Question:
I have a Switchfoot guitar tab book that i got for my b-day. There are some chords that i am unfamiliar on... Could someone show me how to play them and how to find out how to play them based on theory?
Bsus4-Does this mean play a B maj and move the third up a half step?
C#m7-Based on my limited theory, very limited, i would think this means lower the 8th, octave, a half step?
B/D#- not sure what that means
Asus2-Lower the 3rd a half step?
F#m11- not really sure
I have absolutely no theory behind these statements... so correct me please... any help will be great!!!
Answer:
Is this tablature or piano/guitar/vocal?

If you want something on forming chords, I've posted a bunch of music theory on that "how does one craft a good solo" thread, including how to form and figure out chords. Though, I don't think I've posted chord steps yet.

Bsus4-Does this mean play a B maj and move the third up a half step? Yes.
C#m7-Based on my limited theory, very limited, i would think this means lower the 8th, octave, a half step? Yes. Play C#m with an added seventh.
B/D#- Play a B chord, and have a D as your bass note, your lowest note.
Asus2-Lower the third a full step.
F#m11- Play F#m. Now F# is the 8th scale step. What note is three half-steps up from F#? A. Basically, F#m with a higher A (someone correct me if I'm wrong, I don't feel entirely secure about my reply).
Answer:
If you want to boost your general chord knowledge, read everything on this page:
http://scenicnewengland.net/guitar/chords/chords.htm
Answer:
Think in intervals.
sus4- 1 4 5
m7- 1 m3 5 m7
/D#- D# 1 3 5
sus2- 1 2 5
m11- 1 3 5 7 11
Bsus4- B E F# X24452
C#m7- C# E G# B X46454
B/D#- D# B D# F# (D# must be on bottom) X6444X
Asus2- A B E X02230
F#m11- F# A C# E G# 242254 (if you really have to play all those notes)
And Fretboard Logic SE is a great book to do these chord formations on your own.
And most of these chords descirbe the tonality vs. the actual guitar chord.
Looks like time for me to post a part of my BIG DEFINITIVE CHORD SYMBOLS GUIDE!
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Alright so my last post had a really vague description of chord symbols... so here we are:
All About Chord Symbols!
The Parts of a Chord Symbol
Let's take a nice, fancy chord example:
Cmaj7(b5)(add13)/F
First we have the root [C]. The root is the basis of the chord. Start here.
Next we have the chord name. The chord name starts with one of three things:
maj: aka. ma, M, ∆
This means you use a major third, and a major seventh.
min: aka. mi, m, -
This means you use a minor third and a minor seventh.
dim: aka. °
This means you use a minor third, minor seventh, and a diminished fifth.
aug: aka. +
This means you use a major third, major seventh, and an augmented fifth.
[nothing]
This means you use a major third and a minor seventh. If you just have the root alone, then that simply means major triad, not using any other notes.
After that you have a number. This number represents all the additional notes to add to the chord. Chords are built in thirds, so the number here is going to show what thirds to play:
7 means play notes 1, 3, 5, and 7.
9 means play notes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.
11 means play notes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
Over 11 the pattern changes.
13 means play notes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 13.
13 and higher chords usually omit the 11th, though you don't see many chords with a number larger than 13 (though you maight see 13 a lot).
Now what about 6ths? Just follow the rule, and play 1, 3, 5 and 6. You won't come across many fourths and seconds, but if you do, it's safe to assume it's a major triad with those notes added.
After that, you have lovely alterations. These numbers flat or sharp (or maybe doubleflat/doublesharp) a note in your chord. If you no alteraitons, leave your chord be, but if you have an alteration, you basically just need to do what it says. In the example chord, the fifth is flatted. So take any fifth in your note, and play it flat.
After that you may have a note addition. This is where you take a note, and add it to your party. It can either be written as adding an interval (such as adding a 13) or as adding a note (Fm9(add E)). Perhaps you may ask "If they're going to add a 13 to a G7, then why don't they write G13?". It's simply because you don't want the 9th implied by the 13. They add it instead.
Lastly, you have the bass note. That's the note you put at the very bottom of your chord. Usually, the bass takes care of that note.
Now I didn't cover suspensions. You have two main kinds of suspensions, a sus2 and a sus4. Essentially, you're erasing the third, and playing a 2 or 4 in its place. If the chord just says sus (as it usually will), play a sus4.
If we take a chord like:
Fm13
In a jazz band setting, you can think of it like this:
1, b3, 5, b7, 9, 13 are the notes in the chord. The beauty is that you only need to play some of those notes. Pick out a few. You are not required to play each note (in fact, it would be very difficult to play every note). You can play, for example:
Fm
Fm7
Fm9
The rest of the band will carry the rest of the tonality.
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I personally think this post should be stickied or something...
Answer:
Originally Posted by Jenacen Bsus4-Does this mean play a B maj and move the third up a half step? Yes. Good enough for now
C#m7-Based on my limited theory, very limited, i would think this means lower the 8th, octave, a half step? Yes. Play C#m with an added seventh. The proper way to think of it is as Jon posted. A C#m triad with a minor 7th.
B/D#- Play a B chord, and have a D as your bass note, your lowest note. More properly known as a First Inversion triad[/quote]
Asus2-Lower the third a full step. This was being debated in another thread. For modern purposes, I'd say that's probably the best description, although not theoretically correct.[/quote]
F#m11- Play F#m. Now F# is the 8th scale step. What note is three half-steps up from F#? A. Basically, F#m with a higher A (someone correct me if I'm wrong, I don't feel entirely secure about my reply).
Yeah, you're way off here. If you raise A in an F#m triad, you no longer have F#m. That's F#A#C# which is major. That means take an F#m chord and add the 11 (4; and to be theoretically correct, a 7, 9, or 13) to the triad (preferably on top, although it doesn't have to be always).
Answer:
Thanks alot guys. ONe more question... is there any easy way to know what notes to add in say an Asus9 chord??? or will i just have to memorize them?
Answer:
a sus9 is the same as saying sus2, except that a 9 is an octave above the 2nd.
And the fingering isnt any different either. What most people call a 2nd, in that chord is high enough up the scale that it is technically a 9th (atleast in the case of A form chords).
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And also, once you learn the bassics of chord contstruction, and some good solid music theory then you wont have much trouble figuring out how to generate complex chord tones.
Answer:
Originally Posted by RelientKFan7 Thanks alot guys. ONe more question... is there any easy way to know what notes to add in say an Asus9 chord??? or will i just have to memorize them?
An Asus9, in my experience, is another name (and probably the more theoretically correct name...sort of) of an Asus2.
Practically, you're substituting the 3rd of an A maj triad with the 2nd/9th of the A maj scale.
Theoretically, you wouldn't sub the 3rd with a 2nd directly (a whole step away from) the root/tonic. Try to play A, B and E notes together in a single octave...not only is it somewhat of a stretch but it's not particularly pleasing sounding, imho (unless the triad is a higher inversion but that's another case).
The Asus9 (or sus2) chord is extremely popular in modern music or so it seems.
I'm thinking that Alex Lifeson from Rush has at least a small hand in popularizing it (and the sus9/sus2 chord in general) as it's been a mainstay of his chord vocabulary for over 30 years.
Easiest way to play it:
e-0
b-0
g-2
d-2
a-0
e-x
Answer:
Originally Posted by RelientKFan7 Thanks alot guys. ONe more question... is there any easy way to know what notes to add in say an Asus9 chord??? or will i just have to memorize them? Yes, you add the 9th tone in the major scale. In a 6th, you add the 6th. In an 11th, you add the 11th.
This is all explained on the page I mentioned, as well.