Ok, so now you are very familiar with open and bar chords. Your hands and fingers are strong and you can switch quickly and easily between open and bar chords.

Are you done learning about chords? I think you know the answer...of course not.

There are many many other types of chords that you need to learn about. There are major 7th chords, minor 7th chords, extended chords, altered chords, 6th chords, 9th chords, 11th chords, diminished chords, augmented chords...and many more. All of these chord types have distinct sounds and can really add variety and color to your playing. It will also allow you to play more complex songs.

The open and bar chords will give you a strong foundation for playing chords and songs. Then it is time to move on to other chords types and to really expand your playing.

Now we are going to talk about music theory. There are several areas of music theory and we are going to talk a little about what notes form a chord.

You may ask yourself..."Why do I need to learn about what notes form a chord? I know how to play a chord!"

Yes you know how to play a chord. But you need to understand what notes comprise the basic chords so that you can learn and really understand the other types of chords that we eventually will talk about, ie. extended and altered, 6th, 9th, 11th, 13th, add 9, etc.

To learn what notes comprise the basic chord we need to look at the basic major scale. That is the "do-re-mi" scale that we all know.

The notes that comprise the basic major chord are the 1st (or root) note, the 3rd and the 5th notes of the major scale. That is the basic major chord triad.

The basic minor chord triad consists of the root, flatted 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale.

The dominant 7th chord includes the basic major triad of the major chord plus the flatted 7th note of the major scale.

The major 7th chord includes the basic major triad of the major chord plus the 7th note of the major scale.

So you see, by learning the major scale and then what notes comprise each chord type you start to understand how each chord is constructed.

Domenick Ginex is a guitarist living in Tampa, Florida. He has played in several groups in the Tampa Bay area for over 25 years. His website, located at http://GuitarLessonsPro.com, offers guitar instructional information for beginner to intermediate level guitarists.