No matter if you’re writing or playing, understanding harmony laws is vital to creating more engaging songs. Learning about chord construction helps build tension and adds depth.
Many are aware that major chords tend to sound happy while minor chords sound sad due to how our ears perceive sounds.
Root Note
A chord consists of three notes called its root note and two additional ones (third and fifth notes) added together as its chord structure – this rule holds for both major and minor chords; thus it’s important to understand how scales work.
Key and chords in a song can elicit strong emotional reactions in listeners while adding musical meaning to its lyrics. Research has revealed that sad music tends to employ minor chords while happy tunes tend to use major ones.
Root notes are the thickest strings you press with your hands when playing chords; this note serves as the basis of all other strings within it and forms part of its foundation. Sometimes this root note will even be the lowest note in its scale – chords being composed using intervals with distinct patterns for every scale position – making learning them much simpler!
Minor Third
Have you heard the cliche that major is synonymous with sunny, and minor with dark? Well, some popular songs prove otherwise; for instance REM’s poignant “Everybody Hurts” and Adele’s heartbreaking “Someone Like You,” both major compositions.
One key distinction between major and minor intervals is their respective distance between notes; minor thirds feature closer spacing than their major counterparts (also referred to as an augmented second), with minor thirds covering two staff positions versus three for major ones.
As you practice scales and chord patterns, pay particular attention to the third. With practice you’ll quickly be able to recognize it by ear, and it will make an enormous difference in how your chords and scales sound. Moving melodies down a minor third can give modal tunes a bluesy sound without leaving dissonant landmines for others – for instance try playing Greensleeves or For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow using flattened thirds in its opening notes as examples!
Perfect Fifth
Some will assert that Major chords make one feel happy while Minor ones make them sad; while this statement may be accurate in certain instances, there are plenty of other examples which don’t fall neatly into either category of major=happy and minor=sadness.
Remind yourself that chords don’t need to be built upon scales to qualify as major or minor; rather, their intervals define major or minor timbre. Most commonly seen in music are triads which differ between major and minor by having larger or smaller thirds.
Major chords consist of root note and third, while minor chords have an added fourth to alter its interval and create a minor tone. Because of this difference, many popular songs utilize minor thirds such as John Lennon’s Imagine or Britney Spears’ Toxic; however this doesn’t rule out using major thirds within major songs, or vice versa; balance and harmony are key!
Major Third
The Major third is an integral component of Major scale music. It defines its sound and represents a significant transition point from major scales to minor ones.
Equal temperament (used on guitar) dictates that three successive Major thirds equal an octave, such as C-D-E. However, just intonation (used for just intonation on bass guitar) changes this so a Major third from C is less than an octave; for example B# (C-E-G#).
Major sounds generally upbeat while Minor often sounds sad or depressive, however there are many examples of songs which do not fall neatly into these two categories; for instance REM’s heartbreaking “Everybody Hurts” by is in major, while Peggy Lee’s passionate “Fever” by Peggy Lee falls into minor territory.
Another example is the dominant seventh chord, which combines a major triad and minor seventh. This creates a bright, happy sound even though it’s written in a minor key as the minor seventh has a flattened major third that gives off positive energy.