Which chords next?

[Bushleague]

While I do know and use all sorts of chords, in writing, use, and substitution I tend to rely pretty heavily on my major, minor, dominant and major 7ths, and to a somewhat lesser extent augmented and diminished chords. I'd like to concentrate on using other chords just to get more familiar with how to incorperate them, what chord family would you guys reccomend concentrating on next?

[rick-slo]

You have quite a few chord families already. When solo playing the use of other extended chords and perhaps compound chords may often derive from the melody line (especially a chromatic one). Then you can perhaps add in various slash chords. Probably use your ears first and worry about names later.

For example when I started working up this composition that used some chromatic melody lines:

[Gordon Currie]

Knowing nothing about your style(s), I would say 9th chords and 11th chords.

These chords can introduce an element of suspension that is great for suggesting a jazzy and modern sophistication.

I personally find them WAY more useful than dim/augmented chords.

[mr. beaumont]

Try out 6th, 6/9, and minor 6 and 6/9 chords.

The 6/9 chord was one of my gateways into to actually wanting to REALLY learn how to play the guitar, way back when I was 16! I still remember learning it and where I was

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Gordon Currie

Knowing nothing about your style(s), I would say 9th chords and 11th chords.

These chords can introduce an element of suspension that is great for suggesting a jazzy and modern sophistication.

I personally find them WAY more useful than dim/augmented chords.

Yeah, mostly use dim/aug chords just as kind of through chords, dropping/ raising the root or 5th as I transition into the next chord. I use major 7ths for this lots too. Basically I just write and play original music, which at the moment mostly involves trying to mix bluegrass licks with punk,with lots of folk and blues elements as well. Basically just trying to make music that makes for a fun, high energy performance, while maintaining some degree of technical prowess. might sound like I wouldnt have any use for sophisticated chords but I do love mixing in jazzy sounding chords and progressions.

So 6ths, 6/9, 9th, and 11ths all sound like they deserve more of my attention... any reccomendations on which one to start with?

[JonPR]

For pop, rock, folk or country: sus4s, sus2s, add9s, 6ths.

For blues: 9ths (on top of dom7s of course).

For jazz: 9ths, 13ths, dim7s and half-dims (m7b5), altered dominants (7b9, 7#9, 7#5, 7b5), 7#11s (lydian dominants).

But learn songs first!. Find songs that contain those chords, so you understand why they are used, how they work with other chords.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by JonPR

For pop, rock, folk or country: sus4s, sus2s, add9s, 6ths.

For blues: 9ths (on top of dom7s of course).

For jazz: 9ths, 13ths, dim7s and half-dims (m7b5), altered dominants (7b9, 7#9, 7#5, 7b5), 7#11s (lydian dominants).

But learn songs first!. Find songs that contain those chords, so you understand why they are used, how they work with other chords.

Thanks for that, I already use 4ths and 2nds a little bit so I think it seems like 9ths would like a good next step, though diminished 7ths sound interesting too. When I do something like this I usually just try and incorperate the chords into music I am already playing... so what can I replace with a 9th? Thanks all for the suggestions.

[hatamoto]

How about the inversions of those chords you already knew? Sorry if you already said it, I might have missed it.

Someone already mentioned 9th's and 11th's so they beat me to it.

I'll add by saying instead of learning chords, how about learning cadences?

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

TWhen I do something like this I usually just try and incorperate the chords into music I am already playing

Excellent strategy!

Originally Posted by Bushleague

... so what can I replace with a 9th?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is when playing blues. Instead of the 7th chords, make them all 9ths. You'll get that jazzier T-Bone Walker effect.

You could also add a #9 to the I chord in a blues, for the Hendrix chord sound. Kenny Burrell's Chitlins Con Carne (before Hendrix ) is a good example. C7#9 = x-3-2-3-4, or 8-7-8-8-8-x. (It can also work as the V chord, but don't do it in the IV chord.)

Be careful to distinguish full 9th chords (dominant 7ths with added 9ths), from "add9" chords. The latter are very common in rock music, and similar to sus2s in effect. A famous example of a rock song in which 9ths are added to every chord (major or minor) is the Police's Every Breath You Take. It's a great example of the add9 effect, especially as the chords are mostly arpeggiated.

And then there's the jazzier maj9 chord, which is an enrichment of the standard maj7, adding an element of poignancy. I don't know examples offhand, but if you do have a song which already has maj7s, it's well worth putting a 9 on top to hear the effect. It's unlikely to spoil it, and might well improve it.

The m(maj9), meanwhile, is a much rarer beast. It's the final chord in the James Bond theme, and that's usually the only kind of context where you'll hear it. (The last chord in the Pink Panther theme is much the same.)
The exception would be the second chord in a minor key "line cliche". E.g., if you play the intro to Stairway to Heaven, and add the open A string under the 2nd chord, you have Am(maj9). (x-0-6-5-5-7) And then think about ending the song right there....

Otherwise, I would just look for music which already contains 9ths. You can't necessarily improve an existing song, just by adding 9ths (or anything else) to the chords.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

While I do know and use all sorts of chords, in writing, use, and substitution I tend to rely pretty heavily on my major, minor, dominant and major 7ths, and to a somewhat lesser extent augmented and diminished chords. I'd like to concentrate on using other chords just to get more familiar with how to incorperate them, what chord family would you guys reccomend concentrating on next?

Hi Bushleague…

Inversions using bass. Simple G/b or C/e or D/F# etc are great passing chords when moving from one chord to the next (G G/b C for instance).

Three note inversions of chords using strings 1-2-3 and/or 2-3-4.

They run in repeating cycles for every chord, and after the three, just take the first one and make it the fourth (up the neck), etc.

Inversions for A major chord



Inversions for D major chord

These crude drawings were from a lesson I was teaching a student, and I decided to shoot a pic and post them to my flickr site.

They work for major, minor, seventh, sus etc. Half diminished chords are 4 notes and repeat at set intervals without changing the fingerings.

Hope this adds to the discussion.