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Back to F.I.N. System intro page Identify Chord NotesWhen you know the notes on the fretboard and the intervals that make up chord shapes, there are two ways you can use this knowledge to identify chord notes.
Direct MethodThe most direct way to identify notes that make up a chord is to observe what notes of the fretboard your fingers are on when your hand places the chord shape on the fretboard. In order to do this you must know the notes of the fretboard very well. It also assumes you know the location of root of the chord shape. If all you know are the notes of the 5th and 6th string and a few chord shapes, you are in good shape. All you need to do is learn the notes on the other strings and a few more chord shapes. On the other hand, if you have skipped to this part of the book without knowing any of the notes of the fretboard, you need to go back to the beginning of this book. Using this direct method of identifying chord notes, you can know the notes that make up every chord you play by looking at your fingers on the fretboard. This is useful to know but it won’t particularly tell you what kind of chord it is. You need to know the chord’s formula to do that. If you don’t know the intervals that make up the chord, you won’t know how the chord functions harmonically. In the example on this page we have a chord shape that is played with its root on the 6th fret of the 5th string. This note is Eb. The other notes that make up this chord are Bb, D, and G. If you didn’t already know this was a chord shape for a major 7th chord, it would be hard to know what the chord is just from the notes. While this method is useful for identifying notes that make up chords it is not as helpful at identifying the chord type. 
Interval Method Another way to identify chords requires you to a little calculation in your head. However, like learning your multiplication table in fifth grade, there will come a time when you can do it without thinking. Let’s say you have a major 7th chord you are playing on the 5th string. That chord looks like this one at the right. If you know what the root note of this chord is, you can use the chord formula to determine the other notes. For instance, if the root is C, the 5th is G, the 7th is B, and the 3rd is E. This assumes you know the note of the C scale. In order to identify chord notes this way you need to know the scales very well. The chart at right can help. The calculation you would do in your head would be something like this, “The root is C... The fifth is... let’s see... (you start counting on your fingers) C, D, E, F, G. G, that’s the fifth note of the scale. The seventh... Oh, that’s easy. It’s the half-step before C. That’s B. That leaves the third. (You count on your fingers again). C, D, E. E, that’s it. C,E,G, and B. That’s a major triad with a major 7th added. That makes a Cmaj7th chord. • You see someone play a chord and you want to know what it is.
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