Breaking The Chord Code: Guita - Brandon J. Smith
I am a seasoned guitar player. I was in a band for about 4 1/2 years. But before I grasped a firm understanding of how chords are formed, I found out that, I was wrong for half my life. I started out in about the year 2000 maybe more. I would sit on the couch and my dad would show me open chords on an old acoustic guitar from the 70s. However, although I was learning these chords, I was only taught the chords. I was never taught why the chords where why they were. To put it in other terms, I knew how to form an open “A minor” chord. However, I would not have known how to turn an “A Major” into an “A minor” because I didn’t know, at the time, what a triad was, let alone, how a triad is calculated. Once I started learning triads and how they work, it was a game changer for me. I could calculate any chord within minutes. Through this studying, I had discovered that I had been, for over 20 years, playing “dominant 7th” chords and mistakenly calling them “Major 7th” chords the whole time, it was quite startling. But it was an eye opener to how important learning chord theory really was. I also believed that 4th string “Major 7th” chords were 6th chords. So after I had grasped how triads work, I realized quickly that for 25 years, I didn’t really have a clue what notes I was playing and that I was calling certain chords by the wrong name. Once I started studying chord theory, I decided to write this book because there were a few people that wanted to learn guitar, but conflicting schedules made sure I wouldn't have sufficient time to teach them. So I decided to write a book on chord theory. I had a basic understanding of what I wanted to write and how I wanted to explain it, so in September 2023, it started out as concept notes on a page and by January 2024, I started typing it out, and a year later, it was published on Amazon Kindle January 4th 2025.
GENRE: Non-Fiction
Blurb:
This book is about what makes up a guitar chord, and why. Taking the reader by the hand and laying out, step-by-step, the root notes on the fretboard, it will help the reader study and recognize where these notes are so it takes the guesswork out of learning a song. Also, it shows the movable shapes of how different chords are constructed to the type of chord in question is simple to understand how to form while learning new things.
