Originally Posted by: larryagg

That chord (cadd9) seems to be different than when I see it on the Internet. I know that you can't always trust the Internet, but I figured I would just ask this question. Which is the correct way?

[p]Those are all correct. There are many ways to voice any given chord on the guitar.

All major and minor chords are formed by playing some combination of the 1st, 3rd & 5th scale degrees of their parent scale. Any place on the guitar you can find & play those 3 notes together are a potential way to play or "voice" that chord.

For example, the C major chord is formed by playing these notes any place you can find them on a musical instrument.

c (1st or root of C major scale)

e (major 3rd of C major scale)

g (5th of C major scale)

So, this is a C major chord.

|--------------------|

|--------------------|

|--0-(g)------------|

|--2-(e)------------|[br]|--3-(c)------------|

|--------------------|

And this:

|--------------------|

|--1-(c)------------|

|--0-(g)------------|

|--2-(e)------------|

|--------------------|

|--------------------|

And this:

|--0-(e)------------|

|--1-(c)------------|

|--0-(g)------------|

|--------------------|

|--------------------|

|--------------------|

And that's why this one is commonly taught as a C major chord. It uses most of the strings, the root note is on the bottom & that creates a full, rich sound on the guitar.

|--0-(e)------------|

|--1-(c)------------|

|--0-(g)------------|

|--2-(e)------------|[br]|--3-(c)------------|

|--------------------|

Same principle works for the Cadd9.

Cadd9:

c (1st)

e (major 3rd)

g (5th)

d (2nd or 9th an octave higher)

Any place on the guitar you can play those 4 notes together is a Cadd9 chord.

|--0-(e)------------|

|--1-(c)------------|

|--0-(g)------------|

|--0-(d)------------|[br]|--3-(c)------------|

|--------------------|

|--0-(e)------------|

|--3-(d)------------|

|--0-(g)------------|

|--2-(e)------------|[br]|--3-(c)------------|

|--------------------|

|--3-(g)------------|

|--3-(d)------------|

|--0-(g)------------|

|--2-(e)------------|[br]|--3-(c)------------|

|--------------------|

These are all simply different ways of combining the same 4 notes over & again. They all have the characteristic sound of the chord, but with variations. Some voicings double certain notes, some do not, the result is that some voicings have more or less bass or treble, a lower or higher timbre, more or less bright, more or less full.

I cover the basics of chord theory, triads & inversions here.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=824

Some instructors like to start with one voicing versus another. Sometimes this is due to the musical context in which the chord is taught (the complimentary chords in the tutorial for example). Other times it's just a personal preference.

From a practical perspective, as a beginner you can pick either one & it's fine. They are both Cadd9. Eventually if you keep learning and playing guitar you will need to know both anyway for different musical contexts.

Hope that helps! Have fun practicing!