Add Chords

An add chord is any chord with extra notes added. The additional notes can be written as numbers or letters. They are written like CaddF# or Gadd9.

If the added note is written as a number, the number represents the scale index of the note to be added, in the scale (major or natural minor) associated with the chord. (After seven, the numbers wrap, so “add9” is the same as “add2”, at least for us guitar players.)

For example, the Gadd9 chord is a G major chord, but it has the second note in the G major scale added in, that is, the A note. A Gadd9 chord has the following notes:

And here is one way to play it:

• Listen to a Gadd9 chord.
• See more ways to play Gadd9 on guitar, using the Chorderator.

That’s really all there is to know about add chords. They are a simple but quite powerful way to give a name to any combination of notes.