Hammond Chord Organ Chord Buttons

Ninety-six buttons. Like the tone tablets, the chord buttons have a unique feel, and seem to beg to be pushed.

The number ninety-six seems daunting, but really there are only eight types of chords, which form the rows of the chord button area. Each of these eight chords is available for each of the twelve notes in the chromatic scale. Each note forms a column. So eight times twelve is ninety-six.

The rows are divided up by two metal wickets. The three rows of buttons between the wickets are the "standard" chords: the major, the minor, the seventh. The major and the seventh are the two most commonly used chords.

The two rows of buttons above the top wicket are the "warm" chords: the sixth and the ninth. The three rows of buttons below the bottom wicket are the "cool" chords: the diminshed, the augmented, and the minor 7th.

Here is the makeup of each of the eight chord types on the Hammond Chord Organ.

major: formed by the first, third, and fifth notes of the scale; for example, C, E, and G in the key of C. The most common chord.
minor: like the major, but with a flatted third, so C, E flat, and G in the key of C. The "sad" chord.
seventh: a major chord with a flatted seventh added, so C, E, G, and B flat in the key of C. Not to be confused with a "major seventh" or a "minor seventh".
sixth: the major plus the sixth notes of the scale, so C, E, G, and A in the key of C.
ninth: a seventh chord, plus the ninth note of scale, so C, E, G, B flat, and D in the key of C. The ninth note of the scale is the same as the second note, but "ninth" sounds better than "twoth".
diminished: like a minor, but with both the third and the fifth flatted, so C, E flat, and G flat for the key of C.
augmented: a major with the fifth sharpened, so C, E, and G sharp for the key of C.
minor seventh: a seventh with a flatted third, so C, E flat, G, and B flat for the key of C.

There are a great many other possible chords out there, but the Chord Organ's selection does cover a lot of ground. Probably the major omission is the "major seventh" chord, which is a seventh chord where the seventh is not flatted, or C, E, G, and B (natural) for the key of C. The major seventh was not often used in popular music up until Bossa Nova craze of the 1960s. But "Girl from Ipanema" just doesn't sound the same without it.

Of course, you can always add notes in the right hand to fill in whatever is missing from the chord button you're pressing.

Drop a note to the author: CLONK