Music theory

What order are the major/minor cords in a scale?

Major

minor

minor

Major

Major

minor

diminished

Which chord is the tonic and what does it mean?

the I

the most stable and foundational chord in a key, often referred to as the "home" chord

Which chord is the subdominant and what does it mean?

IV

The subdominant chord functions as a way to move away from the tonic (home) chord, creating a sense of harmonic movement and leading to the dominant chord or back to the tonic.

what chord is the dominant and what does it mean?

V

it wants to resolve to the tonic. Creates tension especially when combined with the dominant 7th chord

what is the 1st guitar string(from the top)

E

what is the 2nd guitar string(from the top)

A

what is the 3rd guitar string(from the top)

D

what is the 4th guitar string(from the top)

G

what is the 5th guitar string(from the top)

B

what is the 6th guitar string(from the top)

e

which 2 notes don’t have a sharp

there is no b# or e#

how do you make a 7th chord

you take the triad and add the 7th farthest note(think of the piano shape)

What is a power chord? How else is it called

A diade with just the 1st and 5th of a chord. Also called a 5th chord.

What is the chord type order for 7ths

Major7

minor7

minor7

Major7

7

minor7

minor7flat5

what does a major 7 sound like

somber, calm, dissonant

how do you play a major 7 chord

Make the first fret the one that has the titular note on the e string

Play the top of the first fret

mute the second string

play 1 over

play 1 over

play the first fret

mute the bottom string

how do you play a minor 7 chord

Make the first fret the one that has the titular note on the e string

play the 1st fret of the first string

mute the second string

play the 1st fret

play the 1st fret

play the 1st frt

how do you play a 9th chord(similar to 7th but sounds better)

Make the first fret the one that has the titular note on the e string

mute the top string with thumb

play the 1st fret on the 2nd string

play one fret back on the 3rd string

play the 1st fret on the 4th string

play the 1st fret on the 5th string

mute the bottom string with pinkie

what is a whole step?

2 half steps. If there is no sharp/flat note between the steps you go down another half step

how do you build a chromatic scale?

Every note is 1 half step apart

How do you build a major scale

Whole

Whole

Half

Whole

Whole

Whole

Half

How do you build a natural minor scale?

Whole

half

whole

whole

half

whole

whole

how do you convert a major triad to a minor?

Lower the 3rd by a half step

what is an augmented chord?

the 5th is raised by a half step

what is a diminished chord?

the 3rd is lowered by a half step

the 5th is lowered by a half step

how do you get a dominant 7th chord(normal 7th chord not major or minor)

bring the 7th down a half step

how do you get a major 7 chord

add the 7th note, but don’t change it

how do you get a minor 7th?

lower the 3rd by a half step

lower the 7th by a half step

how do you get a minor major 7th chord

lower the 3rd by a half step

don’t lower the 7th

what is a tensioned chord?

take a 7th chord and add on either a 9, 11, and 13(2, 4, or 6 on a higher octave).

these are called c9, c11, or c13

the tensions can be sharp or flat, then it becomes c7#11 and such

what is a sus(suspended) chord

a regular sus chord, you replace the 3rd note of the scale with the 4th note of a scale

what is a sus2 chord

you replace the 3rd note with the 2nd note of the scale.

what is a diminished 7th chord

half step down on the 3

half step down on the 5

whole step down on the 7

what are inversions?

they look like c/e

they are chords where the root isn’t the lowest note. The first note is the root note, the note after the slash is the bass note or the lowest note.

what is an add chord

you take the triad and then you add whatever chord it says to add. For example a cadd9 chord just adds the 9th note.

what is a c6 chord?

basically you just take the triad and add the 6th note to it. Like a cadd6.