Open Chords Challenge

Major

Let's kick off this course with the major family of open chords. This means we will be looking at any easily attainable open chord that is either major, major 7th or a simple variant of major, namely the ever-popular Cadd9 chord. Let's kick off with the basic theory for each of these chords.

A quick reminder...

With each lesson, we talk about the chord spelling of the chord. All chord spellings are based on the major scale. The numbers 1 – 8 outline the major scale, so let's check out an example of this based around the G major scale.

When you are dealing with minor chords or delving deeper into chord theory, you will come across chords that have to alter the scale. For example, a G minor chord has the notes G, Bb and D. The Bb is not in the G major scale, so we have to instruct the musician to change that note. We do this by telling them to flatten the 3rd note, creating a Bb in place of B. The chord spelling would therefore be 1, b3 and 5.

So all you need to remember is the notes of the major scale, as pictured above. From there, everything will be an instruction. If the chord spelling says ‘b5’, then you will know how to take the 5th note (D) and flatten it one semitone (1 fret on the guitar).

The major theory

With that out of the way, let's talk about the chord spelling for the main chords in the major family. They are major, and major 7th.

We're also using an add9 chord here, which is still very much based in the major family as it has the major third (3). This is the crucial note in the chord that makes it sound major and therefore we include it in the major family.

The chord shapes

Now that we understand the theory, let's dive into the chord shapes. These are the way we recommend playing the shapes, with the numbers on the dots being the fingers we recommend using.

The chords exercise!

And finally, let's put all of these chords in a very random order and get you changing between them! This is JUST an exercise and is not at all musical. The idea is simply to train your muscle memory by getting to the chords as quickly as possible. We highly recommend using the soundslice (interactive tab) to adjust the speed. If it needs to be slower to start with, please drop the speed percentage. As you get better, keep pushing the speed higher and higher, all the way up to 200% if you can! Have fun and good luck!

Finally...

Once you are starting to get to grips with these chords, get creative! Try to start grouping a couple of the shapes together in a way that sounds good to you. This is then a creative process, and in that space, there is no right or wrong. It's just about having fun!

Minor

Let's now take a look at the minor open chords. This means we will be looking at any easily attainable open chord that is either minor, minor 7th or a simple variant of minor, namely the epic Bm11 chord. Let's kick off with the basic theory for each of these chords.

The minor theory

Let's talk about the chord spelling for the main chords in the minor family. They are minor and minor 7th.

As you can see, the minor chord is defined by the b3rd, as this is the only note that differs from the major triad. As for the 7th chord, it has the minor triad but also the b7th, which again differs from the major 7th triad. Finally, we also have the very cool Bm11, which we can throw in because it's an easy shape to play to get a B minor style chord.

The chord shapes

Now that we understand the theory, let's dive into the chord shapes. These are the way we recommend playing the shapes, with the numbers on the dots being the fingers we recommend using.

The chord exercise!

And finally, let's put all of these chords in a very random order and get you changing between them! This is JUST an exercise and is not at all musical. The idea is simply to train your muscle memory by getting to the chords as quickly as possible. We highly recommend using the soundslice (interactive tab) to adjust the speed. If it needs to be slower to start with, please drop the speed percentage. As you get better, keep pushing the speed higher and higher, all the way up to 200% if you can! Have fun and good luck!

Finally...

Once you are starting to get to grips with these chords, get creative! Try to start grouping a couple of the shapes together in a way that sounds good to you. This is then a creative process, and in that space, there is no right or wrong. It's just about having fun!

Suspended

Let's now take a look at the suspended open chords. This means we will be looking at any easily attainable open chord that is either suspended 2nd or suspended 4th. The "sus" chord means that you suspend the 3rd (remove the third) and replace for the 4th (sus4) or 2nd (sus2). Let's dive into that theory a little more...

The suspended theory

Let's talk about the chord spelling for the main chords in the suspended family. They are sus4 and sus2, and they look like this.

As you can see, in both triad chords, we simply replace the major 3rd with either the 4th or the 2nd degree. This means that the chord is no longer defined as major (with a 3rd) or minor (with a b3rd) and can therefore be used to substitute both!

The chord shapes

Now that we understand the theory, let's dive into the chord shapes. These are the way we recommend playing the shapes, with the numbers on the dots being the fingers we recommend using.

The chord exercise!

And finally, let's put all of these chords in a very random order and get you changing between them! This is JUST an exercise and is not at all musical. The idea is simply to train your muscle memory by getting to the chords as quickly as possible. We highly recommend using the soundslice (interactive tab) to adjust the speed. If it needs to be slower to start with, please drop the speed percentage. As you get better, keep pushing the speed higher and higher, all the way up to 200% if you can! Have fun and good luck!

Finally...

Once you are starting to get to grips with these chords, get creative! Try to start grouping a couple of the shapes together in a way that sounds good to you. In this instance, I would recommend using either the major or minor open chord first, then trying to switch to the suspended version... You'll definitely uncover some absolute gems here!

Dominant

Let's now take a look at the dominant open chords. This means we will be looking at any easily attainable dominant chords. Dominant is a brand new family for us to look at and is very popular in blues, jazz and rock & roll. It also plays an enormous part in upgrading your theory later down the line... But for now, let's tackle the basics.

Dominant theory

Let's talk about the chord spelling for the main chords in the dominant family. You can, later down the line, use dominant 7th, 9th, 13th, but for our purposes, we only need dominant 7th chords. Here's the spelling:

As you might have noticed, the dominant chord is a big old mix of major and minor spellings. We use the major third, making the chord predominantly major, but the b7th, borrowed from the minor 7th chords. The combination of these two elements defines this new family, the dominant family!

The chord shapes

Now that we understand the theory, let's dive into the chord shapes. These are the way we recommend playing the shapes, with the numbers on the dots being the fingers we recommend using.

The chord exercise!

And finally, let's put all of these chords in a very random order and get you changing between them! This is JUST an exercise and is not at all musical. The idea is simply to train your muscle memory by getting to the chords as quickly as possible. We highly recommend using the soundslice (interactive tab) to adjust the speed. If it needs to be slower to start with, please drop the speed percentage. As you get better, keep pushing the speed higher and higher, all the way up to 200% if you can! Have fun and good luck!

Finally...

Once you are starting to get to grips with these chords, get creative! Try to start grouping a couple of the shapes together in a way that sounds good to you. In this instance, if you know a little bit of theory regarding chord harmonisation, it would come in handy! The dominant 7th is really perfect on the 5th chord of the key. If that blows your mind, it's worth brushing up on that theory here

Slash Chords

Let's now take a look at some slash chords. Now, let me address the elephant in the room, as the need to make this joke is just too powerful... Slash chords are not chords that Slash plays... (tumbleweed) ... Slash chords are in fact chords that have a different root note to what you would normally expect. Let's dive in...

The slash theory

When dealing with Slash chords, there is no specific chord spelling, as this is more of a concept than a family of chords. The idea is that you could take any chord and change the bass note. This would then be easiest to write out as a slash chord. For example:

The chord shapes

Now that we understand the theory, let's dive into the chord shapes. These are the way we recommend playing the shapes, with the numbers on the dots being the fingers we recommend using.

The chord exercise!

And finally, let's start with the major chords, and then add the slash chords between, then put all of these chords in a very random order and get you changing between them! This is JUST an exercise and is not at all musical. The idea is simply to train your muscle memory by getting to the chords as quickly as possible. We highly recommend using the soundslice (interactive tab) to adjust the speed. If it needs to be slower to start with, please drop the speed percentage. As you get better, keep pushing the speed higher and higher, all the way up to 200% if you can! Have fun and good luck!

Finally...

Once you are starting to get to grips with these chords, get creative! Try to start grouping a couple of the shapes together in a way that sounds good to you. This is then a creative process, and in that space, there is no right or wrong. It's just about having fun!