Linnstrument Chord Reference

These chord diagrams are applicable for any note grid that uses semitones for one axis, and fourths for the other. I was first introduced to this idea by Matthew Davidson’s fourths for Monome and have since embraced it fully, even for my guitar.

When I first got my Linnstrument, I created diagrams like this as sketchnotes, but recently wanted a print-out for handy reference while practicing, and figured I’d share with everyone. I’ve done this on the web instead of a drawing program because I eventually want to make an interactive chord explorer that works with other grid spacings than fifths.

These diagrams improve on the sketchnotes by displaying many possible articulations at once. This helps me learn both hand and note articulations based on which hand I’m using, if I’ve hit the top or bottom of the eight rows, and other situations where context calls requires something slightly different.

I like these diagrams as well because they help me — as someone whose music theory is self-taught — associate the various flavors of seventh, sixth, and ninth chords with properties from augmented, suspended and diminished chords. It’s really easy to see that a major/minor seventh (also called the dominant seventh) is built on the backbone of the tritonal relationship between the 3 and 7, for instance.