Learning major and minor chords is a fantastic way to expand your piano knowledge. These are two of the most essential chord types and can have an enormous impact on the sound and mood of songs.
Difference between major and minor chords is minute – approximately one semitone on a piano keyboard. Therefore, it’s the interval between roots and thirds which determines a chord’s major or minor status.
Major Triads
A major chord consists of three notes stacked atop each other; its “root note”, middle note and fifth interval note make up its composition.
First step to creating your chord is finding its root note. To do this, start on the root note of your key and count up four half steps from there; this will reveal the second note in your chord (e.g. in C Major it will be E).
Next comes the middle note or 3rd. To do this, lower the previous note by one semitone so the distance between root and middle note is three semi-tones instead of four. Finally, to finish off a chord there is the fifth note, also known as perfect fifth; just half-step above the 3rd.
All major triads sound similar across keys due to octave equivalence. This holds true regardless of whether doubling or open spacing is used.
Minor Triads
Minor triads, like major chords, can be created starting from any note in the scale; the difference lies in their first two notes being separated by an interval known as a “triad”, rather than by one with major third qualities.
Minor chords sound dark and sad and are commonly interspersed with major chords in songs like Get the Party Started by P!nk; Run Through the Jungle by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jolene by Dolly Parton are great examples of such chords.
When playing minor chords on the piano it is essential to keep in mind that their sound will be darker due to having lower pitched root and third notes in comparison with higher pitch fifth notes.
One way to practice this technique is by arpeggiating triad shapes up and down the keyboard, as this will enable you to hear differences in sound quality as well as make for effective improvising practice.
Major Scales
The major scale serves as the cornerstone for all piano chords. You should first master it if you plan on performing any song – for instance, The Beatles song “Let It Be” begins with a C major chord (C – E – G), before moving into an A minor chord (A – C – E), with this subtle change creating significant effects in emotion or tone.
Each major scale contains a pattern of whole tones and semi-tones that determine which notes belong together, so some notes have sharp or flat symbols if their counterpart in another key signature doesn’t correspond.
A minor chord is comprised of three basic keyboard notes: its root note, minor third and perfect fifth. To build one, start from any starting note, count three half steps toward minor third and four half steps toward perfect fifth before reaching final pitch.
Minor Scales
Minor scales feature flattened thirds and follow the same pattern as major ones, but start in different places. When used in music, minor chords tend to create more melancholic sounding chords which evoke feelings of desolation or anxiety.
To create a minor chord, start by taking its root note as your starting point, then skip over two keys (black and white) until reaching the third of the scale and another two until reaching its fifth note – this distance between notes in a chord is known as its interval.
Minor chords differ from major ones in that they do not feature a “leading tone”, making them inaccessible to further alteration or modification. When combined with major thirds however, minor chords can become diminished or enhanced chords.
Minor chords can also be played as major chords by shifting down one scale degree – for example, to convert C major into C minor, play E as its neighboring black key on the piano keyboard.