Add major chords to your repertoire and you will expand your technique and be better equipped to interpret songs more easily, while they also serve as the basis of improvising.
To play a major chord, find the root note. Count four notes up from that note to find the third and seven half steps up from there to locate the fifth note.
Major Triads
Major triads are essential chords to understand as a beginner or more experienced musician, comprised of the root note (the root), major third (major 3rd), and perfect fifth of any key. A great way to remember these is through intervals: beginning from your root note count up four half steps until reaching major 3rd then three semitones brings us up to perfect fifth chord.
If the symbol for a chord contains “maj”, that indicates an interval of major 7th above its root note is used (C Maj 7 for instance). Bear in mind that when switching keys, its quality remains constant – one great benefit of harmonic scales being their interval quality does not change! This allows you to build chords which sound the same across keys.
Minor Triads
Minor chords, like their major counterparts, are constructed of threes stacked one upon another and easily identified by small gaps and their presence of fifths – where one minor third plus one major third equals a perfect fifth.
To create a minor chord, start with its root note (the lowest note in the chord) on a music staff and add notes for third and fifth above it (i.e. draw a snowperson). Note that any accidentals from key signature also apply here.
Minor triads do not change significantly between keys because their quality is determined by the number of half steps between their root note and second note in the triad (a half step is defined as any distance between any two adjacent white or black keys). Therefore, knowing the key signature for any given scale allows you to know which note should serve as its root in any particular minor triad.
Major Scales
Major scales typically contain both sharp and flat notes. For instance, C major contains no flats but five sharps; these sharps alternate in groups of two that appear regularly throughout its form. The number of sharps determined which keys the scale could be played in; each major key also has a complementary minor scale associated with it.
C major contains an A natural minor scale. If we raise its seventh note up a half step, this becomes A harmonic minor.
Learning piano chords requires first understanding major scales. This is because chords usually consist of a root note with its associated major third coming up two whole steps above it – to play a C major chord for instance, place your pinky finger at its root note; your middle finger on its major third; and your thumb at E, which is two whole steps higher up from there.
Minor Scales
Minor chords tend to sound darker and more melancholy than major ones. When played, bass notes often add extra depth and richness to their sound.
Minor triads, similar to major chords, consist of three basic keyboard notes – a root note, major third note and perfect fifth – called their root notes. As with major chords, their name always references their root note.
Locating the relative minor of any major scale can be achieved by starting on its tonic and counting down three half steps or two whole steps; C major’s relative minor would be A minor, for instance.
Add an extra punch to your chords by including a 7th chord! A seventh chord adds tone and color, creating an extra punch in any composition. To form one, simply play four notes instead of the usual three; often seen written as C major 7 or C E G B