Major key chords often evoke warm and satisfying feelings. Part of the Ionian music mode, these harmonic progressions utilize pleasing intervals which interact in certain ways to form melodies that create happy associations with joyful music.
A major chord is comprised of three notes that come together to form what’s known as a triad. This includes its root note, major third note and perfect fifth.
Triads
Major chords contain only three diatonic chords which use notes from the major scale: tonic, dominant and subdominant chords. Once these have been mastered you can move onto exploring other types of chords.
7th chords are an invaluable set of chords to master. Constructed using three notes grouped in thirds and an extra note one seventh up from their root, there are various types such as minor and half diminished 7ths that must be learned and explored.
Extended chords refer to those which exceed the seventh tones of either Major or minor keys, such as those known by their names Asus2 and Esus4. Within these chords, either the third is replaced with either second or fourth; any dissonant resultant from doing this can be resolved by moving back towards its normal placement again. Learning extended chords requires some advanced knowledge but once learned they can create some very special sounds in your music.
Scale Degrees
Traditional tonal music often utilizes three chords built from each degree of the scale: tonic, dominant and subdominant chords. They provide a musical structure that supports melodies while creating a sense of resolution for them.
Major keys feature seven scale degrees (the first through seventh notes of any scale). Each one of these degrees corresponds to a chord; however, there may also be other variations available.
The tonic scale degree serves as the cornerstone of each key and serves as a homebase that other notes tend to gravitate towards.
The other scale degrees include dominant, subdominant and leading tones. Each serves a specific function in music; for example, dominant chords often create tension or drama and serve as an excellent place for harmonic modulation.
Triad Inversions
There is only a finite number of chord inversions possible with chords with more than three notes. Each note that isn’t the lowest chord tone has one possible inversion – meaning C major triad has two additional inversions besides its root position while an A7 chord features three variations and G9 chord has four inversions.
That is why it is essential to incorporate different chord inversions and voicings into your practice routine, adding variety to your chord vocabulary and providing you with additional sounds on the fretboard.
Example of Six-Four Chord
Major Keys
No matter the key of your music, all major chords begin with the same pattern of intervals. Some will remain within your key’s scale using notes from diatonic scale, while some will go beyond it using notes from chromatic.
Chord progressions composed from major scale chords tend to evoke brighter and happier feelings than those created from minor scale chords, creating either resolution or tension within the progression itself.
There are 12 major keys (including enharmonics ) and three relative minors, as well as various chords not fitting any of these categories (augmented and diminished chords for instance ). There are even more keys possible if double sharps/flats are allowed into play; though these are rarely used in practice. But that is another article for another day!