Build Your Own Chords Explanation

Use the following spreadsheets depending on what tuning you are using.

The 8 BYO Adjustable page allows you to put in your own tuning.

Instructions for using the spreadsheets

Type the notes you want to consider in the yellow cell.

cdefgabhijkl

First, just try different notes. Delete the notes there already (the full chromatic scale) and type in one note and hit return. Try c. The fretboard shows every place where a c occurs.

Note that the spreadsheet is not smart enough to figure out what accidentals are. If you type in f#, it will show f and ignore the sharp. Instead, use these substitutions

Bb/A#=h Eb/D#=i Ab/G#=j Db/C#=k Gb/F#=l

Now type in a chord and press return. Try ceg. The notes of the chord appear on the fretboard automatically. Also, the notes appear in the partial fretboards to the right. This is where you have to do some work. The white sections are not editable, but you can edit the green sections underneath.

o			o		o
				1
		2
3	3				3

		5	5	5

Start deleting notes until you find a form that works for you. Change the top row to x for muted notes. To delete unwanted cells in the online version, double click the cell. Reload the page to reset the deleted cells.

x			o		o
				1
		2
	3

Use the Formula for Complex Chords guidelines to help form the best chord forms.

Transpositions

Now look at the grey rows underneath the white rows. This is the same group of notes translated into G. The ceg became gbd magically. Repeat the process of deleting notes from the g section as needed.

Notice that the open form chords do not have editable versions other than in C. Editing all those forms would be lots of unnecessary work. Instead, look at the far-left column marked Offset. The offset is the number of frets to move down the neck from the C chord to reach the G chord. So, this version of C

8				8	8
			9
	10	10

Subtracted five each time to transpose to G.

3				3	3
			4
	5	5

If subtracting five would run off the end of the neck, add 7 (12-5)

3	3				3

		5	5	5

Offset by +7 to get to G becomes

10	10				10

		12	12	12

So, always subtract by the offset or add by 12 minus the offset.

For D, offset 10, move chords down 10 frets or up 2 frets.

Transposing Chords with Roots other than C

The transpositions work even if c is not part of the chord. Type in dfa, the ii chord in C. Now the G fields show ace, the ii chord in G, and all other keys transpose in a similar manner.

Scales

Scales also work in the spreadsheet. Suppose you wanted to find fingerings for the Hungarian Gypsy scale, a minor scale with the fourth and seventh raised. Type in the scale in C,

cdilgjb (cde_bf#ga_bb)

Then find places on the fretboard that look like useable fingerings. One might be

2	2				2
3	3			3	3
4		4	4	4	4
	5	5	5

The scale exercises show all 3302 possible scales. If you find a scale you like, try creating arpeggios and chords that derive from the scale.