Major chords form the backbone of most songs, being used across genres of music.
As a starting point, all songs start on one note (or key). From there you progress by major thirds and perfect fifths.
Intervals on your piano keyboard will appear as capital letters separated by a slash – for instance C/G.
Root
Root chords serve as the cornerstone of any major scale, creating the basis for all other chords within that scale. Furthermore, their presence creates unique feelings within your music that cannot be replicated by other chords.
Identification of root chords is simple by knowing the name of the scale being used and counting up how many half steps it takes from G to C – in the C major scale for example there are notes C-E-G so counting back seven half steps gives you the C major chord.
As part of a major chord, you can create different inversions by shifting its roots up or down. Doing this will alter its sound and give it either a thicker or thinner feel; explore this technique with these chord charts to discover how.
Major Third
A basic major chord consists of three notes – its root note, major third and perfect fifth. This triad forms the building blocks of most piano music from joyful and vibrant to somber and melancholic. A major chord can easily be identified as it always contains one large whole step and two smaller whole steps (semitones). This indicates its major or perfect nature since every major scale must begin with either major or perfect intervals as part of its first interval series.
To create a major triad, start from the root note and count up three half steps until you find the third note; skip two half steps until you arrive at the fifth, as in C major. To create minor chords simply lower one tone by halftone – thus creating G major instead of C major for instance. This applies equally well for major, minor, augmented, and diminished chords alike.
Perfect Fifth
The perfect fifth is an interval consisting of seven semitones or half steps between two notes that lie one step below a tritone interval, three steps lower than minor sixth interval and one less step than tritone interval. Also commonly referred to as P5,
This interval can be found in many chords, particularly those from the major scale, and plays an essential role when creating power chords.
Perfect fifths are one of the most stable-sounding intervals, often considered consonant in character and more neutral than other intervals such as tritone. They may evoke feelings of serenity or Zen, creating an air of stoicism or peace than other intervals such as tritone.
To identify a perfect fifth, start with its root note and count up seven semitones or half steps until G appears – this simple method makes recognizing perfect fifths on piano easier without needing to look at keyboard and count out whole and half steps!
Triad
The triad chord is one of the most widely used types of piano chords. Consisting of three notes that are stacked one on top of another with an interval between them, it is an easy chord to play that can be applied across almost any genre of music.
Triads come in many varieties: major, minor, diminished and augmented; their quality depends on the quality of intervals between their root and third chord and fifth chord – built-on the do (1) sound major while those built around re (2) are generally minor in character.
Once you’ve mastered basic triad shapes, it is time to explore inversions. Simply switch around the order of notes – for instance a C major triad in root position becomes G major when one moves E down one position to create first inversion – this step is called first inversion and once complete broken triads provide another great way of adding movement into any piece of music.