Should you memorize chord charts?

If you want to be able to play lots of songs in lots of different keys, you need to learn lots of different chords, right? If you just memorize every possible chord, then when it comes around in a song you’ll be able use it. That is the way many people think.

I can’t disagree enough. As in, I vehemently oppose rote memorization of chords! This may sound kind of strange for someone who promotes learning to play chords, so let me explain:

I hate memorization. I was a terrible history student when I was in school, because I simply could not remember all the names, dates, and places. It was not pleasant to memorize them, and it did not work for me. Even if I managed to learn the information for the test, I did not retain material that was learned by rote memorization.

On the other hand, I LOVE understanding. I can still remember my tenth grade chemistry class. I grew up in New York taking the Regents exams. For chemistry, there was a reference sheet which we were allowed to use on tests and Regents. It contained the periodic table and several formulas.

Did you catch that? We didn’t have to memorize all the formulas, just understand how to use them! Obviously, we had to have some basic knowledge to start with, but after that we needed to understand rather than just spit back.

Understand your chords, don’t just memorize them!

So what does this all have to do with chords?

I firmly believe that familiarity with lots of chords will help you play lots of songs. I also firmly believe that you don’t need to, nor should you, memorize them all. Instead, you should learn how to navigate the keyboard to find what you need, when you need it. Recognizing many chords will then follow naturally, as you play songs in different keys. Eventually, you’ll have a huge chord library in your head, without ever having had to memorize them all!

Note: different approaches appeal to different people. Last time, we discussed one method for finding chords; now we will look at another. What works best for me might not work best for you. Use whatever helps you the most.

Building chords from scratch vs finding chords using chords you already know

In the last post, we learned how to build any major or minor chord from scratch. It works every time, but can also be a little bit tedious.

Today, we will look at another way to find any major or minor chord.

Instead of building chords from scratch, we’re going to build on what you already (hopefully) know. Everything is based on the Natural Major Chords: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

If you don’t already know them all, it is very worth your while to get acquainted with them! You can easily do this by using them in songs. Find a song that has the chord(s) you want to work on, and learn how to play it! If you need help finding songs, just drop me a note in the comments and I’ll be happy to help you out. 🙂

How to find any minor chord (3 easy steps)

1. Find the major chord whose name shares the same letter name
2. Identify the “third” of that major chord (ie the middle note)
3. Flat the “third” of that major chord

Let’s explain each step in a little more detail, using the chord Fm as an example:

1. Find the major chord whose name shares the same letter name

   So if we’re trying to find an F minor chord (Fm), we’ll start with our old friend F major (also called just “F”).

2. Identify the “third” of that major chord (ie the middle note)

   The third of the chord will be the middle note of the chord.

   The reason this middle note is called a third is that it is an interval, or distance, of three letter names away from the root note of the chord.

   For example, in the chord F Major, F-A-C, we can see that A is a third above F by counting three letter names, starting from “F”:

   “F”, “G”, “A” – a third from “F” is “A”.

   Note that it does not matter if one of the notes has a sharp or flat sign attached to it; if they are three letter names apart within any given scale, then they are a third apart. So both A and Ab are a third above F. (A is a major third from F, Ab is a minor third from F.)

3. Flat the “third” of that major chord (ie the middle note)

   To flat a note means to move one half-step down (ie lower, or to the left) from the current note.

That’s it! Now you have your minor chord.

How to find any flat or sharp major chord (2 Easy steps)

1. Find the natural (not sharp or flat) major chord whose name shares the same letter name
2. -If you’re trying to make a flat chord, flat each note of that major chord
   -If you’re trying to make a sharp chord, sharp each note of that major chord

Remember: flat = one half-step to the left, sharp = one half-step to the right

That’s it! Now you have your flat/sharp major chord!

Example: C# Major

1. Find the natural (not sharp or flat) major chord whose name shares the same letter name

   We’re trying to find C# Major, so we’ll start with C Major.

2. -If you’re trying to make a flat chord, flat each note of that major chord
   -If you’re trying to make a sharp chord, sharp each note of that major chord

   We’re making a sharp chord, C#, so we will sharp each note of the starting chord, C.

   C –> C#
   E –> E# (this is the same note as F)
   G –> G#

How to find any flat or sharp minor chord (3 Easy steps)

1. Find the natural (not sharp or flat) major chord whose name shares the same letter name
2. -If you’re trying to make a flat chord, flat each note of that major chord
   -If you’re trying to make a sharp chord, sharp each note of that major chord
3. Flat the third of the new flat or sharp chord

That’s it! Now you have your flat/sharp minor chord!

Note: the order in which you choose to do steps 2 and 3 does not matter. You can first find the minor chord, then flat/sharp it, or you can first flat/sharp the chord and then turn that into a minor chord. Your choice.

Example: Ab minor (Abm)

1. Find the natural (not sharp or flat) major chord whose name shares the same letter name

   We want Abm, so we’ll start with A Major.

2. -If you’re trying to make a flat chord, flat each note of that major chord
   -If you’re trying to make a sharp chord, sharp each note of that major chord

   We want a flat chord, Abm, so we will flat each note of the starting chord, A.

   A –> Ab
   C# –> C
   E –> Eb

   This gives us an Ab Major chord.

3. Flat the third of the new flat or sharp chord

   The “third”, or middle note, of Ab Major is C.

   C –> Cb (this is the same note as B)

What’s your favorite way to increase your chord vocabulary?

Everyone learns differently. What works best for you? Do you have a different way of adding new chords to your library?

Let me know in the comments!