Emajor9 - The first chord of Angel

Chords of Jimi Hendrix

Continuing our Hendrix mini-series here at http://chord-a-day.blogspot.com/ today's chord is a nice sounding E major9 chord. This chord is the very first guitar chord played at the start of 'Angel' from 'The Cry of Love' album released after his death.

We've featured an alternative E major9 inversion before. Remember that Hendrix tuned his guitar down a half step, so you'll sound a semitone higher unless you detune too. There's more info on Jimi's tuning in our first Hendrix chord post.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

If you miss out the open E strings in this chord, you're playing a G#m7 chord.

Major 9 chords can be replace major 7th chords, and can often be played  in place of major chords. It can replace I and IV chords.

Major 9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

E Major 9 uses the notes: E, D#, G#, B, F#, E

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: E, F#, G#, D#, B, E.

Tune in tomorrow for more of our Jimi Hendrix mini series and another Hendrix guitar chord of the day.

E7#9 'The Hendrix Chord'

'The Hendrix Chord'

Carrying on with the Jimi Hendrix chords mini-series at guitar chord of the day, we'll follow up yesterday's post with another fingering of the famous 'Hendrix Chord', used in Purple Haze, Stone Free, Cross Town Traffic and more

This chord is moveable and has it's root on the the D string, though if you play it in other keys you'll have to leave off the open bottom E String.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

There's also another way to play the Hendrix Guitar chord here.
7#9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, b7, #9

E7#9 uses the notes: E, G#, B, D, F## (G)

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: E, G#, D, F## (G)

Tune in tomorrow the next day of our Hendrix mini-series and another Hendrix Guitar Chord Of The Day. More Jimi tomorrow!

D7#9 The Hendrix Chord

The 'Hendrix Chord'

Jimi Hendrix was so famous for using this chord in his riffs and songs that although it's officially called a 7#9 chord, often guitarists just refer to it as 'The Hendrix Chord'.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

Hendrix tuned his guitar down a half step (tuning his guitar Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb rather than standard tuning of E, A, D, G, B, E). So his guitar sounds a semitone lower than a guitar in standard tuning (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Slash and a number of other blues rock guitarists tune down a half step in the same way).

This chord (played two frets higher in E) is the main chord of the Foxy Lady riff, used in Purple Haze, Stone Free and more.

7#9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, b7, #9

D7#9 uses the notes: D, F#, A, C, E# (F)

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: D, F#, C, E# (F)

Tune in tomorrow for another Hendrix Guitar Chord Of The Day.More Jimi tomorrow!

G minor7 b5

Today's Guitar Chord of the Day is Gm7b5. We played an alternative inversion of a m7b5 chord a few days ago.
This inversion has it's root note on the guitar's B string (root notes are shown as black boxes rather than circles in the chord diagrams. Have a look at the introductory post for more info on how to read chord diagrams).
Minor7b5 chords use these scale degrees: 1, b3, b5, b7
Gm7b5 uses these notes: G, Bb, Db, F
Our inversion uses the notes in this order:     F, Bb, Db, G

As mentioned in the previous m7b5 post, m7b5 chords are four chords for the price of one:

Gm7b5 can also be considered as Eb9, Bb minor 6, A7#5b9. Here's why:

Gm7b5    = G, Bb, Db, F
Eb9         = Eb, G, Bb, Db, F
Bb minor 6 = Bb, Db, F, G
A7#5b9 = A, C# (Db), E# (F), G, Bb

Tomorrow starts the first of a series of themed weeks for Guitar Chord Of The Day.  
We'll be looking at guitar chords and inversions made popular by specific artists, used in different genres or based on another common theme. Starting tomorrow we've a week of Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was famous for his soloing, use of effects and feedback but often his rhythm work is overlooked.

Tune in tomorrow for the start of a mini-series on the chords of Jimi Hendrix at Guitar Chord Of The Day.

B add9

Today's guitar chord of the day is B add9. Add9 chords are nice sound variations on a standard major chord: it's a standard major chord with one extra added note. We played a different inversion of an add9 chord in a previous post, this one has it's root on the E string as indicated by the black box in the diagram.

Add 9 chords can be played in place of all major chords. It can replace chords I , IV and V in major keys

Add 9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 9

B add9 uses the notes: B, D#, F#, C#

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: B, F#, C#, D#

Tune in tomorrow for another guitar chord of the day.

C13

A few posts ago we played an inversion of E13 today's guitar chord of the day is another 13th inversion. 13th chords can be played in place of most 7th chords (also known as dominant chords, or dominant 7th chords) and are really useful for blues and jazz guitar. It can replace chord V in major keys.

This chord is moveable and has its root note on the E string (indicated by the black box in the chord diagram). Hook this inversion up with our previous 13th chord inversion and try playing through a 3 chord blues with these 13th chords.

Officially 13th chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, b7, 9, 11, 13 though in practice some notes are left out. The most important notes are the 3rd, b7, 13th, 9th, root, 5th and lastly the 11th in roughly that order.

C13th uses the notes: C, E G, Bb, D, F, A

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: C, Bb, E, A

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.

B minor11

Today's guitar chord of the day is a nice minor11 inversion.
This chord is moveable and has its root note on the E string (indicated by the black box in the chord diagram).
This chord can be played in the place of most minor chords and can replace chord ii, iii and vi in major keys. Minor 11th chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, b3, 5, b7, 9, 11 though it's really common to leave some notes out - our inversion is missing the 5th and 9th.

Bm11 uses the notes: B, D, F#, A C#, E

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: B, A, D, E, A

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.

D minor7 b5

Today's guitar chord is D minor7b5. It is a moveable chord with it's root note on the A string. Dm7b5 is also known as D half diminished.

Four Chords For The Price of One
m7b5 chords can also be considered as different inversions of other chords, Dm7b5 can also be considered as Bb9, F minor 6, E7#5b9. Here's why:

Dm7b5    = D F, Ab, C
Bb9         = Bb, D, F, Ab, C
F minor 6 = F, Ab, C, D
E7#5b9 = E, G# (Ab), B# (C), D, F

As you can see these chords contain the notes of the Dm7b5 chord, so you can also play this inversion in place of these chords too.

Minor7b5 chords use these scale degrees: 1, b3, b5, b7

Our inversion uses the notes in this order:     D, Ab, C, F

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.

C minor add9

Today's guitar chord of the day can be substituted for almost any minor chord. As the name suggests, it's an ordinary minor chord with an added 9th.

This chord is moveable and has its root note on the E string (indicated by the black box in the chord diagram). This chord is fingered by barring across all 6 strings with your first finger.

Minor add9 chords can be played in place of minor chords. It can replace chords ii, vi and iii in major keys (although using it instead of chord 3 introduces a non-scale note it still sounds good).

Minor add9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, b3, 5, 9

C minor add9 uses the notes: C, Eb, G, D

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: C, G, D, Eb, G, C

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.

E13

The guitar chord of the day today is a 13th chord and it can be played in place of most 7th chords (also known as dominant chords, or dominant 7th chords).

This chord is moveable and has its root note on the B string (indicated by the black box in the chord diagram). This chord is fingered by playing the root note on the B string with your middle finger, your first finger on the A string, your 3rd finger on the D string and little finger on the G string.

13th chords can be played in place of most 7th chords. It can replace chord V in major keys.

Officially 13th chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, b7, 9, 11, 13 though in practice (especially on guitar as there more notes than strings!) some notes are left out. The most important notes are the 3rd, b7, 13th, 9th, root, 5th and lastly the 11th in roughly that order.

E13th uses the notes: E, G#, B, D, F#, A, C#

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: D, G#, C#, E

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.

D69

Today's guitar chord of the day can be substituted for almost any major chord. As the name suggests, it's an ordinary major chord with an added 6th and 9th.

This chord is moveable and has its root note on the A string (indicated by the black box in the chord diagram). This chord is fingered by playing the A string with your middle finger and barring across the D and G strings with your first finger.

69 chords can be played in place of major chords. It can replace chords I, IV and V in major keys.

69 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9

D69 uses the notes: D, F#, A, B, E

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: D, F#, B, E, A

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.

F add9

Today's Guitar Chord of the Day, is a nice variation on a standard major chord: it's a standard major chord with an added 9th. This chord is moveable and has its root note on the guitar's A string.

You can either play this as a four string guitar chord, or barre across the G and E strings with your first finger.

Add 9 chords can be played in place of pretty much all major chords. It can replace chords I , IV and V in major keys

Add 9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 9

F add9 uses the notes: F, A, C, G

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: F, A, C, G.

Tune in tomorrow for another guitar chord of the day.

F minor 9

Today's chord of the day is a very useful and nice sounding minor 9 chord. This guitar chord is moveable, the square on the A string indicates the root note. This guitar chord can be fingered in a couple of ways either:

• Barre across the G, B and E strings with you 3rd finger, or
  
• Use your 3rd finger on the G string and little finger on the B string, the top E string should then be muted or not played.
  

Minor 9 chords can be played in place of minor 7th chords, and almost always in place of minor chords. It can replace II, III and VI chords in major keys.

Minor 9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, b3, 5, b7, 9

F Minor 9 uses the notes: F, Ab, C, Eb, G

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: F, Ab, Eb, G, C

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.

E Major 9

Here's a nice E major 9 inversion. It makes use of the guitars open strings so isn't moveable, but is a nice sounding guitar chord inversion.

Major 9 chords can be played in place of major 7th chords, and often in place of major chords. It can replace I and IV chords.

Major 9 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

E Major 9 uses the notes: E, G#, B, D#, F#

Our inversion uses the notes in this order: E, F#, G#, D#, B, E.

Tune in tomorrow for another guitar chord of the day.

How To Read Guitar Chord Boxes

Knowing a good range of chords is an important part of every great guitarist's toolkit. Each and every day we'll be introducing a new guitar chord and importantly showing you how and where to use it.

If you new to learning the guitar then learning to understand how to read chord boxes is an important thing to do:

This diagram shows the guitar's fretboard with the vertical lines representing the strings and the horizontal lines representing the frets. The thickest E string is on the left and the thinnest E string is on the right.

Place your fingers where the solid boxes and squares are. The solid box indicates which note is the root note, the root note is the note the chord is named after (chords are made up of lots of different notes, in an F major 7 chord, F is the root note).

Every chord will be tagged with its chord type. You can use these tags to search for different inversions of a chord, or if you want to spice things up with chords that you can play instead e.g. playing a 69 chord instead of a standard major chord.

Make http://chord-a-day.blogspot.com/ a part of your daily practice routine and tune in every day!