C major scale is unique among scales because it contains no accidentals (sharps or flats). As a result, all chords within it are natural.
Each major key contains three ‘primary’ chords that correspond with its first, fourth and fifth notes in scale – for instance in C there would be three primary chords: C, E and G.
Triads
Triads are essential building blocks of chords. Composed of three or more notes arranged in thirds with their lowest note (known as the root) at the base and highest note arranged above it, these triads fall under four categories – major, minor, diminished and augmented – named for quality of interval between root and third and root and fifth note respectively.
Each triad has its own distinct sound. For instance, the major triad comprises three notes C E G with E being a perfect fifth above its root chord to provide stability and balance in sound quality. This form of triad has an overall pleasing sound often employed in classical music composition.
A minor triad is composed of the notes A C E and its E is placed as a minor sixth above its root note. A major triad differs in that its third note is minor while its sixth note major.
A diminished triad has its own distinct sound; composed of notes B D F in dark tonality. This type of triad can be used in any key of C major as well as minor scales.
When creating triads, it is vital to keep in mind that each chord must be rooted on its respective scale degree for optimum sound. A chord needs to be completely stable before sounding good – if one of its notes falls outside its respective root scale degree then this could make the triad sound disjointed and unstable.
Beyond triads, other chords that can be built from the major scale include first inversion, second inversion and suspended chords – these typically appear in rock and pop songs.
Memorizing the triads in one key is an invaluable way to quickly play them, and can serve as replacement chords in any song you perform. Doing this will allow you to learn how to improvise faster while expanding your musical vocabulary with unique sounds.
Sevenths
A seventh chord is created by stacking three-note triads together in thirds to produce an amalgam of notes that sounds much richer than their individual components. There are numerous varieties of seventh chords; major, minor, diminished and augmented are among the more widely known variants; these chords can also be combined with different kinds of triads to produce even richer sounding chords.
These chords, commonly referred to as tritone-containing chords, feature a triangle-shaped interval between their base notes. Such tritone-containing intervals tend to be treated similarly to any diatonic chord – for instance the iii in minor is often treated as a major-major seventh chord while its semi-diminished seventh counterpart, the vii in minor, may sometimes be treated like another diatonic seventh chord.
A dominant seventh chord can be an invaluable addition to a progression, providing strong resolution at key moments within songs and cadences alike. When using this chord type in a progression or cadence, its powerful resolution provides smooth transition into new parts of the song’s structure. When playing dominant seventh chords it is important to keep certain aspects in mind such as root note, fifth note and seventh note relationships as you might when using other chord types such as major third.
If you’re new to playing dominant seven chords, finding examples online may be beneficial in understanding what it sounds like and how they work; plus they will show how to finger them on the fretboard.
Once you’ve learned the chords for C major scale, you can start exploring various chord progressions. Experimentation can help you discover new songs while adding color to your musical experience.
Your first chord to try should be a dominant seven chord with a flat 5. This chord is easy to play, with its root note located on the 15th fret of the second string. Depending on your personal tastes and needs, this chord may be altered either up or down by one fret.
The major 7 chord is a stand-out feature in pop music and can be found playing various positions across the fretboard. When combined with other triads, its melodies stand out even more strikingly and create unique melodies for musical compositions.
Extended chords
Chord extensions are an effective way to broaden the chord selection available to guitarists. By taking a regular triad and adding one or more additional notes from higher up on the scale, chord extensions create new sounds and enable more complex progressions. Chord extensions are popularly found in jazz and classical music but can also be applied in many other genres as well. Chords containing five or more notes may prove difficult to play simultaneously when played an octave apart; this often results in clashes of bass and treble sounds which may become unpleasant for listeners – this explains why chords with five or more notes often carry suspension symbols like Cmaj7 and Cm7 when playing an octave apart.
There are various categories of extended chords, each determined by how many notes have been added to a basic triad. Seventh chords are the most prevalent form of extended chord, adding seventh scale degree harmonies to standard major or minor triads. Ninth and thirteenth chords require adding an octave worth of additional notes on top of that basic triad chord.
A chord’s number of notes also dictates its voiced expression; for example, a D minor triad can either sound as a C major chord, or an arpeggiated B diminished chord without its root (Bb). Therefore, jazz musicians typically refrain from playing all six notes of any chord at once; polychord voicings are used when performing chords containing six or more notes.
As part of your basic chord knowledge, it’s essential that you learn about the structure and function of each type of chord. Once you understand these fundamentals, creating more advanced chord progressions becomes easy. Although extended chords are more challenging to learn than basic triads, with hard work you can master these chords and incorporate them into your songs.
Suspended chords
Suspended chords may not be as well-known, but they can add an intriguing tension to your music. A suspended chord replaces its third with either a second or fourth above its root note, providing movement within chord progressions or serving as an alternative to major and minor chords in certain situations.
Suspended chords can be found across many musical genres, from classical to jazz and pop. Suspended chords are particularly prevalent in jazz music and can create tension and excitement within your music. Furthermore, suspended chords help improvisationists develop new melodies quickly.
Suspended chords come in various forms, but two that are most widely used are sus2 and sus4. These suspended chords are based on major triads but instead of having a major third above the root note, they use either a second or fourth instead – this alters its harmony to neither major nor minor chord. Musicians typically employ both sus2 and sus4 chords in their music as sus2 tend to resolve into major/minor chords while sus4’s tend towards minor/major ones
If you want to try your hand at suspended chords, start by adapting familiar chord shapes by changing out one third for another, such as second or fourth inversions of them or different inversions altogether – just be careful that any flattened third is avoided – this won’t work!
Another popular form of suspended chord is the dominant nine-sus-4 chord. This chord combines elements of both dominant seventh and dominant ninth to create tension and anticipation within music; often used in jazz music (see Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” for instance). It can often be found accompanied by a dominant fifth which adds tension and anticipation as part of its composition.