Suspended Chords

The A major chord contains the Root or 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the major scale. The A minor chord contains the 1st, flat 3rd, and 5th notes from the major scale. A suspended chord is a chord that does not contain a third. The third defines whether a chord is major or minor. With a suspended chord the third is replaced with the second or the fourth notes of the major scale.

In the above example, we see the notes that make up the Am chord. Notice the third is now a half step lower. It is a flat 3rd

Now we have an A suspended 4th chord in the above example. The third is replaced with the 4th note from the major scale.

Now we see an A Suspended 2nd chord in the example above. The 3rd is replaced with the 2nd note from the major scale

Let’s look at another example. Located above is a D Chord. The Root note or first note is in red. The root note can also be called the tonic note. It is the first note of the D scale and the name of the chord in this example.

We flat the third once again in the example above and we get a Dm chord

If we raise the third instead of flattening it we get the 4th note of the D major scale. That makes this chord in the example above a D suspended 4th.

Our last example above shows a D suspended 2nd. The 3rd is replaced with the 2nd note from the major scale. suspended chords can be used in conjunction with major and minor chords. Try playing a Major or minor chord and swap it with a suspended Type chord. These Suspended chords are a great tool to use as accents to a strumming pattern as well. When the 2nd or the 4th replaces the third it takes on the same rule of the third. It does not matter what octave those intervals are found in just as long as the 2nd or the 4th replaces the 3rd.

Add 9 Chords

If the 2nd and the 4th are not replacing the 3rd then the rules change. By now you can probably see that major scale degrees are used in the name of the chord. There are 7 notes in the major scale. When you reach the root note one octave higher you are playing the 8th note. If you continue along this scale some of those notes are also counted. So a 9th is actually the second note of the scale played one octave higher. the 11th note would be the 4th note of the scale played one octave higher. Root notes, 3rd notes, 5th notes, and 7th notes are not counted in this fashion. They are just recognized for their place among the first octave of the scale degrees. it does not matter what octave they are located in. They always keep their number in the chord name.

An added 9 chord is a minor or major chord with the 9th scale degree added. These chords contain no 7th. In the example above we see the root note on the A string. There are two versions of this chord. One with an additional 3rd and one with an additional 5th.

In the above example, the root note is played on the low E string. The 5th is played on the A string. The 9th is played on the D string which is over an octave higher from the first root note. We encounter the 3rd once again on the G string first fret. It is still called the 3rd even though it is now over an octave higher than the first root note. The 5th is also repeated again over an octave higher. It is located on the B string. The root note is also repeated and found two octaves higher on the high E string. It is 16 notes higher than the very first root note that is played. It is still referred to as the root note in the chord name.

In the above example, we see an Em chord with an added 9th

Now we can see in this above example we see an A chord with an added 9th

In this above example, we see an Am with an added 9th

Let’s include 2 more examples of an added 9th chord. located above is a D add 9

Our last example above is a Dm add 9. Added 9 chords sound absolutely beautiful. They sound best when played in a fingerpicking or arpeggio manner.

Located above is a collection of some of my favorite chords. The added 9 chords sound great when using a fingerpicking pattern.

Our last example of chords located above is a collection of chords that are played in blues music. Once again root notes are in red. The dominant 7th chords are popular with funk styles as well. The ninth chords are in the dominant chord family. They are basically a dominant 7th chord with an added M3. They are mostly used in funk, jazz, blues, and rock styles of music. Below you will find More PDF files for the chords we just covered.

Click The Top Right Corner To Print

Check out these Suspended Chords and add 9 chords.

Here are some Dominant 7th, minor 7th, and Dominant 9th chords.

The small Square box where a finger normally goes represents the root note.

Here is a small collection of some of my favorite Chords

You can learn more about guitar chords and chord theory by visiting. Advanced Guitar Lessons Level 3 There are 10 videos that apply music theory to guitar. This section will help you understand theory concepts. When you apply these concepts to your playing you will greatly increase your skill level.