When learning chords in level 1 we simply learned the 3 most common chords in each of the 7 guitar friendly keys. In level 2 we will learn to enrich the same chords using notes from the major scale (diatonic notes) that are not in the chords we learned.

In level 1, we didn’t discuss how chords are constructed. Questions such as, what does major or minor mean or, why does D7 have a 7 were not discussed. The purpose of level 1 was simply to get you familiar with basic chords. To advance we need to understand basic theory and chord construction.

Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do… we have all heard this melody if we were schooled in the western hemisphere. The reason our music teachers sang this melody to us is because these 7 notes are the building blocks of music. These 7 notes are known as the major scale. (How scales are constructed is discussed in my first book, so I won’t discuss that in this lesson). Each note of the major scale is given a number name called intervals: do (1), re (2), mi (3), fa (4), sol (5), la (6), ti (7), do (8). Notice 1 and 8 are the same note. We call the 8 the octave. Chords are constructed by using specific notes from this scale. The first chord we learned is G Major. (The word major is assumed.