What Sets Major Chords Apart From Minor Chords?

Major chords create melodies with powerful emotional impact ranging from Daft Punk’s “Digital Love” to modern pop hits like Lady Gaga’s “Don’t Stop Believin'”. But what sets them apart from minor chords?

Major chords typically contain both a major third and perfect fifth, creating an upbeat sound.

Root Note

Root notes serve as the tonal hubs of each key and establish patterns for all chords and scales in that key. In major chords, this note usually forms the first note of its scale before other notes form a triad around it – for instance a C major chord would consist of its roots (C), third (E), and fifth note (G).

Intervals between these notes determine the sound quality of a chord; major chords tend to sound brighter, happier, while minor sounds darker, melancholy, etc. Although initially confusing, once you understand these intervals it becomes much simpler to recognize and name different chords.

As always, remember the root note is always the lowest pitch in any chord, and should therefore not be played – red crosses indicate where this string should not be played. Also be mindful that some chords rely on stacking thirds rather than having an anchoring root note – some chords do not require it!

Third Note

The third note is one of the primary determinants of whether or not a chord is major or minor, along with its root note and third. They form the core of any chord; triads built upon first, fourth and fifth scale degrees will always be major while those constructed using two, third, and sixth scale degrees will always be minor.

When stacking three notes together in an ordered sequence, we create a chord, usually known as a triad. There are various forms and they often bear specific names such as G major which is commonly found in numerous songs by Van Morrison (including Brown Eyed Girl ).

Slash chords are formed when there is a slash (/) between a chord name and its accompanying letter representing which note should be played as bass note, such as C/F for a C major chord with an F played as bass note – they can make for some hip sounds over blues scale chords but may either sound bad or great depending on your playing ability!

Fifth Note

A fifth is the next interval above a root. If a chord contains a fifth note, those to its right become minor chords while those on its left form major ones; C F G has both major (C) and minor (F).

An augmented third chord or aug5 chord lies to the right of a fifth chord. An augmented third is defined by an interval of two semitones (half steps), making its sound less harmonious than that of its perfect fifth counterpart.

Dim5 or diminished third chords are another form of augmented chord, using an interval that is one semistep smaller than perfect fifth, creating dissonant notes between each note in the chord, making the distance between notes seem greater. You’ll often find dim5s in dominant chords such as C dim7 or C minor 9.

Triad

When looking at a triad, its quality can be determined by comparing it with others that start on the same scale degree. For instance, Example 13-11 contains the same root as C-major but since its fifth lies one semitone lower it becomes minor; these properties remain constant regardless of whether we move from major key to another major key.

Triads may be stacked vertically in any fashion, as long as they contain three pitches – or chord notes – with bass note appearing lowest of all positions; therefore they are commonly known as being in root position.

Triads can be divided into several distinct categories depending on their expressive qualities. Major triads are usually heard as sounding happy while minor ones can often seem sad or angry; diminished ones might sound unpleasant or frightening while augmented ones possess more of an “imaginary” aura.