Learning chords involves distinguishing between major and minor to create songs with distinctive sounds. Understanding which ones belong to either major or minor chords is vital when learning about how songs sound as whole entities.
The difference lies in one interval – the third. Major scales possess a major third while minor ones contain one that is minor.
Major Chords
Chords are an essential component of music. Not only are they used to build melodies and create tension, but major chords also offer many ways to add melody and create tension. Some common examples are C, D and E major chords; C major seventh chords may also be formed by adding the seventh degree of any major scale into an equation as noted as Cmaj7 or CM7 notation.
A major chord is a type of triad, consisting of three notes which combine to form its basic harmony. The root note in a major chord is known as its root note while its other two notes, known as major thirds and perfect fifths, provide major thirds and perfect fifth intervals away from it respectively.
Major chords offer another interesting feature – their extensions can be extended by adding seventh or ninth intervals, giving the chord a distinct and emotional sound. While you can do this with any chord, major seventh and major maj9 chords typically benefit from such enhancements.
Minor Chords
As their name suggests, minor chords consist of the 1st note, an inverted or flattened 3rd tone and flat fifth scale degrees; additionally they also contain a key feature called a minor seventh chord which provides their distinctive sound.
They often give off an atmosphere of melancholy and sadness, often serving as the basis for songs written in minor keys that address melancholy or despair.
Musicians and songwriters rely heavily on minor chords as an effective element for tonic and predominant roles; for example, Radiohead’s Creep contains an iv progression which works effectively as the tonic chord for its minor key track.
Songmakers can incorporate minor chords in another way by employing the minor seventh chord as its dominant. This chord combines major triads with the seventh degree of minor scale to produce an exciting yet familiar sound, such as in Britney Spears’ Toxic song.
Inversions
Chords are composed of one or more notes that come together to form what are known as “triads.” A major chord usually contains the first, third, and fifth notes from its scale.
Minor chords contain all of the same intervals as major triads, but with an altered third tone created by flattening one third note to create an altered, minor-sounding interval and give these chords their characteristic sound.
Based on your key, there may be different inversions of a chord. The lowest note in any chord is its root or bass note; to find its roots quickly in C, start at its lowest note and count up three half steps until reaching “flat”.
Start by counting up four half steps until the fifth note of C, which serves as the root for a C major seventh chord, written as Cm7. When working with chords containing more than three notes, their number of inversions varies based on how many notes comprise it – for instance a C major seventh chord has two inversions while G9 chords require four!
Triads
Triads form the fundamental harmonic building blocks of tonal music. These consonant three-note chords serve as the cornerstone of all tonal pieces, yet are easy to play. Triads come in four varieties – major, minor, diminished and augmented – each producing different sounds depending on where their root lies in relation to third or fifth (see diagram above).
Major and minor triads are two of the most prevalent musical triads. Major triads typically sound complete and resolved, making them commonly described as being happy or bright; minor triads sound incomplete and less resolved compared to their major counterparts and are frequently described as melancholic or sad.
There are other types of triads as well, most frequently the major seventh chord which adds the seventh degree of the minor scale (known as flat seventh ) to a major triad, notated as C maj 7 or CM7 or C7. Another popular variation is diminished triad which features minor thirds and flat fifths – this example can be heard here on Guitar Center.