Share This Thread How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 Rik Eischen (959) Theory Forum 6/13/2006 2:32:41 AM · 34 Views [Respond to this Message] In some of the music I get it lists chords where the key is followed by a "2". I've checked quite a few chord books, and have found it is very hard to find these chord shapes. I believe they are related to ninth chords, but I think there is some difference between them. I'm frustrated that I can't seem to find them in the books. Do they go under another heading? Or do I have to construct them myself and search the fretboard for where I can find them? Please help.

Responses

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 3:00:46 AM Emmanuel Pontes (21) wrote: hi Rick ! in fact the 2nd is the 9th in the first octave , but whem you build a chord with the 2nd , it means you have to build a new shape. ex. if you got an A2 chord it means (A B E ), A can be place on the 2nd fret at 3rd string , B is the 2nd strig open , E is the 1st string open . so , if you want play other notes on the top of your chord , you have to transpose the chord for another position . ex. A2with the maj.7 (A2maj.7 ) = A on 7th fret 4th string, B on 4th fret 3 string , E on 5th fret 2nd string , G# on 4th fret 1st string . and that is it ! i hope you find it helpful.... sorry my bad English , iam from brazil

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 3:09:30 AM Rik Eischen (959) wrote: Thanks for your help, Emmanuel. I look forward to trying it out. I appreciate your musical knowledge! Does anyone else have any thoughts or ideas about this? I'm open to additional suggestions or ideas. And does anyone know of a good guitar book which includes these chords? Thanks!

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 10:33:31 AM Ken Richardson (6219) wrote: There are lots of chord books out there. A trip to the bookstore, (online or in person) or a trip to the library should do the trick. For Dadd2, would you start with a "normal" D chord in open position, then change it so the 1st string is open, giving you the E note (2nd of the scale) ? If so, it would be easy to change all the "D" shapes and "A" shapes to 2nd chords.

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 1:48:20 PM Rik Eischen (959) wrote: Thanks, Ken. I don't have a problem finding chord books. Just ones that include this type of chord.

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 10:43:42 AM Andrew Kinsella (3220) wrote: Rik, there is really good info here on Wholenote: Look at the dark brown toolbar at the top of this page and click onto the tab that says basics, scroll down that page for a heading that says "Guitar Theory Charts" and then click on the tab that says "Chord Theory Charts". It really pays to follow all the links on the basics page. Have fun Andrew

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 10:58:10 AM Andrew Kinsella (3220) wrote: On second thoughts that chart actually misses 2 chords and only refers to 4 chords. A 2 chord is usually called a sus2 chord ( sus is short for suspended) and it contains the first, second and fifth notes of the scale. So C sus2 contains the C,D and G ( but not the third). A Cmajor chord with an extra 2 in it would be called CAdd2. The chord would not be called a ninth unless it also had a flattened 7th in it as well. C9 = 1,3,5,b7 and 9 of the C major scale - ie C,E,G,Bb,and D. I understand that sus2 chords are often used in situations where the preceding chord contains the 2 note (the D in this case)- but that is about the limit of my grasp on it. Andrew

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 1:54:40 PM Rik Eischen (959) wrote: Andrew-- You're right! I haven't checked out all the cool resources here! I just became a member last night, so I was pretty tired when I was checking it out. I didn't know where to look, but you've helped me with that one. For review, I guess it never hurts to review a ""basics" page. Not everyone was a music major, and sometimes one person's explanation of theory makes a lot more sense than anothers. I have some looking around to do on this site. Thanks!

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 11:07:00 AM Steve Cass (14749) wrote: Hi Rik-- Welcome to the six string forum. How long have you been over at AB?? Anyway, good to hear from you. Anyway, to help with your question. I notice that you are a veteran musician, so you've probably been playing chords with the second added for a while but just not have known how to break down the chord. Basically, any chord that has a 2 after it or 'add2' is going to be a chord where the author of the song wants you to play the major triad (1-3-5) formation of the chord but substitute the 2 for the 3 (1-2-5). Usually this makes the chord 'neutral' or neither major nor minor. Normally, you would not find a 2 and a 3 together in a chord (but of course that always depends on the sound you want). Of course, there are plenty of different chord configurations and ways to play these chords, but here's a further breakdown: On the guitar fretboard, there are three basic shapes when playing a major or minor triad: The A, D and E shapes. When you figure out the 1-3-5 of them, all you need to do is to substitute the 2 for the 3. Keep in mind that most all of the chord formations contain repeats of the 1-3-5's throughout. For example: D The open D is the 1, the A note on the G string is the 5, the D note on the B string is a repeat of the 1, and the F# note on the E string is the 3. As it was said, if you play the bottom string as an open E, then that becomes the 2, and you have removed the 3. What happens if you use your thumb to play the F# on the top E? Then you've created a D chord using the first inversion, or you'll see on the chord charts something like D/F# (a D chord while also playing an F# bass note). But that's another story for another day! I only mention it for you to see that there is a difference. Playing a chord with a 2 means that you are constructing the chord by adding the 2 above the root note of D. I'm not sure why you can't find books out there that explain this, but I'm betting that you'll be able to figure this out for yourself! All the best, Steve

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 1:43:25 PM Rik Eischen (959) wrote: Thanks, Steve. That explanation really helps. Yes, at times I've played the chord (when the chord shape came with the music). Other times I've tried chord substitution, but I really did need to understand the hows and whys behind it. I appreciate the help!

• Respond to this Re: How Do I Make a Second Chord--eg. A2 6/13/2006 1:58:53 PM Rik Eischen (959) wrote: Steve, I've been at AB for 2-3 years on and off. I've been focusing in on 6-strings a little more lately! Figured it was about time I checked out WholeNote. I appreciate the welcome! Thanks.

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