourth and seventh notes (ie. the notes that are only a half step up from another note) are the most ‘tense’ notes eg. In the key of G,, the notes C and F are the ‘unstable notes’

• The more of these two notes that a chord contains, the more unstable it will feel, and the more it will want to ‘resolve’

• This is known as Tension and Release

The Tonic 1 Chord

• This is the main Tonic chord. The one that most feels like ‘home base’

• Most songs will start and end here • Contains the stable-sounding 1, 3 and 5 note of the

scale • Labeled ‘I’ in our chord scale • There are two more secondary tonic chords

The Tonic 3 and 6 Chords• The two ‘secondary’ Tonic Chords contain the third

note of the scale, and one other note from the 1 chord. The third is the least ‘resolved’ of these three

• The third chord, labelled ‘iii’ contains the third and the fifth notes of the scale.

• The sixth chord, labelled ‘vi’ contains the third and first notes of the scale.

• Both are minor chords

The Subdominant Chord• The Subdominant Chords are the 2nd and the 4th

chords in the key. • The 2nd is labeled ‘ii’ and the 4th is labeled ‘IV’. • The two ‘subdominant’ Chords both contain one ‘tense’

note; the fourth scale degree eg. In G, the dominant’s contain the note C

• Although there are technically two subdominant chords, the IV chord is traditionally the chord people are referring to when they say the Subdominant

The Dominant Chord• The Dominant Chords are the 5th and the 7th chords in

the key. • The 5th is labeled ‘V’ and the 7th is labeled ‘vii˚’. • Both Dominant Chords contain both ‘tense’ notes eg. In

G, these chords contain the notes C and F • They create the most tension, or ’pull’ to resolve • Although there are technically two dominant chords, the

V chord is used much more often than the vii˚ so is the chord people are referring to when they say Dominant.