Understanding major and minor chords can greatly enhance your guitar-playing skills, particularly for those using an online music learning platform such as Rocksmith+.
Understanding chord identification requires only some basic rules and easily identifiable intervals.
Major Scales
A major chord differs from minor chords in that it contains a major third (three half steps) on top of its root note, giving its happy sounding notes 1st, 3rd and 5th their distinctive sound.
Music composed in major keys is known to bring on feelings of happiness and optimism; music in minor keys tends to provoke sadness and introspection – this makes for fascinating research for musicians, psychologists and neuroscientists alike.
Intervals that make up scales and chords are complex. But for now it suffices to note that one key difference between major and minor chords lies in their third note – in major triads/major seventh chords it should be one full step higher than its root; whereas in minor seventh chords/minor triads it should be flattened one half step — or semitone — lower giving them their distinctive sad sound.
Minor Scales
Minor chords are an effective way of creating tension in songs and giving the melody that melancholy or sad sound, yet playing exclusively minor chords could make the tune too dark and depressing, so adding major chords as well may add depth and brightness.
Minor scales resemble major ones in that they feature seven notes arranged in whole and half steps, though their patterns differ slightly between natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor scales. There are three types of minor scales; natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor are some examples that all begin at roughly the same spot but overlap over time.
The primary difference between major and minor scales lies in their third degrees; specifically, when their third degrees have their third tone flattened by one semitone compared to its counterpart major scale, making the sound sharper than in major. This slight difference in tone can have a major impact on how they sound together as scales or chords; additionally, minor chords tend to resolve more slowly than their major counterparts.
Major Chords
One of the simplest chords in music, major chords are widely used in songs to evoke feelings of happiness or positivity.
Major chords are three note triads that can be played in any order as long as all three notes remain present in a progression – this gives songs energy and brightness from their inception! It is common to find major chords throughout music pieces to provide energy and drive.
As you will soon discover, major chords generally sound happier than minor ones, though this does depend on various other factors. Furthermore, chords can have different impacts depending on who listens.
Minor chords can also be inverted to create more tension and sadness; however, that topic deserves its own article. What’s important here is knowing that both major and minor chords consist of specific notes within a scale.
Minor Chords
Minor chords bring an emotive depth to any musical composition, adding depth of feeling and storytelling depth. While major chords give music its cheerful sound, minor chords convey feelings of sadness or introspection – making minor chords an indispensable element in creating rich tapestries of emotion that give music its depth.
Compare a minor chord’s structure with that of a major chord and you will observe that minor chords contain all three notes from a major scale’s first, third and fifth notes – with only the third note lowered (or flattened) by half step; this difference distinguishes minor chords from major ones and allows them to create their own distinct soundscape.
Understanding major and minor chords is integral to learning the guitar. Recognizing these essential building blocks of music will enable you to take your guitar playing abilities to new heights while creating original songs of your own.