ESSENTIAL

HIPHOP
CHORDS
Introduction_______

Pg. 4

Minor Chords______

Pg. 7

Major Chords______

Pg. 12

Sus Chords________

Pg. 17

Specialty Chords__

Pg. 21

Chord Progressions

Pg. 23

Index______________

Pg. 24

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All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be distributed or

reproduced by any means including electronic, photocopying,
mechanical, recording or otherwise without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
Some content of this ebook is subject to change based on the
evolution of technology. Product names identified in this ebook
are used in editorial fashion only and Nusong Productions LLC
is not associated with any product mentioned.
This ebook Copyright 2013 by Nusong Productions LLC
written by JayJay Johnson aka JFilt
cover design by J. Johnson

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Introduction
Many beat makers are not musicians but choose to
sample musicians thru vinyl, mp3s, ect. Others may hire
musicians to play out their ideas on various instruments.
Some high profile producers do this, but everyone
cannot afford to.
This is where this ebook comes in handy. Now you
will have access to operating like a musician. How???
By using your 16 pad drum machine as a keyboard. As
you continue thru these pages, you will find an essential
vocabulary of chords to use for the creation of sample
free hiphop music.
Serving as a reference guide for the use of your drum
machine as a keyboard, this FIRST of its KIND ebook will
help ALL beatmakers excel to the next level. For more
info visit www.howtomakeverysickbeats.com.

Key Factors
- Must have midi 16 Pad drum machine
- Applies to all skill levels
- No musical training required
- Easy to read 16 Pad diagrams
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Terminology
Its important to note that there are a few terms that may
not be familiar and need explaining so here it is.

Chord- a group of notes played at the same time

Inversion- the arrangement of notes of a chord being
played in a different order
(For example, C major 1st inversion is in this order: E,G,C instead of the
original C,E,G)

Major- type of chord that sounds happy or feel good

Minor- type of chord that sounds dramatic or dark
Root- original chord with the 1st note being the bass
Shape- a pattern used to give a specific form or look
Suspension- type of chord that sounds jazzy
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The Technique
After programming your drum machine to play notes
chromatically from Pad 1 to Pad 16, (check your manual to
do this). Assign Pad 1 to the key of C and follow the
diagrams. Each diagram represents a chord defined by the
darkened pads in conjunction with Pad 1 starting at middle
C like on a piano. Just simply look at the diagram and
press ONLY the darkened pads on your drum machine.

Requirement
Virtually all drum machines with 16 pads in a 4x4
formation and has midi capabilities. Examples: All NI
Maschine models, Roland MV8000/MV8800, all Mpcs
except for the 500, and any midi drum machine
controller in the following style...
Pad

Key

Pad

Key

Ab/G#

C#/Db

10

11

Bb/A#

Eb/D#

10

11

12

12

13

14

C#/Db

F#/Gb

15

16

Eb/D#

13

14

15

16

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Minor Chords
Ab min

Minor Root

E min

SHAPE 1

C min

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Minor Root
SHAPE 2
C# min

D min

Eb min

F min

F# min

G min

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Minor Inversion 1
SHAPE 1
Eb min

B min

D min

Bb min

C# min

A min

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Minor Inversion 2
SHAPE 1

B min

G min

Bb min

F# min

A min

F min

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Minor Inversion 1
SHAPE 2
C min

Minor Inversion 2
SHAPE 2
Ab min

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Major Chords
Ab maj

Major Root

E maj

SHAPE 1

C maj

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Major Root
SHAPE 2
F maj

C# maj

F# maj

D maj

G maj

Eb maj

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Major Inversion 1
SHAPE 1
Eb maj

B maj

D maj

Bb maj

C# maj

A maj

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Major Inversion 2
SHAPE 1
B maj

G maj

Bb maj

F# maj

A maj

F maj

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Major Inversion 1
SHAPE 2
Ab maj

C maj

Major Inversion 2
SHAPE 2
Ab maj

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16

Suspension Chords
C sus

Suspension

E sus

SHAPE 1

Ab sus

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Suspension
SHAPE 2

F sus

F# sus

C# sus

D sus

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Suspension
SHAPE 3
G sus

Eb sus

Suspension
SHAPE 4
B sus

G sus

Eb sus

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Suspension
SHAPE 5

A sus

Bb sus

F sus

F# sus

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Specialty Chords
Cm7

All specialty chords are in the

key of C, but can be
transposed to any key you
like as long as each note is in
chromatic order. For
instance, if Pad 1 on your
drum machine is the key of
F(see below), then Pad 2
should be F#, Pad 3 should
be G and so on. All of these
specialty chords would be in
the key of F(Fm7, Fm9,
ect...).
Pad 2

Pad 1

Cm7 (b5)

Cm9

Pad 3
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C maj7

C7

C maj9

C7(b9)

C diminished

C7(#9)

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Chord Progressions
A chord progression is a combination of chords that can be
used to make your beats with. The sky is the limit when it
comes to creating your own combinations. There are no rules
to how many bars a chord has to have or how many chords
you have to use for a beat. Do you and have fun!
Examples of chord progressions to play with...
EX. 1
Bb min

C diminished

EX. 2
C7(#9)

F min

Bb min

D maj

F# min

G maj

Ab maj

Eb maj

Bb maj

EX. 3
E min

EX. 4
C# maj

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C min

23

N = inversion
S = shape

Index

R = root

Chord

Page

Chord

Page

C Minor RS1

Eb Major N1S1

14

C Minor N1S2

11

Eb Sus S3/S4

19

C Major RS1

12

E Minor RS1

C Major N1S2

16

E Major RS1

12

C Sus S1

17

E Sus S1

17

Cm7

21

F Minor RS2

Cm7 (b5)

21

F Minor N2S1

10

Cm9

21

F Major RS2

13

C7

22

F Major N2S1

15

C7 (b9)

22

F Sus S2

18

C7 (#9)

22

F Sus S5

20

C Major 7

22

F# Minor RS2

C Major 9

22

F# Minor N2S1

10

C Diminished

22

F# Major RS2

13

C# Minor RS2

F# Major N2S1

15

C# Minor N1S1

F# Sus S2

18

C# Major RS2

13

F# Sus S5

20

C# Major N1S1

14

G Minor RS2

C# Sus S2

18

G Minor N2S1

10

D Minor RS2

G Major RS2

13

D Minor N1S1

G Major N2S1

15

D Major RS2

13

G Sus S3/S4

19

D Major N1S1

14

Ab Minor RS1

D Sus S2

18

Ab Minor N2S2

11

Eb Minor RS2

Ab Major RS1

12

Eb Minor N1S1

Ab Minor N1S2

16

Eb Major RS2

13

Ab Sus S1

17

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N = inversion
S = shape

R = root

Chord

Page

A Minor N1S1

A Minor N2S1

10

A Major N1S1

14

A Major N2S1

15

A Sus S5

20

Bb Minor N1S1

Bb Minor N2S1

10

Bb Major N1S1

14

Bb Major N2S1

15

Bb Sus S5

20

B Minor N1S1

B Minor N2S1

10

B Major N1S1

14

B Major N2S1

15

B Sus S4

19

Chord Progressions

23

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25