Chords
#music/chords · Note 4 of 9 · part of Guitar
A chord is three notes
Take the scale from Sargam and the scale and stack every other note: the 1st, 3rd and 5th. That is a triad, and it is the whole idea.
In sargam: Sa · Ga · Pa. In C: C · E · G. That is a C major chord.
Why those three? They are the strongest intervals in the harmonic series — the overtones a vibrating string already produces. A major triad sounds settled because it is close to what one note is doing anyway.
Major and minor is one semitone
| Intervals from the root | Sargam | In C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | 0, 4, 7 | Sa, Ga, Pa | C E G |
| Minor | 0, 3, 7 | Sa, komal Ga, Pa | C E♭ G |
Flatten the third by one fret and major becomes minor. That is it. The entire emotional difference between the two rests on a single semitone.
| Chord type | Formula | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Major | 1 3 5 | settled |
| Minor | 1 ♭3 5 | darker |
| Diminished | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | unstable, wants to move |
| Augmented | 1 3 ♯5 | suspended, dreamlike |
| Sus2 | 1 2 5 | open, unresolved |
| Sus4 | 1 4 5 | tense, wants the 3rd back |
| Dominant 7th | 1 3 5 ♭7 | bluesy, pulls home |
| Major 7th | 1 3 5 7 | soft, jazzy |
| Minor 7th | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | mellow |
The open chords, in order of usefulness
Numbers are frets, left to right = 6th to 1st string. x = don't play,
0 = open.
| Chord | Shape | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Em | 0 2 2 0 0 0 | easiest chord on the instrument |
| Am | x 0 2 2 1 0 | |
| E | 0 2 2 1 0 0 | |
| A | x 0 2 2 2 0 | |
| D | x x 0 2 3 2 | |
| G | 3 2 0 0 0 3 | |
| C | x 3 2 0 1 0 | |
| Dm | x x 0 2 3 1 |
Em, Am, C, G, D covers a startling amount of music. Learn changing between them cleanly before adding any more — the change is the hard part, not the shape.
Barre chords: one shape, twelve keys
A barre chord is an open chord with your index finger acting as the nut, so the whole shape becomes movable — the same logic as the movable Sa.
E-shape, root on the 6th string:
F = 1 3 3 2 1 1 (E shape at fret 1)
G = 3 5 5 4 3 3
A = 5 7 7 6 5 5
A-shape, root on the 5th string:
B♭ = x 1 3 3 3 1
C = x 3 5 5 5 3
D = x 5 7 7 7 5
Find the root note on the 6th or 5th string (The fretboard) and put the shape there. Two shapes, and every major chord is available.
Minor versions drop the third by a fret: E-shape minor is 1 3 3 1 1 1.
Which chords belong together
Build a triad on each degree of the major scale and you get a fixed pattern:
| Degree | Sargam | In C | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Sa | C | major |
| ii | Re | Dm | minor |
| iii | Ga | Em | minor |
| IV | Ma | F | major |
| V | Pa | G | major |
| vi | Dha | Am | minor |
| vii° | Ni | Bdim | diminished |
Major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished — always, in every key.
Which is why I–V–vi–IV (C–G–Am–F) works: it is the same four chords behind an enormous number of songs, in every key, forever.
The practice that matters
Not chord shapes. Changes. Set a metronome at 60 BPM (Rhythm and tempo) and change between two chords on every fourth beat. When that is clean, every second beat.
A clean change at 60 beats far more chords played badly.
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