While you already see the notes needed, which are C, E, G, and D, we must understand what the term 'add' means.

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Penelope Singleton
6 years ago
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1 Week 6 - Day 1: The Cadd9 Chord The Cadd9 chord looks like this: While you already see the notes needed, which are C, E, G, and D, we must understand what the term 'add' means. It actually just means to add. In this case, you will 'add' a ninth so to speak. Look at the chart: C D E F G A B C D Before you only saw eight blocks. You'll recall that at the "8" we have the octave. Notice this time you see 9 blocks. Can you guess the method? Yep. Simple counting. A triad consists of the 1st (root), 3rd, and 5th. You can see that the 9 block is a D. Believe it or not, that's all there is to it. You just 'add' the 9 (D) in this case. But, there is ALSO a D on the 2 block. Hmm...this is where it is rather interesting. While technically this isn't 100% correct, most musicians will say that a Cadd9 = Csus2. Why? You can ALSO just use the D from the 2 block to create the same chord. In essence, Cadd9 DOES = Csus2. The method is the same. The theory is not. Because in the case of 'add' you are literally adding, Add9 is a major chord with the 9th scale degree added (which is the same note as the 2nd) Sus2 is neither a major or minor chord. It's neutral. In this chord, the vital 3rd note of the scale (the note that determines whether a chord is major or minor) is replaced by the 2nd note of the scale. All this aside, you CAN call a Cadd9 chord a Csus2 chord when simply playing music. Most musicians will call it an 'add9' - that is, at least the folks I play with. Slash Sheet Exercise (95 BPM): Simply practice playing the Cadd9 (Csus2) chord four times each measure. I also note at the end the transition to G Major and how easy it is.

Here is the full spectrum: Here is the corrected entry: What did I do? We don't need multiple G notes. We only really need 1.

2 Now we need to look at the fretboard for logical areas in which the C, E, G, and D appear: Just remember that you don't need ALL of the notes from this diagram. You just need a few. Here is the full spectrum: Here is the corrected entry: What did I do? We don't need multiple G notes. We only really need 1. I've also removed the C note on the B string because the D note on the third fret takes the place anyway. There are no logical positions to play the Cadd9 (Csus2) anywhere else on the fretboard.

3 Applying Fingerstyle To The Cadd9 Chord Exercise: Week 6 - Day 2: The D/F# Chord The D/F# chord looks like this: OR Finally a split chord! Before we discover what a split chord is, we need to look at the notes used for this chord. The D/F# chord contains the notes A, D, and F#. You'll notice that there are two F# notes. When you see a chord that contains a "/" this refers to the word "of" and gives us a nice explanation of what it means upfront. The easiest way to understand how a split chord works is by thinking of the FIRST note being shown. In this case it is a D. Notice in the diagram that you are forming a full D Major chord. All you have done to the D Major chord is add the bass note that is being called for after the slash (/) to add emphasis to the chord. At first glance it might not seem to make much of a difference, and really it's not absolutely necessary to play the F# bass note, but you DO notice a difference if you don't play it. When you play the F# in the bass (or simply stated - the 'lower F# that is offered') it creates a much more full sound and is a quite common chord actually. Also be sure that you take a look at the optional fingerings. You'll find it common that guitarists play the F# bass note (Low E string) with the thumb. You can arrange your fingers to form the D Major however is most comfortable, but you might find my method easier. Again - if you cannot play the F# bass note with your thumb it doesn't mean you can't play this chord. It's just a little trickier than normal. The important thing to realize is that you will rarely play the A or D string notes in this chord (though it's ok if you do) because most of the time this chord will be used in fingerstyle or as a quick transition to another chord. This chord might take a bit of practice to get down right.

Slash Sheet Exercise (95 BPM): Simply practice playing the D/F# chord four times each measure. In the video I first pick out ONLY the fretted notes. At the end I strum them all.

4 Slash Sheet Exercise (95 BPM): Simply practice playing the D/F# chord four times each measure. In the video I first pick out ONLY the fretted notes. At the end I strum them all. I love the way this chord sounds when played fully, but often this won't be the case. Usually it's all about a picking pattern. I address this with the fingerstyle version further below. Now we need to look at the fretboard for logical areas in which the A, D, and F# appear: If you've been wondering this whole time why I keep presenting the same chords basically in the same way over and over your question is more than likely about to be answered. While this chart shows all of the possible notes that are arranged to find a D/F# chord, you'll see that there aren't too many options in creating this chord in a logical way. What about...? This is basically a D Major barre chord, even if you decided to include the Low E note. But... It is not a D/F# chord because we don't have the BASS note of F#. The only F# that appears in a logical formation (there's no way to finger the fourth fret D string note of F#) is NOT the bass of the chord - so it wouldn't be a D/F#.

What about...? This won't work either. It's also a standard D Major barre chord (E Style this time) but it isn't a D/F# because there is no BASS note of F# that can be played logically.

I'm not even covering it in this lesson because it is a pain to play. However, I will show it to you: Ummm...no. There's no need for all that.

5 What about...? This won't work either. It's also a standard D Major barre chord (E Style this time) but it isn't a D/F# because there is no BASS note of F# that can be played logically. Again, the F# note on the eighth fret of the A string isn't playable in a logical way with this position. There IS an optional position in which you can play the D/F# - but I DO NOT recommend it. I'm not even covering it in this lesson because it is a pain to play. However, I will show it to you: Ummm...no. There's no need for all that. It's much easier just to play the original form and it will take less time to master. Applying Fingerstyle To The D/F# Chord Exercise This one is completely different so I included the finger arrangement for the picking hand. Here you will begin with an open strum of all of the notes that can be played with the D/F# chord. I then provide you with a different fingerstyle arrangement where the A and D string notes are not played.

6 Fingerings: This time I'd like you to try to follow the pattern I provide. If you just can't get it down it's ok. Just try. Week 6 - Day 3: The D7 Chord The D7 chord looks like this: You'll know up front that it's a 'dominant 7th' chord by the name, so you can already assume what we need to do: find the 7 in the D Major D E F G A B C D So we know that in a D Major chord we need the notes D, F#, and A. In the D7 chord we want the C to be added. In other words, to form the D7 chord we need the notes D, F#, A, and C.

7 Slash Sheet Exercise (95 BPM): Simply practice playing the D7 chord four times each measure. Now we need to look at the fretboard for logical areas in which the D, F#, A, and C appear: The D7 chord actually DOES offer an optional position that I've seen before. First we need to take a look at which notes we remove in the standard D7 chord.

8 All Notes in D7: We don't need all these notes. We've already got an F# note on the High E string so we don't need it on the Low E string. We've already got a C note on the B string so we don't need one on the A string. Also remember that in order to make the D Major a dominant seventh we need to use the C note - not the D note. (We've already got the open D string note) Correct Notes in D7: We have our D root (open) as well as the other necessary notes to make this D7 correct. Because there are two A notes left, you can already recognize that the open A string is completely optional. We don't NEED to play this string, but no harm no foul.

9 Optional Position: Here we have a rather different (but occasionally used) D7 chord. We just need to see what notes to remove. By removing the C note on the E string and the F# note on the A string we have the following results: This one is rather interesting because the D root is actually NOT on the lowest string. This is technically an inversion, but I don't want to go all crazy with inversions because it gets rather complicated. The easiest way to think of an inversion in this case is that the root is not the lowest note in the chord. However, we do have all of the notes we need in this diagram to play the D7 chord. Optional Position Here is the D7 in the new position: Now try to switch between playing the open D7 and the D7 in the new position.

10 Applying Fingerstyle To The D7 Chord Exercise 1 Exercise 2 Week 6 - Day 4: The G/B Chord The G/B chord contains the notes B, D, and G. VS. We already know that this is a 'split' chord because we have the "/." However, you'll also notice something from this chord diagram that might contradict the concept of 'splitting' a chord. In all technicality we really just have a G chord. What makes this chord a G/B chord and not just a G chord is that the root "B" rings as the bass note on the A string instead of the G on the Low E string. The easiest way to think of the G/B chord is that it is JUST a G Major chord without the usage of the Low E string G note. Fingerings are rather relative here. I find myself using my 2nd finger often when playing this chord instead of my 1st finger on the A string's B note. This is often because like with the D/F# this chord sometimes serves as a transition chord.

Now we need to look at the fretboard for logical areas in which the B, D, and G

11 Slash Sheet Exercise (95 BPM): Simply practice playing the G/B chord four times each measure. Now we need to look at the fretboard for logical areas in which the B, D, and G appear: Check this out: Here are all the notes found in a G/B (or a G Major). We need "B" as our bass note, so we remove the low E string G note and don't play it.

12 Optional Position: Odds are you won't be playing this formation, but it's a good idea to show you the way in which we create it. Again, we need the "B" to become our bass note so we remove the "D" note from the Low E string: Is this getting super easy yet? I hope so. Optional Position Simply practice playing the seventh fret G/B chord four times each measure. Applying Fingerstyle To The G/B Chord

13 Exercise Week 6 - Day 5: The Esus4 Chord The Esus4 chord looks like this and contains the notes E, B, and A: You'll remember from the the lesson on Asus2 that we need to find the 1, 2, and 5 instead of the 1, 3, and 5. In the 'sus4' we simply need to find the 1, 4, and 5. It's that easy! The E scale is: VS E F G A B C D E Here you'll see the notes that are needed in order to form the Esus4 chord.

14 Slash Sheet Exercise (95 BPM): Simply practice playing the Esus4 chord four times each measure. Now we need to look at the fretboard for logical areas in which the E, A, and B appear: Applying Fingerstyle To The Esus4 Chord

15 Exercise

Week 7 - Day 1: The Dsus4 Chord. The Dsus4 chord looks like this and contains the notes D, A, and G: All we need to find is the 1, 4, and 5.

Week 7 - Day 1: The Dsus4 Chord The Dsus4 chord looks like this and contains the notes D, A, and G: OR All we need to find is the 1, 4, and 5. The D scale is: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 D E F G A B C D Here you'll