Chord Construction

CHORD CONSTRUCTION

The chord construction in the diatonic system is TERTIARY. That is it's built in thirds. The following list the construction of the priciple chords constructed from the Major Diatonic Scales. They can be played in any inversion. If altered notes are added some notes may be omitted,however, the third or minor third and the seventh or flat seventh should remain because these are the difinitive sounds of the chord.

Major...............................= 1 3 5
Major 6th..........................= 1 3 5 6
Major 7th..........................= 1 3 5 7
Minor................................= 1 b3 5
Minor 6th..........................= 1 b3 5 6
Minor 7th..........................= 1 b3 5 b7
Minor Major7th..................= 1 b3 5 7
Dominant 7th....................= 1 3 5 b7
Minor 7th b5 or Half Diminished..=1 b3 b5 b7

The following will show the degrees of the scale on the first line.the chord name(for this example I'll use the key of C) on the second line and the mode on the next line.

....I.........II..........III...........IV..........V............VI...........VII
.CMa7...D-7........E-7........FMa7.......G7..........A-7........B-7(b5)
Ionian..Dorian..Phrygian..Lydian..Mixolydian..Aeolian..Locrian

You can see that the D-7 in this case is related to the C Major Scale as a II-7 chord or the Cmajor scale played starting on II or the D note. Likewise the V7 chord G7 is the C Major Scale starting on the V or G note. All of the others follow. So if you see a Cma7,D-7,E-7,Fma7,G7,A-7orB-7(b5) and they RELATE to the C major Scale then if you play any of the notes in the C Major Scale you won't sound wrong. There are other approches but I'll get into that in MODES in the next session.

I can't overemphasize the importance of RELATION OF A CHORD TO A SCALE. The analysis of a chord sequence in a given tune will determine what scales you can play against it and still sound good. It's a great device used to enhance creativity and open one to new possiblities. I hope to develop a few sessions on analysis alone.

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