Understanding major chords as a beginner piano player is of great significance, since major triads will play an essential part in many styles of music and are integral parts of progressions.
Major triads consist of three notes stacked one upon another. Their root note (D) remains constant while four half steps separate them to produce the major third and three additional half steps to create the perfect fifth chord.
Root
Root chords (commonly referred to as bottom chords) are the first chord in any song and consist of the first note from a major scale as its base (known as its root); four half steps higher is called its third note while seven half steps higher up is its fifth note – together these form what’s known as a major triad.
Each note in a major scale is denoted by its letter name; this includes black keys. Thus, for instance, C major chord is written out as E G C.
Chords can also be altered by adding tones above the root. This modification is indicated by adding numbers after each chord symbol; for instance, Cmaj7 means you’ll add seventh tone above root.
Third
A major chord is composed of three notes, including its root, third note (major or minor tone above root), and fifth. This third tone determines whether the chord is major or minor; you can alter its character by adding extra tones like sus2, sus4 or even maj9 into any given triad, giving rise to new variations with different characteristics of its original chord.
Triads are an integral component of music, so it’s crucial that you learn their construction and functionality. Once you master a triad, your songwriting and improvising skills will improve exponentially; try playing different rhythms to see which work best.
Fifth
As you progress through the major scales, you’ll encounter chord intervals used in longer sequences of chords called “chord progressions”, which have become very popular in contemporary pop and rock music.
Additions of notes can add spice and depth to a chord, giving it more texture and nuance. You may notice these tones indicated with numbers after the chord symbol – each number corresponds with a tone above its root note in its associated scale.
An essential addition note is the major seventh. This can be created by adding the seventh note from a major scale to any triad, commonly referred to as a dominant 7th chord and written as root, 3, flat 7. Learning this chord structure can help reduce tension that would otherwise exist between its third and fifth notes in any triad tetrad structure.
Sus2
Sus chords (or sus4 chords) are triads where one of the thirds has been replaced with either 2 or 4. While this breaks one of the basic rules of chord formation, it opens up exciting harmonic possibilities.
Fundamentally, minor chords resemble major chords but with less chromaticism – making them more useful as well as opening up opportunities for quartal improvisation – making this approach popular with musicians such as Shorter, Brookmeyer, and Patitucci.
Figure 5 depicts a Csus2 chord whereby the open string is muted with the underside of your second finger to avoid ringing, for a unique sound on bass guitar and soundboards alike. Experiment by switching back and forth between this shape and standard C major shapes as desired.
Sus4
Sus4 chords can add tension and anticipation to songs when used within major chord progressions, creating tension with its use as part of chord layering techniques with other chords in your left hand and sus2 shapes in your right.
Be mindful that when reading sus chords written with slash chord symbols, the first letter indicates which chord to play in your right hand and the second indicates which bass notes to use in your left. So, for instance, when reading C7sus4 in sheet music, play C notes in your left hand and F notes in your right.
sus chords have less pressure to resolve than other triads due to not including a third tone; that makes them ideal for ending phrases with sus chords like this haunting piano riff from Radiohead’s Message In A Bottle album.