Major chords evoke hope and positivity in our music, from classical pieces like ‘Easy Like Sunday Morning’ to popular hits like ‘Let It Be’ from the 90s. Learn to play basic piano chords by following our free Major Chords piano chart!
Many major chords consist of three notes stacked one upon another; others can be enhanced by adding one or more extra tones above their root note, such as 9th or 13th tones.
Triads
Triads form the backbone of all chords, so it’s crucial that pianists familiarize themselves with how they appear on a piano chart. A major triad has three notes – its root note and third always remain the same while its fifth may change color when adding sharps or flats to your scale.
To form a major triad, start by finding the root note of your scale and working outwards from there to locate its middle and upper notes – this process should be straightforward; for example, C major has its root note at C, E and G respectively.
There are three different kinds of triads: major, minor and diminished. Major triads contain major intervals while minor ones use minor intervals; these pieces each possess their own sound and purpose but share common building blocks using notes from the scale.
Sometimes triads will include an additional note added to them, known as a suspension chord. For instance, Cmaj9 chord includes six notes on top of its stack of thirds; you might also come across an “augmented triad”, written Cadd9. This simply signifies adding nineth notes into an existing triad.
Major Scales
Learning major chords requires understanding how to use the chromatic scale, since all piano keys depend on it and all chords depend on it as well. For instance, when transitioning from C major to G major chords has an appealing harmonic quality because these two chords share notes from C’s major scale.
A major scale begins and ends on its keynote, or root note of a major scale – Middle C in this instance – which then organizes all other notes around that. That is why major scales sound similar; all start on one note before following an identical pattern of whole steps and half steps.
Major triad chords can also be customized by adding various intervals above their root note, with numbers written after their chord symbol to represent these additions. One such technique is known as adding major 6ths (maj6); others include major sevenths and elevenths (also referred to as m11s). All three work by adding different tones above the triad.
Triad Intervals
Your ears have likely encountered the term “maj” or “minor,” referring to additional notes such as 7ths that have been added on top of a basic triad for added character – for instance Cmaj7 represents a major chord with major seventh added.
A triad’s quality is defined by whether it is major, minor, or diminished. To do this, first determine the number (note letters) of bottom note and top note triad members before asking yourself if the top note belongs in its major scale; if it does then your triad is major; otherwise if its major scale lies a step lower then what appears on bottom note this would indicate minority of quality of your triad.
By adhering to the principle of octave equivalence, doubled or spaced out notes in a chord don’t change its identification; for instance G B D is still recognized as a major chord even though its bass leaps an octave from A to C# in its initial measure; this is because its root note (G) and third (B) belong to different major scale degrees, making the chord major; however its fifth remains independent and therefore can’t be classified as major; hence its classification as major.