Blog Post
Chord Extensions Made Easy - The Ultimate Guide to Any Chord, in Any Key
- by Tom Boddison
- •
- 17 May, 2017
If there's one thing about chords that confuses guitar players, it's complex extensions. Learn to master them and skyrocket your guitar skills - even if you're a beginner - in this free mega-guide.
Thankfully, chord extensions don't have to be hard! Most people get put off by the complex names and seemingly endless fretboard shapes, but by using the right methods you'll quickly realise how easy it all is.
All of the chord types in the world can be derived from the basic major barre chord. Check out the 9-part mega-guide below, and have fun expanding your chord knowledge!
Thankfully, chord extensions don't have to be hard! Most people get put off by the complex names and seemingly endless fretboard shapes, but by using the right methods you'll quickly realise how easy it all is.
All of the chord types in the world can be derived from the basic major barre chord. Check out the 9-part mega-guide below, and have fun expanding your chord knowledge!
Why You Need To Learn Chord Extensions
- Massively expand your creativity when songwriting
- Make even the most basic chord progression sound interesting and exciting
- Gain new ideas for arpeggios to use in solos
- Come up with creative new ways to play the chords you already know
- Learn loads of new chords in every key, super quickly
In the guide we've covered:
- How to integrate the major barre chord shapes with the scale shapes starting on both the fifth and sixth strings
- How major chords are made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale.
- All of the intervals in one octave (perfect, major and minor) and how to form them together into one easy one-octave shape
- A full six-string interval diagram, along with how it integrates with the major barre chord shape and the major scale shape.
- How to play minor chords
- How to play major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th and minor (major 7th) chords
- Suspended 2nd (sus2) and suspended 4th (sus4) chords, along with the musical effects they create
- How to play dominant 9th, 11th and 13th chords, along with add9, add11 and add13 chords
- How to play the minor and major variants of 9th, 11th and 13th chords
- How to play all of the above with the root on the fifth and sixth strings
- The iconic "Hendrix" chord shape, with its classic sound and feel
- Diminished 7th chords and how to play them all over the neck
- How to create "spy" sound effects using the minor (major 9th) chord
- How to use this knowledge to create your own unique chord types and voicings whenever you like