Major chords feature bright, upbeat tones and are commonly heard in songs. Additionally, these chords are known as major scale triads.
A major chord consists of three notes – its root note, major third (also referred to as flat 3rd or b3) and perfect fifth. It is important to understand the difference between major and minor scales when creating major chords.
Triads
Triads are three-note chords composed of notes whose tones can be stacked in thirds, making up every chord in music. Triads can be major, minor or diminished and come with different qualities and benefits.
At its core, triads can be understood in terms of scale degrees. A major triad will always contain scale degrees 1, 3 and 5, meaning it represents three keys in succession.
Memory aids us when recalling chord names and inversions – for instance a C major triad is written as C E G but can also be written as C Em G or C Eb G and still sound the same.
Triads also possess their own distinct flavors, which depend on the intervals between notes. Major triads tend to sound happy; minor ones tend to sound sadder; diminished ones offer an almost magical quality that’s hard to forget.
Thirds
A major chord is composed of three notes which are spaced one third apart. The first note serves as the root or tonic of the scale; second note represents third tone in scale; third tone represents fifth note in scale and so forth.
This interval forms the cornerstone of all major scales and major chords; it also serves as the foundation for numerous other chords – especially augmented and diminished versions of them.
If you combine two major thirds, they form an augmented chord; by stacking two minor thirds together you get a diminished chord; however, most commonly dominant seventh chords with major and minor thirds combined are known as dominant sevenths (C – E – G for instance).
Major seventh chords are simple and accessible, making them the ideal way to develop your knowledge of chord progressions, transposing between keys and honing your ear as a guitarist. So give yourself the gift of learning them today!
Fifths
Major chords feature raised 3rd and 5th tones to form a dominant seventh, giving the chord a fuller sound and signalling the beginning of major extensions.
A major 9 chord extends the major scale from notes 1 through 9, using each note from 1-9 of its scale as part of an extended major chord. Cmaj7 chords use all three notes from triad with an added major 9th for extra full sound.
Rule of Proximity When creating chord progressions, understanding proximity is of critical importance. Chords that fall on either side of the circle of fifths tend to sound pleasing to the ear and have an effortless feel; major chords are no exception! By combining triads with major and minor extensions you can construct chords of various textures.
Inversions
An inversion alters the order of notes above the bass, for instance by taking a C major chord and moving it up one octave; it would become Cmaj6 (consisting of 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes from its major scale).
Flattened thirds are another frequent inversion technique. This transformation can range from something as straightforward as moving up half step from major second to minor second, to more intricate steps such as changing an F major into F minor (the interval G-F is actually a minor seventh).
At times it can be helpful to consider chords as inversions; this makes remembering the names easier if they don’t appear written out or consist of few letters. Furthermore, this works particularly well when thinking about altered chords such as Fadd9 wherein its 9th note has been raised by one semitone to produce an F.