Am major9 (Stairway to Heaven)

Today's guitar chord of the day is A minor major9 [Am major9]. This is the second chord in the famous intro to Led Zep's Stairway to Heaven (after A minor) from Led Zeppelin IV.

We recently completed our series of 12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords. If you've missed any of the chords look back through the previous posts, these chords are really useful once you've learnt them. Today we'll look at modifying these dominant 7th chords to create other common guitar chords.

For example, we can easily change a 7th chord into a minor 7th chord by lowering the 3rd one fret (every http://chord-a-day.blogspot.com/ tutorial tells you which one's the 3rd). Knowing this and our 7th inversions you've also learnt 12 new minor 7th inversions, just by changing one note!

To create a minor7b5 (Also know as half diminished) chord, lower the 3rd one fret and the 5th one fret. In fact that's exactly what we've done here to change this G7 guitar inversion, into this Gm7b5 guitar inversion.

There are lots more examples, to create a minor 6th chord, lower the 3rd one fret and lower the 7th one fret. This is what we've done to change this 7th inversion into this minor 6th inversion.

The really useful thing is, if you have learnt the 12 dominant 7th guitar inversions and you know which note to change, you know now 12 minor7 chords, 12 minor6 chords etc.,

Here are some more examples to try on your guitar:

• minor7 - lower the 3rd one fret
• major7 - raise the 7th one fret
• 6th - lower the 7th one fret
• minor6 - lower the 3rd one fret, lower the 7th one fret
• minor7b5 - lower the 3rd one fret, lower the 5th one fret
• 7#5 - raise the 5th one fret
• 7b5 - lower the 5th one fret
• 7b9 - raise the root note one fret
• 9th - raise the root two frets

Almost any common chord can be created by modifying the intervals of our Dominant 7th chords, even more unusual chords.

Today's guitar chord of the day is A minor major9 [Am major0]. This second chord in the famous intro to Led Zep's Stairway to Heaven (after A minor) can be created by modifying one of our 12 dominant 7th guitar chords.

We've started with this dominant 7th guitar inversion, raised the 7th one fret to give us a major 7th and raised the root note two frets for the 9th giving us all the notes we need for Am major 9.
minor Major 9 chords almost always follow or precede a minor chord with same root, they usually function as elaborations of the main chord.

minor Major 9 chords use these scale degrees: 1, b3, 5, 7, 9
A minor Major 9 uses these notes: A, C, E, G#, B
Our inversion uses the notes in this order: G#, C, E, B

Try playing around with modifying our other Dominant 7th inversions on the guitar and tune back tomorrow for another Guitar Chord of the Day.

Dissonant Guitar Chords - Number 5

Today's Guitar Chord of the Day is another dissonant guitar chord in our occasional series on Dissonant Chords. As with our other dissonant guitar chords this one has 6 semitone halfsteps.
Here are the notes for this guitar chord:
D#, E, F, F#, G, G#

As this chord is very dissonant and is made up 6 half-steps, it can't really be labeled in the usual way.
Tune in to Guitar Chord of the Day tomorrow when we'll look at how to make lots more chords from our 12 Dominant 7th Chords Every Guitarist Should Know.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 12

Today we've finally reached the final chord in our series of 12 Guitar Chords every guitarist should know.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This inversion has its root on the G string and uses the notes in this order:

• F (the b7th)
• B (the 3rd)
• D (the 5th)
• G (the root)

Now we've covered all 12 of the 4 string Dominant 7th guitar chords, go through and make sure you can remember them all and importantly where the root note is for each chord. Practice playing through blues progressions staying in one position, for example you should be able to play each of these blues progressions in at least 4 different positions:

G7 | C7 | G7 | G7 | C7 | C7 | G7 | G7 | D7 | C7 | G7 | D7

and in other keys, in C:
C7 | F7 | C7 | C7 | F7 | F7 | C7 | C7 | G7 | F7 | C7 | G7

in F:
F7 | Bb7 | F7 | F7 | Bb7 | Bb7 | F7 | F7 | C7 | Bb7 | F7 | C7

in E:
E7 | A7 | E7 | E7 | A7 | A7 | E7 | E7 | B7 | A7 | E7 | B7

and so on...

Then experiment with playing melodies by changing inversions, you can build tension up and add interest by using different inversions rather than using the same fingering for every guitar chord.

In future posts we'll have a look at altering these dominant 7th guitar chords to make different chord qualities, for now look through all of the 12th Dominant 7th guitar inversions, practice them in different keys and tune in tomorrow for another guitar chord of the day.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 11

We're very nearly at the end of our mini-series 12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords every guitarist should know. This G7 inversion has its root on the A string of the guitar as indicated by the black box on the chord diagram.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

The notes of G7 are G, B D and F, this inversion uses them in this order:

• D (the 5th)
• G (the root note)
• B (the 3rd)
• F (the b7th)

We have just one more inversion to go in our series of Dominant 7th guitar chords, tune in tomorrow for the very last inversion of this series at Guitar Chord of the Day.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 10

Our next chord in our series of 12 Guitar Chords every guitarist should know is another G7 chord on the bottom 4 strings of the guitar.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This guitar chord has its root note on the D string and uses the notes of G7 in this order:

• B (the 3rd)
• F (the b7th)
• G (the root note)
• D (the 5th)

We can easily vary all of the dominant 7th guitar chords we've looked at so far:

• Lower the 3rd one fret to make a minor7 chord
• Raise the b7 one fret to make a major7 chord
• Raise the root two frets to make a 9th chord

And so on, we'll look at the full range of altering these chords to get even more mileage out of them in future posts. For now, be sure to practice all of the dominant 7th guitar chords we've looked at so far and play them in different keys too.

Tune in tomorrow for another guitar chord of the day.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 9

Just for a change we have another Dominant 7th guitar chord today :) Carrying on our series of Dominant 7th chords we move to the bottom four strings of the guitar. Once you have all 12 dominant 7th guitar chords under your belt, you'll have the foundations of a really strong harmonic understanding of the guitar.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

Today's inversion uses the bottom 4 strings of a common guitar inversion based on an E barre chord. It uses the notes of the G7 chord in this order:

• G (the root note)
• D (the 5th)
• F (the b7th)
• B (the 3rd)

These inversions with their notes on the bottom 4 guitar strings have a lot heavier, fuller sound than the inversions on the middle or top 4 strings of the guitar. Start incorporating this chord into your practice and mixing it up with the other Dominant 7th guitar inversions you've learned already.

Tune back tomorrow as we move towards the end of our miniseries on 12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords every guitarist should know.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 8

Continuing our series of Dominant 7th Guitar chords, today we have the last of our inversions with notes on the middle four strings of the guitar.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This inversion has its root note on the G string and uses the notes of the G7 chord in this order:

• B (the 3rd)
• F (the b7th)
• G (the root note)
• D (the 5th)

Know we've covered  8 different inversions of G7, make sure you can play all of the Dominant 7th inversions we've looked at and played so far. Practice playing through blues progressions in different keys without changing position using different inversions of G7, C7 and D7. Try playing blues progressions in other keys too.

Tomorrow we'll start the final leg of our mini-series on Dominant 7th chords and look at inversions on the bottom four strings of the guitar. Check back then for another guitar chord of the day.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 7

Carrying on our series of 12 Dominant 7th Chords every guitarist should know, today we have a common inversion for 7th chords.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This chord has its root note on the A string and uses the notes of G7 in this order:

• G (the root note)
• D (the 5th)
• F (the b7th)
• B (the 3rd)

We'll have an in depth look at modifying all of 12 of our dominant 7th guitar chords in future posts, but it's worth noting for starters that all of these chords can be easily changed to other chord types, for example:

• Lower the 3rd one fret to change to a minor7 chord
• Raise the b7 one fret to change to a major 7 chord
• Raise the root note one fret to make a 7b9 chord

There are lots more examples, keep practicing all of the inversions so far and tune back tomorrow for another in our series of Dominant 7th Guitar Chords every guitarist should know.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 6

Inversion number 6: we're half way through our series of 12 Dominant 7th Chords every guitarist should know. Today's dominant 7th inversion is again on the middle four strings of the guitar and has its root note on the B string of the guitar.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This inversion uses the notes of G7 in this order:

• F (the b7th)
• B (the 3rd)
• D (the 5th)
• G (the root note)

In a future post we'll look at modifying these chords to make them minor 7th, half diminished, 9th, major7th and so on but for now get used to mixing up all of the dominant 7th chords we've used so far and transposing them to different keys.

Check back tomorrow or subscribe to the RSS feed to keep expanding your guitar chord vocabulary with Guitar Chord A Day.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 5

Carrying on our series of 12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords you should know we move onto inversions on the middle four guitar strings. The next four chords all feature the same notes: G, B, D and F but in different inversions.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This inversion has the chord's root note on the D string of the guitar (this is shown by the black box in the diagram). The previous inversions we've looked at on the top four strings have a thinner tone than these inversions on the middle four guitar strings. Those inversions can be useful for funk guitar amongst other things, these chords have a slightly fuller tone than the inversions on the top four strings.

Tune in tomorrow for the next installment of our series on 12 dominant 7th guitar chords you should know.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 4

We carry on our series of Dominant 7th Guitar Chords today with the last of our dominant 7th inversions on the D, G, B and E strings.

We've featured other dominant 7th guitar chords on the top 4 guitar strings here, here and here.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This 7th chord has its root on the G string and uses the notes of G7 in this order:

• D (the 5th)
• G (the root note)
• B (the 3rd)
• F (the b7th)

Now we've covered all 4 inversions on the top 4 guitar strings, get used to changing between them. To start with you can change from one inversion of G7 to another, then trying playing through a blues sequence (using G7, C7 and D7) staying in the same position. You should be able to play through the entire sequence without moving away from the fret you're on by mixing up the four different inversions.

Check back tomorrow, we'll be continuing our series of 12 Dominant 7th chords you should know and moving on to inversions on the A, D, G and B strings.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 3

Our next chord in our series of 12 Guitar Chords you should know is another G7 chord, this time with its root note on the guitar's B string.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This dominant chord uses the notes of G7 is this order:

• B (the 3rd)
• F (the b7th)
• G (the root note)
• D (the 5th)

Tune up and tune in tomorrow when we'll be continue our series of 12 dominant 7th guitar chords you should know with the last dominant 7th inversion on the top four guitar strings.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 2

Yesterday's guitar chord of the day post started a new mini-series of guitar chords. Today we'll continue our mini-series of 12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords you should know, with our second dominant 7th guitar inversion.

This chord and the next two chords are all played on the top four strings of the guitar.

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This inversion is in root position. That's to say, it has the root note of the chord as the lowest note. This is a G7 chord but try moving this around to other positions too.

Check back in tomorrow when we'll be continuing our series of 12 dominant 7th guitar chords you should know.

12 Dominant 7th Guitar Chords - Number 1

Today we're starting a new mini series on 4 string dominant 7th chords. We'll cover 12 different inversion of these dominant 7th chords for guitar. These are great chords to learn, remember and use... why?

• You'll be able to able to play any dominant 7th chord in any area of the neck. Chord changes sound better when they flow with good voice leading.
• You can easily modify these chords to make minor 7th, major 7th, half diminished, altered, 9th chords and more
• These chords are great for blues, funk, jazz and pop but can be used anywhere.
• Learning and using these will improve your musicianship and make you a better guitarist.

Each of these chords is played on four adjacent strings. The first guitar chords in our series will be played on the top 4 strings. So here's our first inversion:

Here's the fingering for this guitar chord:

This chord is a G7 and has its root note on the 3rd fret of the E string, but you can easily move it to other frets to transpose it.

Dominant 7th chords use the 1, 3, 5 and b7 notes of the major scale.
For a G7 chord, this is G, B, D and F.

Tune in tomorrow for the next in our series of 12 dominant 7th chords you should know.

D minor6

We've featured a few different minor chords in previous posts, and played a C minor6 chord with the root on the E string here, today's chord is a D minor6 with a root on the A string. Minor6  chords are constructed by taking a minor triad (1, b3, 5) and adding a natural 6th. They are normally used as chord I in minor keys.
Play the root note (marked as a square on the diagram) on the A string with your middle finger, the G string with your first finger, the B string with your first finger and the D string with your little finger.
Minor 6 chords can be played in the place of some minor chords and can replace chord i in minor keys. Minor 6 chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, b3, 5, 6

D minor6 uses the notes: D, F, A, B

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

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.

Dissonant Guitar Chords - Number 4

Continuing our occasional series of dissonant guitar chords, today we have another guitar chord that has 6 semitone steps.
Guitar chords don't get much more dissonant than this, so use this chord and our other dissonant guitar chords only when you want some harsh sounding guitar chords that are very dissonant.

Today's dissonant guitar chord uses these notes:
D D# E F F# G

Tune in tomorrow for another guitar chord of the day!

C diminished 7th

Today's guitar chord of the day is C diminished7. This chord has its root on the A string, a few days ago we played an alternative diminished 7th inversion with a root on the E string.

Diminished chords can also be written as C diminished, C dim, C° or C°7. A diminished triad has only 3 notes whilst the diminished 7th has four, however you're usually pretty safe playing a diminished 7th chord in place of all diminished chords if you want.

Diminished 7th chords have an interesting and really useful property: they're made up of four equal minor 3rd intervals (3 semitones). This means that every note in the chord is a potential root note. you can move this chord up 3 frets on the guitar and it will still be A diminished 7th. You can keep moving this chord up 3 frets a time and it will stay A diminished 7th.

 C diminished 7th has these notes: C, Eb, Gb, Bbb (A)

You can also take any of the chord notes to be the root note. So we can also call this chord:

C diminished 7th
Eb diminished 7th
Gb diminished 7th
A diminished 7th

Have a look at our previous diminished chord for some more examples where to use these guitar chords.

C diminished 7th can also be thought of as B7b9.

 Tune in tomorrow for another guitar chord of the day!

Eb11

We've featured a number of dominant chords and an alternative 11th inversion on guitar chord of the day before.. This Eb11 inversion has its root on the A string as indicated by the black square in the chord diagram.

11th chords can be played in the place of most 7th chords, in place of chord V in major keys. It also quite often precedes a dominant chord e.g:
Eb11 /Eb7

Technically 11th chords use these degrees of the major scale: 1, 3, 5, b7, 9, 11 however in practice the 3rd and often the 5th are usually left out.
Eb11 uses these notes: Eb, G, Bb, Db, F, Ab
Our inversion uses these notes in the this order: Eb, Ab, Db, F with an additional optional Bb on the top E string. Eb11th can also be thought of as an Db major triad with an Eb root note, this is written as a 'slash chord 'Db/Eb'.

Tune in tomorrow for another Guitar Chord Of The Day.