Chords: triads, 7ths, 9ths and beyond

A chord is three or more notes played together. Almost every chord is built the same way: start on a root and stack 3rds, skipping every other note of the scale. Root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th. Each step up the stack adds a new layer of color.

Triads: three notes

• Major (1 3 5): major 3rd + minor 3rd. Bright and stable. A major is A C♯ E.
• Minor (1 ♭3 5): minor 3rd + major 3rd. Darker. A minor is A C E.
• Diminished (1 ♭3 ♭5): two minor 3rds. Tense, wants to move.
• Augmented (1 3 ♯5): two major 3rds. Suspended, dreamlike.
• Sus2 (1 2 5) and sus4 (1 4 5) replace the 3rd. Without a 3rd a chord is neither major nor minor, so it sounds open and modern; great as techno stabs.
• Power chord or 5 (1 5): just root and fifth. Neutral and heavy.

7th chords: four notes

Stack one more 3rd and you reach the 7th. Which 7th you add, and onto which triad, gives you the five 7th chords you must know:

• Major 7 (maj7: 1 3 5 7): major triad + major 7th. Dreamy and floating.
• Dominant 7 (7: 1 3 5 ♭7): major triad + minor 7th. The 3rd and ♭7 form a tritone, which creates tension that wants to resolve. It's the V7 in every cumbia.
• Minor 7 (m7: 1 ♭3 5 ♭7): minor triad + minor 7th. Smooth and soulful, and the signature chord of dub and dub techno.
• Half-diminished (m7♭5 or ø: 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7): moody, the ii chord of minor keys.
• Diminished 7 (dim7 or °: 1 ♭3 ♭5 𝄫7): minor 3rds all the way up. Maximum tension, used as a passing chord.

The most confusing rule for beginners: a plain “7” means the flat 7th. C7 is C E G B♭. If you want the natural 7th (B), the symbol must say maj7. And the “maj” refers only to the 7th, so Cm(maj7) is a minor chord with a major 7th.

Extended chords: 9, 11, 13

Keep stacking 3rds past the 7th and you pass the octave. That's why we say 9 rather than 2: it's the 2nd, an octave up, counted as the next layer of the stack (lesson 5). Likewise 11 is the 4th up an octave, and 13 is the 6th up an octave.

• A number of 9 or more implies the 7th is there too. Cm9 = C E♭ G B♭ D. C9 = C E G B♭ D (dominant). Cmaj9 = C E G B D.
• If you want the 9th without a 7th, say add9: Cadd9 = C E G D.
• m11 (1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 11) is wide and modal: hold it under a delay and it never gets tired. Deep house and dub techno love it.
• On dominant chords, the 11th clashes with the major 3rd, so a 13 chord is usually played as 1 3 ♭7 9 13, leaving the 11th out.
• Altered tensions: a ♭9 on a dominant chord (7♭9) is dark and Spanish; it's the V chord you get from harmonic minor, all over minor-key Latin music.
• In practice you can drop the 5th, and even the root (the bass plays it), from big chords. The 3rd and 7th define the chord; the extensions add color.

Inversions and voicings

The same chord can be arranged many ways. An inversion changes which chord tone is lowest: root position has the root at the bottom, first inversion the 3rd, second inversion the 5th, third inversion the 7th. Inversions let you move between chords with tiny steps, which is called voice leading: move each note as little as possible, and progressions sound smooth instead of jumpy.

A voicing is the spacing. Close voicings pack every note within an octave: tight and punchy, good for stabs and skanks. Drop 2 takes the second-highest note down an octave: more open, piano-like. Spread voicings put the root low and the rest high: big and pad-like. In dub techno, keep chord voicings around middle C and high-pass them so they float above the sub. In reggae, skank chords sit high and tight.