Music Theory De-mystified BlogB16. Listen And Sing: Learn To Sing Major And Minor Triads

This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.

How To Sing A Major Triad

To get started, sing a major scale with the chord notes long and strong and the notes in between quick and quiet.

The scale notes between the notes of the triad are called passing notes. Gradually weaken the passing notes until you’re just singing the chord notes as a triad in root position.

Inversions Of Major Triads

Now practise singing major triads in each inversion. As you sing, try to hear and feel the root note when you sing it. To help, you can accent the root note slightly as you sing.

The examples below include passing notes in the first bar, as a listening cue. Sing the second bar while you listen to the first bar.

Root position

1st inversion

2nd inversion

Once you’re familiar with these, try them in different keys (starting on different notes).

A Quick Way To Find the Root Note of a Major or Minor Triad

In 1st and 2nd inversion there is a perfect 4th between two of the notes. The root note is the higher of these two notes.
If there is no perfect 4th the triad is in root position (the root note is the lowest note of the triad).

Minor Triads

Now let’s learn minor triads. Here are three methods you can choose from:

Sing a natural minor scale as above, emphasising the triad notes.

The melodic minor ascending might be easier to sing than the natural minor. Since we’re only after the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, it’s your choice: sing the minor you’re most familiar with.

For both methods, gradually weaken the passing notes until you’re just singing the triad.

You can skip the minor scale altogether and go straight for the triad. The only difference between a major and a minor triad is the 3rd, which is flattened compared to the major 3rd (1 semitone lower than the major 3rd).

Whichever method you use, once you can sing the triad in root position, practice singing each inversion.

The examples below include the passing notes in the first bar, as a listening cue. Sing the second bar while you listen to the first bar.