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Building Extended Chords This is a very surface-level explanation of extended chords but it will work well if you have heard of them but don't know much about them. Building big extended chords is really pretty easy to understand. It starts with knowing the 'little' chords, and by that I mean triads. Triads have 3 chord tones: Root 3rd 5th 7th chords have 4 chord tones and are really just triads with a 7th, so you don’t have to start from scratch. Add a 7th to a triad. 9th chords have 5 chord tones and they are just a 7th chord with a 9th. So really they are a triad with a 7th and 9th. 11th chords have 6 chord tones and they have a few more complex rules, but for our quick explanation here, they’re just a triad with a 7th, 9th and an 11th. And finally, 13th chords have 7 chord tones and they, too, have a few more complex rules, but for our quick explanation here, they’re just a triad with a 7th, 9th, 11th with a 13th. The simple explanation works in most cases, but there are a few special things to know. Like, rarely are all the chord tones played by guitarists or keyboard players. But for starters, this explanation can be helpful. Fretboard Biology dives deep in to this subject.

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