How do you form chords?

Well chords are formed using stacked thirds, what i mean by that is that you'll have a root note, a third and a fifth (which is a 3rd above a 3rd). Now chords are formed using the major scale so in A major, an A major chord would be A C# E. A minor chord is simply just taking that same chord and lowering the third note, A C E. You might run into chords called diminished or augmented. Diminished chords like minor chords have the flatted third, but also have a flatted fifth. Augmented chords are similar to major chords except they have a raised fifth. Now as far as a chord like D7 goes, that is known as a dominant chord, which is a 7th chord. A 7th chord is built by adding another 3rd on top of the 5th. In A that would be G#. So Amajor7 would be spelled A C# E G#. However, sometimes you'll encounter a dominant chord, which is the same as a major chord, except the 7th is lowered. A minor7 chord is similar to a dominant chord except it has the lowered 3rd.

Is it really important to know this stuff?? It depends, some people (like myself) enjoy learning it, others don't and make great music. Keep learning your chords and above all just enjoy what you're doing, theory isn't the most important thing in playing.

To add to this here a list of chords:
C C E G 1 3 5
Cm C Eb G 1 3b 5
Cm/5b C Eb Gb 1 3b 5b
Caug C E G# 1 3 5#
Csus C F G 1 4 5
Cmaj7 C E G B 1 3 5 7
C7 C E G Bb 1 3 5 7b
Cm7 C Eb G Bb 1 3b 5 7b
Cm7/5b C Eb Gb Bb 1 3b 5b 7b
Cdim C Eb Gb A 1 3b 5b 7bb


The numbers refer to the notes of the C-major scale, with C being 1 and B being 7. So if you'd want to create a F#dim chord you'd take the F#-major scale, and take the 1 3b 5b and 7bb notes: F# A C D#. So learn how to create a major scale, learn the formulae above and you're pratically done.
is it really important to know this stuff or will i be better off just memorizing chord positions and their names like i've been doing?

There are around five triads and another five seventh chords that form the basic. I guess it's easier to understand it then learn every possible combination. In case you hadn't realises yet, there are thousand upon thousand upon thousand of chord voicings. If you only learn how to play them but not why you do so you can never try a different voicing since you don't know what you're doing. Learning the majority of theory behind chords should take you a rainy afternoon and will help you for the rest of your life. Notice that all minor and diminished chords have a flattened third. Note that only the xmaj7 chords has a 7, all other chords have a 7b except the diminished chord, which has a 7bb (double flattened, basically a 6). Note that diminished and xm/5b chords have a 5b, all other chords have a normal 5. These four rules are basically it. The only extra stuff you'll often see are such things as 'add9' or 'add11#' and such, and these explain themselves. a Cadd9 is a basic C chord with a 9th added: C E G D. A Caug-add11# is a basic C-dim chord with an 11# added: C E G# F#.

In general: learning the basics of any aspect of music pays off. Learn a bit of rhythm, lead, theory and notation and then decide what you want to specialise in. It makes your life a whole lot easier.

Well chords are formed using stacked thirds, what i mean by that is that you'll have a root note, a third and a fifth (which is a 3rd above a 3rd). Now chords are formed using the major scale so in A major, an A major chord would be A C# E. A minor chord is simply just taking that same chord and lowering the third note, A C E. You might run into chords called diminished or augmented. Diminished chords like minor chords have the flatted third, but also have a flatted fifth. Augmented chords are similar to major chords except they have a raised fifth. Now as far as a chord like D7 goes, that is known as a dominant chord, which is a 7th chord. A 7th chord is built by adding another 3rd on top of the 5th. In A that would be G#. So Amajor7 would be spelled A C# E G#. However, sometimes you'll encounter a dominant chord, which is the same as a major chord, except the 7th is lowered. A minor7 chord is similar to a dominant chord except it has the lowered 3rd.

are you talking about the rule thats like the formula for major scales is WWHWWWH...(w meaning whole step and h meaning half step) ?

thanks guys for all your help, and i know this is probably as basic as you can get, but i dont really know what you're talking about as far as "thirds" and "fifths"
go :?:

I was talking about that scale, say you have a major scale. C major:

C D E F G A B

Now to name all these notes, in any key, we have a thing called intervals. The C in C major is the root or unison, D is the 2nd, E is the 3rd, F is the 4th, G is the 5th, and so on.

Just a little clarification. In the key of C (we use C as an example, because it has no sharps or flats), the numbers, given to the position in the scale (C=1, D=2, E=3, etc) are called scale degrees. C is the 1st degree, D is the 2nd, etc.
Intervals, as the name suggests, are the name, given to a sequence of notes, in a scale. The number is determined by how many note names appear, in the sequence. So, C to itself, is called unison (there is only one note name, in the sequence). C to the next C is called an octave. C to D is a 2nd interval, because there are 2 note names involved (C & D). C to B is a 7th interval (C, D, E, F, G, A, B), because there are 7 note names, in the sequence. You can, also, calculate intervals, within a scale, not just from the root. In C, D to G is a 4th interval (4 note names - D, E, F, G).
Let's look at the Cmajor chord - C-E-G. As steve-o wrote, chords are built from stacked 3rds, so let's start with C and build a 3rd - "C - D - E" (3 note names, remember?), so the first of the 3rds, in the stack, will be C & E. To get the second 3rd, we start at E and build another 3rd - "E - F - G". Our basic C major chord, is C-E-G.

are you talking about the rule thats like the formula for major scales is WWHWWWH...(w meaning whole step and h meaning half step) ?

You've got it. Use the scale you end up with that formula, find out which note is what scale degree using Greybeard's post and then use the various formulae from my first post. Example, Gm7:

G-major scale: G A B C D E F#
Chord formula: 1 3b 5 7b
Chord: G (tonic=root=first scale degree), Bb (flattened third), D (fifth scale degree, these three together form a minor triad because the third is flattenend), F#b=F (flattened seventh).

Here are a couple of useful tables:

Harmonising the major scale
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 C D E F G A B C Chord no. Chord name.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 3 5 C E G I C major
2 4 6 D F A ii D minor
3 5 7 E G B iii E minor
4 6 8 F A C IV F major
5 7 9 G B D V G major
6 8 10 A C E vi A minor
7 9 11 B D F vii° B diminished

Construction of some common chord types
Chord Notes
--------------------
major 1 3 5
6 1 3 5 6
7 1 3 5 b7
maj7 1 3 5 7
9 1 3 5 b7 9
maj9 1 3 5 7 9
13 1 3 5 b7 13
add9 1 3 5 9
sus2 1 2 5
sus4 1 4 5
5 1 5
minor 1 b3 5
min7 1 b3 5 b7
min9 1 b3 5 b7 9
min11 1 b3 5 b7 11
dim 1 b3 b5
dim7 1 b3 b5 bb7 (6)
min7b5 1 b3 b5 b7
aug 1 3 #5
6/9 1 3 5 6 9

Note that 9=2, 11=4 and 13=6

wait what do the b's and bb's stand for?

b = flat
bb = double flat.

It's important to note that, if I flatten an "F", it becomes "Fb" not E, even though they are the same pitch. The same applies to , say "G", if I double flat it, I get "Gbb" not "F".
By keeping the name, I keep the interval. "A" to "C" is a (minor) third, as are:
A to Cb (diminished 3rd, A to B would be a major 2nd)
A to C# (major 3rd)
A to Cx (= double sharp, augmented 3rd. A to D would be a 4th)
Ab to C (major 3rd)
Ab to Cb (minor 3rd, Ab to B would be an augmented 2nd)
Ab to C# (augmented 3rd)
A# to C (diminished 3rd)
A# to Cb (double diminished 3rd, A# to B would be a minor 2nd)
A# to C# (minor 3rd)