Major chords are a staple in most pop and rock songs, consisting of three basic keyboard notes; root note, third note and fifth note.
Consider, for example, a C major chord. Begin by looking for C on the piano; count two whole steps higher to find E; then one more step up until G appears.
Root
A chord is composed of several notes which combine to produce sound. A major chord typically contains three or more notes and features one note called the root which forms its basis for all intervals within it; its position remains fixed no matter which inversions of that chord occur.
C major chords always contain G as their root note, even in their first inversion. While additional notes such as minor sevenths or even augmented tones might also appear, those notes will always sit atop the stack of thirds that make up its roots.
Finding out which note represents the root of a chord written out on a musical staff can be challenging, but there are a few strategies available to you for helping identify it.
Third
Major chords contain two notes above their root: a third and perfect fifth note. To locate these, count four white keys up from your starting point (including black ones) until finding the note with which your thumb of right hand should land, placing this note where appropriate on right hand tenon. To locate another three white keys from here and place index finger over this note for perfect fifth position.
Knowledge of intervals between notes allows you to assemble any major or minor chord. Understanding these fundamentals forms the cornerstone of chord theory, and allows you to decode musical compositions, predict patterns, expand your repertoire to include new genres of music, as well as create harmony throughout.
Fifth
A perfect fifth above the root in a scale adds fullness and determines its quality as major or minor chord.
The circle of fifths is an essential piece of musical theory to master. Spend some time getting acquainted with it so it will assist when transposing songs to different keys and making chord progressions smoother.
There are also less-common augmented and diminished chords, known as augmented/decreased chords. They are created by adding a third to the root, creating dissonant sounds which need to be resolved; sus chords (which replace third with second/fourth or slash chords) may provide this solution.
Major Triad
The major triad is one of the essential building blocks of tonal music, comprised of three notes stacked one upon another in three successive lines, which create a consistent, consonant chord you will come to know well.
Root or tonic notes always start on C, with four half steps above being the third note and seven above being the fifth note in any major chord progression. This simple interval serves as the cornerstone for all major chords.
Build augmented and diminished triads. To form a diminished chord, simply add a minor third to a major triad before flattening its fifth note – creating more dissonant and unstable sounding chords. Practice this chord to get used to its sound!
Minor Triad
Minor triads are basically like major triads in reverse; their minor third extends from root to second while their major third stretches from second to fifth.
To create a minor chord, start with the tonic of its relevant scale and add its first, third and fifth notes; note that its fifth note always sits four half steps higher than its root note.
Half steps refer to the distance between two notes directly adjacent to each other on both white and black keys.
Minor chords feature a flattened third, which gives them their distinctive darker sound and is known as the minor scale degree – this can also be abbreviated to 1b3-5 in any minor scale. This formula works for all minor scales.