Chordmaster Chord Theory for Guitar

By Michael Ellis

Stop looking up guitar chords and memorizing pictures. Learn to understand what each chord title means. Learn how YOU can make any chord in just days. Each part of the guitar chord title is an instruction. Learn what these instructions mean and use the two main barre chord shapes provided as the starting point, and you can make literally thousands of chords GUARANTEED! CHORDMASTER Chord Theory for Guitar takes you step-by step through learning the secrets to understanding chord titles, what they mean, and shows examples of how to make each chord two ways. Then you can apply this knowledge to make them even more ways.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9780557793013

Book preview

Chordmaster Chord Theory for Guitar

CHORDMASTER tm

Chord Theory for Guitar

How to Make and

Understand Guitar

Chords

A CoMPREHENSIVE cHORD STUDY

For Beginning and Advanced Musicians

copyright  Michael Ellis 2010

10206 Lakemere Drive, Dallas, TX 75238

ISBN: 978-0-557-79301-3

Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted

without permission of the author.

Published by Mike Ellis Music Instruction

Website: http://www.ellismusiclessons.com

This book is dedicated to my son, John, and Mr. Terrill Gardner, without whom it would never have been possible.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Why Chordmaster?

Chapter 2 Let’s Get Started

Your First Test

Chapter 3 Scales Made Easy

Figuring Out the D Major Scale

Figuring Out the E Major Scale

The Natural Major Scales

NUMBERS – The Secret to Music Theory

Your Second Test

Chapter 4 Chords from Scales

Your LAST Test

Congratulations, You have Completed the Basics

Guitar vs. Piano

Finding the Notes on the Guitar

The Roots, 3rds, and 5ths in First and Second Position

Chapter 5 Advanced Chord Theory

Minor Chords

Seventh Chords

Substitutions – minor, suspended, flat 5, and augmented

5th Scale Note Substitutions

Memorization Required to Make 798 chords

Additions – 6th 7th and Major 7th

Combination Titles

Diminished and Half-Diminished

Added Notes

Inversions

The Slash Character in a Chord Title

Some Ambiguous Chord Names

Chapter 6 The CHORDMASTER REVIEW PAGE

CHORDMASTER CHORD LIST

OVER 16,000 POSSIBLE CHORDS!

Chapter 1  Why  Chordmaster?

To begin, the Chordmaster method was developed by a professional teacher with twelve years of experience.  It was during these years that Michael Ellis found that the study of music and specifically the study of chords and their structure was not the nebulous, huge conglomeration of knowledge that most books would have a student believe.  The fact is that chord names are the instructions needed to build the chord if you know the terminology.  When you see a chord name in a book, you should instantly understand what notes to play.  After you have read this instruction manual you will be able to make any chord.  If you play an instrument besides the guitar, you will still understand the construction of any chord name you see.  All you will need to know is the major form of the chord for your instrument, be it guitar, bass, flute, or any instrument.

So, why CHORDMASTER?  It is simply because there is no longer the need to memorize hundreds or thousands of chords.  Learn to understand the language of chord names, the instructions they give, and you will be a master of chord construction, guaranteed.  And the most important reason to use the CHORDMASTER How to Understand Chords manual, is that if you can devote yourself to these sixty-seven pages of instruction, you will be able to make and understand over 16,000 chords!

How to Proceed Through This Manual

There will be several sections to this manual, in order of the progression from notes to simple chords, to advanced chord theory.  It is imperative that you initially go through the manual from start to finish, in order.  Don’t skip any pages and don’t skip any of the question and answer pages.  When you have finished, you will be able to locate the review pages for each section and refresh what you have read in a concise form that will allow your knowledge to grow in steps toward your goal.  At the end, there is a summary review page of all the chords.  This summary will make sense to you if you have gone through all the preceding sections.  Caution: Jumping to the summary page prematurely will only serve to confuse you and retard your learning.  Please, take it a step at a time.  A Mr. Barrier once told my brother, Life by the inch is a cinch, it’s life by the yard that’s hard.

Chapter 2  Let’s  Get  Started

We must first make no assumptions in what you know or don’t know.  So, let’s start at the beginning.  When some musicians hear chord names like G minor seventh augmented, they begin to wonder how they will ever memorize all the chords that can be made. Chord theory is a system of understanding how chords are made, so you DON’T have to MEMORIZE hundreds or thousands of chords.

If you start at the beginning, you should first ask, What is a note?

A note (or tone) is any single sound that is pleasing to the ear. Any single key you press on the keyboard produces a NOTE.    OK?    GOOD!

How many notes exist? Would you believe that only 12 notes exist?  That’s right! Only 12 notes exist! The notes repeat up and down the keyboard from the Middle C note in