Each block on 'Chart 1' represents one fret on the guitar, including blocks that contain both a sharp (#) and flat (b). Once we find the notes for our C Major Chord on 'Chart 1', then 'Chart 2' will show us where we can find the chord on the guitar. Remember, the process of finding one chord using the Chordspeller, will also apply to finding any chord! Chords must contain at least 3 notes, whereas 'intervals' are only 2 notes. So, our C Major chord will contain at least 3 notes, and the first step will be to use 'Chart 3' to identify those notes. 'Chart 3' is a 'step formula' list, with a different formula for each chord type. Any of the chord types listed in 'Chart 3' can begin on any step of the musical alphabet. Our C Major Chord is based on the formula 4 steps plus 3 steps, or 4+3, as we can see on line one of 'Chart 3'. ALL Major chords will use the formula 4+3. Now let's take that formula over to 'Chart 1', to find what notes are in our C Major Chord. Starting with the note 'c' at the top left of  'Chart 1' , proceed to the right 4 steps, then 3 more steps. You can see that 4 steps from 'c' is the note 'e', and 3 steps from 'e' is the note 'g'. So we now know that any C Major Chord anywhere on the guitar, will consist of the notes 'c', 'e', and 'g'!

Now, let's proceed to ''Chart 2', and find several C Major Chords on the guitar. 'Chart 2'' is an alphabet diagram of the guitar neck, and shows which note corresponds to each string and fret. The left vertical column shows the open strings of the guitar. Remember, as you play the guitar, the 1st String is closest to the ground, but on the chart, the 1st String is highest on the page. There are at least 15 or more positions to play our C Major Chord on the guitar, but for simplicity, let's find 3 positions to start with. 'Position' refers to the fret where the left hand 1st Finger falls, so 'First Position' means that the first finger is on the first fret, 'Fifth Position' means first finger is on the fifth fret, etc...

The most efficient approach is to first find our C Major Chord in first position, then fifth position, then tenth position. Remember, the notes in our C Major Chord were 'c', 'e', and 'g'. A general rule is to keep the root note, in this case the 'c' note, as the lowest sounding note of the chord. This is called 'Voicing', and later on we can add more complicated 'Voicings'.

When we refer to 'first position', we can include Any frets within reach of that position, in this case the first 4 frets. So our root note of C Major Chord in first position will fall on the 5th string 3rd fret. Remember, our C Major Chord needs to contain the notes 'c', 'e', and 'g', and there are several correct choices in any position. Next, we can add the open 'e' note on the 4th string 2nd fret, and the 'g' note on the 3rd string open. We now have a basic C Major Chord in first position. This is a complete C Major Chord in theory, but will sound too thin for performances purposes. So let's spice up our C Major Chord by duplicating tones in different octaves. Octave duplications are partly what make harmony much more interesting, as we shall see here. So now let's add to our C Major Chord the 'c' note on 2nd string first fret, and the 'e' note on 1st string open. We now have a 5 note C Major Chord in first position.

Now let's find our C Major Chord in fifth position, then tenth position. Remember, we're looking for the notes 'c', 'e', and 'g'. In fifth position, the lowest sounding 'c' note is on 6th string, 8th fret; then we can also add the 'e' note on 5th string 7th fret, and the 'g' note on 4th string 5th fret. Let's now fill in the harmony with the 'c' note on the 3rd string 5th fret and the 'e' note on the 2nd string 5th fret. We now have a full C Major Chord in 5th position. Now let's find a C Major Chord in tenth position. Let's use the 'c' note on the 4th string 10th fret, the 'e' note on the 1st string 12th fret, and the 'g' note on the 3rd string 12th fret. We now have C Major Chords in the 1st, 5th and 10th positions, which gives us a basic reach of that chord across most of the guitar neck.

Now let's demonstrate the efficiency of Chordspeller to find any chord. As we mentioned earlier, 'Chart 1'  shows the notes in our C Major Chord as 'c', 'e', and 'g'. Using  'Chart 1' , we can proceed down the Same vertical columns to find the notes in Any Other major chord. For example, since the C Major Chord consists of the notes 'c', 'e', and 'g', then a D Major Chord will consist of the notes 'd', 'f#', 'a', and an F Major Chord will consist of the notes 'f', 'a', and 'c' etc...!

Notice that some of the blocks on our chart contain Both a Sharp (#) and Flat (b). Musical semantics requires we skip every other letter name in the alphabet to name the tones of Most basic chords. For example, to name the tones of a D Major Chord, we would say 'd', 'f#', 'a', not 'd', 'g flat', 'a' etc... Keep in mind that this is only a question of semantics, since 'f#' and 'g flat' actually sound the same when played.

Now to review: to find Any chord on the guitar, we first find the formula for that type chord using 'Chart 3', then the actual notes in that chord using  'Chart 1' ', then where the chord is actually placed on the guitar using 'Chart 2'. Each chord type will fall in the Same columns on  'Chart 1' , in other words, All Major chords will fall under the same colums as the notes 'c', 'e', and 'g', which we mentioned earlier uses the Chord Finder formula 4+3.

We can now see how the Chordspeller can be used to find the notes of any chord. Keep in mind this is the same mental process that professional musicians use in identifying chords. We've now identified how to find Major chords. 'Chart 3' also works the same way to find the notes in any other type chords. For example, the formula for augmented chords is 4+4, which translates on 'Chart 1' for a C Augmented Chord to the notes 'c', 'e', 'g#', with All other augmented chords falling in the same columns respectively. 'Chart 3' will also work for more complex chords. For example, the 7 Flat 5 chord uses the formula 4+2+4, which translates on  'Chart 1'  as the notes 'c', 'e', 'g flat' and 'b flat', and All other 7 Flat 5 chords will fall in the same columns respectively.

Keep in mind that Any chords using no open strings, are transposible to any other fret on the guitar. For example, our C Minor Chord in tenth position becomes a B Minor Chord when moved back to ninth position, and a B Flat Minor Chord when moved to eighth position, etc....

Upcoming sessions of Chordspeller will show how to find Scales using the Chordspeller, and we'll also be adding a dictionary of musical terms. See you in the Stringdom!!

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