Chords

Most traditional harmony is taught through tertian harmony — the construction of chords by stacking thirds. Major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads all emerge from this principle.

This exercise proposes a different viewpoint: instead of building chords upward in thirds, we construct them through stacked diatonic sixths.

At first glance, the resulting structures seem unusual. Yet when the notes are reordered into close position, they reveal the same familiar triads found in conventional harmony.

The value of the exercise therefore lies not in inventing new chords, but in developing a different intervallic awareness of the same harmonic material.

In this lesson, we explore Drop 2 and Drop 3 voicings for major 7 chords—two essential tools for creating richer, more professional-sounding harmony on the guitar.

Extended Major 7 chords add color, depth, and sophistication to your guitar playing. In this article, we’ll explore 12 extended Major 7 guitar chords that go beyond the basic shapes, introducing richer harmonies through added tones like the 9th and 13th.

In this lesson, we’ll explore 4 Levels of 2–5–1–6 Jazz Guitar Chords.

Whether you're a developing player building your jazz foundation or an intermediate guitarist looking to expand your chord vocabulary, these four levels will give you a structured path to stronger, more musical comping.

This lesson comes with a PDF (Give What You Want).

Barry Harris explained that the fully diminished seventh chord sits at the center of the system.

By making simple chromatic adjustments to its notes, it naturally resolves into dominant, minor 6, or major 6 chords.

Here is a structured guitar lesson focused on harmonized major scale arpeggios and chords in the key of C.

It is designed for intermediate students but can be adapted up or down depending on technique and theory background.

Guest Post by Dennis Winge

Most musicians learn chords as fixed units: a major triad is three notes, a seventh chord is four, an extended chord might be six or seven.

We tend to think of them as solid vertical structures, like blocks in a building. But here’s the secret: every extended chord is really a constellation of smaller chords.

Rhythm changes are a cornerstone of the jazz repertoire, offering a compact yet harmonically rich framework for study and improvisation.

In this study, we focus on the A section, examining practical chord approaches that incorporate inversions and common substitutions.

The aim is to clarify the underlying harmony while expanding your comping vocabulary in a musical, idiomatic way.

This lesson is about one of the most useful and colorful substitution concepts in jazz harmony, which is to replace an altered dominant 7 chord (7b9) with a diminished 7 chord.

You'll find here 4 easy exercises and a YouTube short for playing it on guitar.

In this lesson, you will learn how to harmonize the major scale in sixth chords and 6add9 arpeggios to add a smooth, jazzy flavor to your playing.

Free PDF available here.

Welcome to this guitar lesson, where we’ll explore a chord melody arrangement of the classic jazz standard Take The "A" Train by Billy Strayhorn.

This tune, famously associated with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, offers a perfect blend of swing rhythm and rich harmony—ideal for showcasing the beauty of chord melody on guitar.

We’ll break down the melody, harmonize it using jazz voicings, and focus on smooth voice leading to bring the tune to life as a solo guitar piece.

If you’re looking to clean up your chord work, boost your rhythm chops, and sound more intentional on guitar, shell voicings are a must-have tool in your arsenal.

These chord shapes focus on just the essentials—root, 3rd, and 7th—leaving out the extra notes that can muddy your sound.

Whether you play jazz, blues, funk, or even rock, learning shell voicings will transform the way you approach rhythm guitar.

In this lesson, we’ll explore how diminished 7 chords can be used to create smooth, voice-led connections between diatonic chords, adding tension, movement, and harmonic richness to your playing.

Triads are the building blocks of chords and an essential part of understanding harmony on the guitar.

By learning major scale triads, you'll improve your fretboard knowledge, enhance your improvisation skills, and develop a deeper understanding of chord construction.

In this lesson, we’ll break down:

What are the three types of triads found in the major scale.

How to play them across the fretboard on four string sets.

In this guitar lesson with free PDF and YouTube short we’ll learn how to turn a dominant 7th chord into a diminished 7th chord.

Free PDF transcription with tab / notation available on GUMROAD and PAYHIP.