Shell chords are three-note chords that keep only the root, the 3rd and the 7th, and leave out the 5th. The 3rd tells you if a chord is major or minor, and the 7th tells you if it’s stable or full of tension. On guitar you play them from the 6th and 5th strings.
When I started playing guitar, I was scared, quite literally, by the number of options we have when we play chords. It seemed like there were infinite ways to play a chord, which is just stressful. So this lesson keeps it to four colors and one very simple way to play them. We’ll listen first, then look at how shell chords are built, how they carry a whole song, and how to add color with extensions and open strings.
What are shell chords on guitar?
A shell chord is the core of a 7th chord: the root, the 3rd and the 7th. You keep the information that matters most and drop the rest.
Start with a triad. A C major triad is built from three notes, the 1, 3 and 5: C, E and G. (If triads are new to you, the guitar triads lesson is a good place to start.) Add the 7th, B, and you’ve got C major 7: C, E, G and B.
The most important notes in that chord are the 3 and the 7. The 3rd tells you if the chord is major or minor, which is a big deal. The 7th tells you if the chord is stable, more of a home base, or if there’s tension in it, the way there is in a dominant 7 chord. The root stays too, because it gives us valuable information. The 5th is the note we drop.
The five is cool, but it’s not as cool as a three and a seven.
Rotem Sivan
So a C major 7 shell is C, E and B, and a C7 shell is C, E and B flat. Same root, same 3rd. One note moves a half step, and the chord goes from home base to tension.
What do the four shell chord colors sound like?
Each of the four shell chords has its own emotional color, and hearing that color comes first. Close your eyes if it helps, listen, and try to describe what you feel on one chord versus another.
Here’s how they feel to me. Find your own words if mine don’t fit.
- Major 7. A feeling of stability. Some would call it tonic, or home base. In the video I play it as G major 7.
- Dominant 7. A lot of tension. We’re going somewhere. In the video, that’s G7.
- Minor 7. More softness, and some sadness compared to major. Something more minor, quite literally.
- Diminished. The darkness.
Please don’t skip this part. The fastest way to learn something is integrating it in our fingers, our ears and our mind, so take the time to listen and connect each color to an emotional place. These four colors give us the foundation to play almost anything.
How do you play shell chords from the 6th and 5th strings?
You learn the four colors in two places: from the 6th string and from the 5th string. It’s just a couple of shapes, but it sounds so good, and you can play any song with them. Watch the video closely for the fingerings.
The diminished shape does extra work. When I play G diminished, I’ll also use that shape for G half diminished. And if I’m in a G minor tonality, I might play G minor 6 as the tonic chord, using that same diminished shape instead of a regular G minor. I think that sounds good.
While you work on these, try not to test yourself. Take your time, learn the information, listen to the colors and feel how each chord sounds. In other words, practice them instead of quizzing yourself on them.
Can you play a whole song with just shell chords?
Yes. Whether it’s the Beatles, Coltrane, pop or rock, you can really do a lot with shell chords alone.
For me this was a huge revelation. You see all these songs with slash chords and 9s and 13s, and honestly, you don’t need that. You can add all the extensions and it’s beautiful, but the song itself is the shell chord. If the chart says D/F sharp and you just play D or D7, it’s going to sound correct. Maybe not as nuanced as the song, but it gives you the harmonic foundation you need.
So if you’re trying to learn a song, these shell chords are for you. When you’re ready for the ii-V-I, the ii-V-I guitar lesson is a good next stop.
How do you add extensions to shell chords?
A shell chord leaves you a finger free, and that finger adds the color. The 9ths, 13ths and altered notes all get added to the same three-note shape.
In the video I take four chords, F major 7, F minor 7, E flat major 7 and D flat major 7, and play them as shells. Then I do two things: first a hammer-on, and then I add the 9. How do I know where the 9 is? The shell chord is 1, 3, 7, and on F major 7 the 9 is G. I’m literally playing the shell chord with one finger left over, and I choose the 9. Then F minor with a 9, E flat with a 9.
- Add the 13. Take the G7 shell and add the 13 for a G7(13). You could try a flat 13, or something else.
- Alter the 9. Keep the same C7 shell and add a sharp 9, a 9 or a flat 9.
- Add open strings. Take a shape and add an open string to it. It won’t always work. Even with the major 7 shape, an open string will clash in one place and be beautiful in another, so just try it. Try an open E with the major 7 shape from the 6th string, the 5th string or both.
By knowing the shell chords, truly understanding them, singing them, listening to them and feeling them, we can really get a lot done.
A shell chord practice idea for today
One of the ways I find super helpful is to use the information in a creative way, maybe even write a song. So take the four chords from the video, F major 7, F minor 7, E flat major 7 and D flat major 7, and loop them as plain shells. Then add the 9 with your free finger, the way I do in the video, and listen to how the color changes.
If you want to rebuild your chords from the ground up, Jazz Chord Essentials covers how a 7th chord is built, the four main colors and every inversion on the 4th, 5th and 6th string sets. Shell chords are also part of Solo Mastery, my full framework for improvising, along with harmony, ear training and rhythm work.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in a shell chord?
A shell chord has three notes: the root, the 3rd and the 7th. The 5th is left out. For C major 7 that’s C, E and B. The 3rd tells you if the chord is major or minor, and the 7th tells you if it’s stable or tense.
What’s the difference between a shell chord and a triad?
A triad is built from the 1, 3 and 5, like C, E and G for C major. A shell chord keeps the 1 and the 3, drops the 5 and adds the 7, so it tells you right away what kind of 7th chord you’re playing.
Can you play songs using only shell chords?
Yes. Whether it’s the Beatles, Coltrane, pop or rock, you can do a lot with shell chords. If a chart says D/F sharp, playing D or D7 still sounds correct. It’s less nuanced than the original, but it gives you the harmonic foundation.
How do you add a 9th or 13th to a shell chord?
Keep the three-note shell and use your free finger for one extra note. On F major 7, the 9 is G. On a G7 shell you can add the 13 or try a flat 13. A C7 shell can take a sharp 9, a 9 or a flat 9.
Grab the shapes, take your time with them and listen. I do love me some shell chords, and I hope you’ll fall in love with these shapes too.
