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B20. The 6 Most Useful Chords In Any Major Key

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.

The overall key of a piece is called the home key. The chords that sound best together are those that are closely related to the home key.

As we saw in B19. Relative/Functional Chord Notation, the chord on the root note of the home key is called the tonic chord. The chords we’re going to look at are so closely related to the tonic chord that all their notes belong to the home key.

The Chords of the Major Scale

One way to find these chords is to write out the scale of the home key starting on the root note, then again starting on the 3rd and on the 5th. Since we’re talking about major keys, we’ll use C major as an example.

Let’s see which chords we end up with…

We can see that the tonic, subdominant and dominant chords, I, IV and V, are major chords.
The supertonic, mediant and submediant, chords ii, iii and vi, are minor chords.
The chord on the leading note isn’t a major or minor chord as it doesn’t have a perfect 5th, so it acts quite differently to the others. We’ll leave it out for now and come back to it in the next lesson.

Closely Related Chords Are In Closely Related Keys

As it turns out, the dominant, V, is the chord of the next key in the cycle of 5ths and the subdominant, IV, is the chord of the previous key in the cycle of 5ths.

This should be no surprise. A major or minor chord represents a key so the most closely related chords are those of the most closely related keys.

Just these three chords alone form the basis of many popular songs and tunes.

Chords ii, iii, and vi are the relative minors of the subdominant, dominant and tonic chords respectively.

Being in a different mode, they are slightly less directly related to the home key than the three major chords, lending a degree of sophistication when included.

The chords of the major scale are those of the home key, next and previous keys in the cycle of 5ths and their relative minors. All the notes in each of these chords are notes of the home key.

The 6 Most Useful Chords In Any Major Key

The chords of the major scale fit together so well that they can be played in any order and still sound musical. As long as the tonic chord appears every now and then, we can feel the overall key of the music by the way these chords support each other.

If you look at any piece of sheet music with chord symbols such as a song lead sheet, assuming it’s in a major key, you’ll see that the majority of the chords are the chords of the major scale. They may have a suffix indicating added 7ths or other notes, but at their core they are still the chords of the major scale.

What About Minor Keys?

Minor keys are a little more complicated because of prevalence of the melodic and harmonic minors. The accidentals in these scales produce different chords than the natural minor.

We’ll look at the chords of the minor scale in my intermediate music theory short course, planned for 2023.

Chords For Other Modes

The same approach of writing a scale on the 1st, 3rd and 5th can be used to find closely related chords of any mode.

All the traditional Western modes will produce 3 major chords and 3 minor chords.

Try These…

Name the 6 chords of the major scale in the following keys; 3 major chords and their relative minors.

I, IV and V are the most common, so in the example I’ve listed these first.

I’ve listed the chords in the 2nd row starting with vi because that matches the order of the major chords: vi is the relative minor of I, ii is the relative minor of IV and iii is the relative minor of V.

Example

G major

I = G, IV = C, V = D
vi = Em, ii = Am, iii = Bm

D major
F major
E major
Ab major

Answers at the end of this post.

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PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

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Answers to Try These…

D major

I = D, IV = G, V = A
vi = Bm, ii = Em, iii = F#m

F major

I = F, IV = Bb, V = C
vi = Dm, ii = Gm, iii = Am

E major

I = E, IV = A, V = B
vi = C#m, ii = F#m, iii = G#m

Ab major

I = Ab, IV = Db, V = Eb
vi = Fm, ii = Bbm, iii = C/m

15 Lessons On How To Develop Basic Musicianship Skills

15 of my basic music theory lesson posts are about developing basic musicianship and ear training skills.

Musicianship is where theory meets practice.

Tap basic rhythms, sing major and minor scales, recognise intervals, match chord notes and more…

Try it!

PART 1 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

POSTS: Posts

B19. Relative/Functional Chord Notation

Relative chord notation allows us to replace the actual note names used in chord symbols with generic names, just as we refer to scale notes as degrees (1st, 2nd, etc.).

By using relative chord notation we can play a piece in any key, regardless of what key it was written in. It’s also a great learning and analysis tool; a way to clearly see the relationships between the chords.

Scale Degrees

In B13. Degrees Of A Scale: Relative Note Names we saw that we can use degrees to represent scale notes.

This can be confusing, as degrees are also used for interval names.

One solution, developed back in the 17th century, is to write scale degrees as capital Roman numerals. This practice is still in use today.

Each scale degree also has a name to reflect the function of the note within the scale.

Function?

The function of a scale note is how that note acts within the scale. Once you see the list, you’ll realise that the function is pretty self-evident based on where in the scale the note is…

For example, the tonic is the first note, the Root note. It’s function is to establish a tonal reference for the scale… in other words, the reference pitch on which the scale is built.

Scale Degrees and Their Functions

I (1st) Tonic
The tonal reference: the starting note of the scale.

II (2nd) Supertonic
The note after the Tonic.

III (3rd) Mediant
The most significant difference between major and minor modes. It is also half-way between the Tonic and the Dominant.

IV (4th) Subdominant
The root note of the previous key in the cycle of 5ths: a strong note for melodies to visit.

V (5th) Dominant
The root note of the next key in the cycle of 5ths: a strong note for melodies to visit. It is also a harmonic of the Tonic, so it reinforces the tonality of the scale. The Dominant is the most important note in the scale besides the Tonic

VI (6th) Submediant
Another clue to whether the key is major or minor.

VII (7th) Subtonic
The note before the Tonic (when 2 semitones below the octave).

VII (7th) Leading note
The note that leads up to the next octave of the Tonic (when 1 semitone below the octave).

Note that the 7th has two different names, depending on whether it’s the major 7th or minor 7th. This is due to a long-standing cultural trend in Western music.

The Rise of the Leading Note

As music developed away from the sombre sounds of medieval Church modes there was an increasing desire for a sweeter, warmer sound. This was the sound of what we now call the major scale, a mode frowned on by the Church.

The single feature that most contributed this sweetness in a melody is that when you go up in a major scale, the last interval, from the 7th to the octave, is only 1 semitone.

Aside: only one other traditional Western mode finishes with 1 semitone and that’s the Lydian mode, which can be described as “more major than major”. It’s not a very popular mode as an overall key in most genres because it has an augmented 4th, which interferes with the relationship between perfect 5ths and perfect 4ths that underpins much of Western music.

When ascending, this close interval between the 7th and octave gives us a sense of arrival. The major scale feels like it arrives at a comfortable conclusion – you could say that the major 7th leads to the octave more conclusively than the minor 7th.

Hence, the major 7th is called the leading note whereas the minor 7th is called the subtonic.

Listen to the scales of A major and A minor as melodies. Do you feel that the major 7th leads more directly to the octave than the minor 7th?

A major

A minor

Melodic and Harmonic Minor

The leading note is such a significant feature in Western music that over time, the melodic and harmonic minor scales evolved; the former allowing a major 7th to occur in a minor melody and the latter allowing the chords to be able to accommodate this.

Melodic and harmonic minors, or a combination of both, are far more commonly used in most genres than the natural minor. For a reminder of melodic and harmonic minor scales, please visit B3. Melodic And Harmonic Minor.

Relative Chord Names

We can also use function names and Roman numerals to represent chord names. By using both upper case and lower case numerals, we can describe both major and minor triads without the need for a quality.

Upper case = major chord
Lower case = minor chord

In any given key, the most commonly used chords are built on the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale; the tonic, subdominant and dominant.

In a major key, the tonic, subdominant and dominant chords are all major chords:
I, IV and V

In C major, that’s C, F and G (all major chords).

In a minor key the tonic and subdominant chords are minor but, thanks to the harmonic minor, the dominant chord is usually major:
i, iv and V

In C minor, that’s Cm, Fm and G.

You can tell whether the overall key is the major or minor key of the key signature by the tonic chord. If the tonic chord is major, the key of the piece is major. If it’s minor, the key is minor.

Part of the reason why these chords fit so well together is because all of their notes belong to the overall key. If you know the key signature, you can just count letters to find the notes of each chord.

Try These…

The following chords are written as Roman numerals. Convert the numerals to actual chord names based on the overall key.

Remember, an upper case numeral is a major chord and a lower case numeral is a minor chord.

Each exercise contains the tonic, subdominant and dominant chords
Look for the tonic chord:
if it is uppercase, the piece is in a major key
If it’s lower case, the piece is in a minor key
Use the key signature to work out the name of the key and thus the tonic chord
For the other chords, count degrees in the appropriate scale until you match the Roman numeral
Write the chords above the stave using standard chord names

*For bonus points, you can also list the content of each chord, either on the stave or as text.

For example,

For the key signature of one sharp, F#, the key is either G major or E minor.
If I is uppercase, it’s in G major. If i is lowercase, it’s in E minor.

in G major, I = G, IV = C, V = D
in E minor, i = Em, iv = Am, V =B

Answers at the end of this post.

Relative chord names can also have a suffix. Any chord symbol can be written using a Roman numeral instead of a note name, such as V7 or I(sus 4).

NEXT LESSON: B20. The 6 Most Useful Chords In Any Major Key

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

Answers to Try These…

I = A (A C# E)
IV = D (D F# A)
V = E (E G# B)

I = Bb (Bb D F)
IV = Eb (Eb G Bb)
V = F (F A C)

i = Dm (D F A)
iv = Gm (G Bb D)
V = A (A C# E)

i = Bm (B D F#)
iv = Em (E G B)
V = F# (F# A# C#)

Free Basic Music Theory Course Update!

My free course in basic music theory and musicianship is now grouped in bite-sized modules of a few lessons each.

Learn music theory by listening and observing. All points demonstrated and clearly explained rather than taught as rules.

Each module only takes a couple of hours to complete and covers a particular area of music theory and musicianship.

No need to find time for the complete course, just take it one module at a time!
If you have a little theory knowledge you can go straight to specific modules

Each lesson includes examples and exercises. Points are clearly illustrated with graphics, audio and video.

Modules in Part 1

Modules in Part 2

Is This Course For You?

This course is designed for

beginners age 12 to adult
self-taught musicians
musicians who play by ear
inquisitive musicians who are frustrated with the rules of formal theory courses
use in conjunction with a formal theory course to demystify and enhance understanding

COURSE CONTENTS

B18. Listen And Sing: Learn To Recognise The Notes Of A Major/Minor Chord

This lesson contains a few exercises you can use to teach yourself how to recognise and sing individual notes within a major chord.

Note recognition within a chord is a very useful skill. It’s the basis of working out harmonies; in fact, of arranging in general. It’s also the starting point for solos/lead lines and improvisation.

Listen and Sing

This exercise is the practical equivalent of the exercise in recognising triads from B15. Chord Voicing: Inversions Of Triads.

The idea is to strip a chord down to its content; to sing each different note in the chord at an octave that’s well within your vocal range, starting with the lowest note of the chord.

Some major and minor chords contain notes played at more than one octave. If you stay within the comfortable part of your range and match these notes in your octave, you’ll end up with just 3 notes for each chord, all within 1 octave.

Once you can sing the content within 1 octave, you will be able to recognise one of the triad inversions you learnt at the beginning of this post.

The following exercises feature a major/minor chord played four times. The first and third times the notes are played together but the second and fourth times they are slightly arpeggiated: you can briefly hear the notes one after the other. If you have trouble hearing the individual notes within the chord, focus on the arpeggio to start with.

Method

Listen to each chord several times. In particular, listen for the lowest note.

As you listen, try to sing the lowest note of the chord at an octave that’s towards the lower end of your vocal range.
You want to sing a low note, but not one that’s too low to sing properly. If it’s too low, try an octave higher.
If you have trouble deciding which is the lowest note, listen to the “answer” a few times and then go back to the exercise. There is no such thing as cheating, just learning 😊. You can find the answers at the end of this post.

Once you’ve found the lowest note, sing up the scale until you find the next match.
Continue once more to find the third note of the triad. Once you’ve found 3 different notes, any higher notes should match one of the notes you’ve found (if not, it’s not a plain major or minor chord).
Sing the three notes as a triad.
Match the sound (the pattern of intervals) with one of the major triad inversions you learnt in B16. Listen And Sing: Learn To Sing Major And Minor Triads.

The notes are played as an arpeggiated triad in the “answers” at the end of this post.

Example

Listen to the chord and follow the above steps:

You should end up singing something like bar 2 below.

The first bar shows the chord, the second bar shows the content as a triad built on a singable octave of the lower note.

You can check how you went by singing along to the movie. Keep singing bar 2 while you hear the repeat of bar 1.

Try These…

Major Chords

Minor Chords

Mixed

Can you tell whether the chord is major or minor?

Note: Depending on your musical life experience, you may find some of these exercises difficult. Take your time. Just do a little each day and you’ll soon master them.
In the meantime, you can continue with the rest of this course.

How To Tell Which Note Is The Root Note

If you can sing the notes in triad order from the lowest note up, listen for the interval of a perfect 4th as you sing.

The upper note of a perfect 4th is the root note.
In root position there is no perfect 4th. The lowest note in the triad is the root note.

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

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Answers to Try These…

When you’ve listened to these answers once, try singing the triad notes in the second bar while you hear the chord in the first bar.

If you had trouble picking out the notes the first time, go back to the audio question and try again once you’ve felt how the notes fit.

Don’t worry if these exercises take a few attempts. Many musicians develop such skills by years of playing and listening.

Major Chords

back to exercises

Minor Chords

back to exercises

Mixed

back to exercises

B17. Chord Voicing: Doubling And Note Distribution

A chord’s inversion is the most significant aspect of chord voicing. However, the pitch order and distribution of the other notes still have some bearing on the chord’s overall sound as well as on how the music flows from one chord to the next.

In many genres, the exact details of chord voicing are left up to the player. To do this well, players should be aware of the effects of different voicing options.

The approach to voicing in the context of a piece is highly dependent on genre and beyond the scope of this beginner course. However, being aware of the parameters goes a long way towards developing a sense of flow in a chord progression.

Inversions are certainly the best place to start: the bass notes of chords are easily felt as a coherent part. When you’re ready, you can add more finesse by tweaking the pitch order of the other chord notes.

Doubling: More Is More

Doubling means to have more than one note of the same name. Usually notes are doubled at a higher or lower octave. If your instrument permits (or if the chord is played by an ensemble) you can also double a note in unison.

Like inversions, doubling a note makes it a more prominent part of the chord, although the effect is less powerful than the chord’s inversion.

Doubling the root note makes the chord more stable and helps it to represent the key.
Doubling the 3rd highlights the major or minor tonality.
Doubling the 5th creates ambiguity, highlighting the potential for a chord change where the 5th becomes the root note of the next chord. This chord change doesn’t need to follow: the sense of ambiguity can also be maintained as part of the chord’s character.

Try This…

The following C major chords are all in root position, with each chord featuring a different doubled note.

Listen for the root note in each chord and sing or play the root note along with each chord, in an octave you can manage. It’s the same note for all three; the lowest note, C
Now listen for the strongest note in each chord and sing that note. This time it’s not the same for all three chords. Is it the note that’s doubled?

Doubled, most doubled

If more than one note is doubled, the note with the most representatives, either in other octaves or in unison, will contribute most to the chord’s character.

The Distribution Of Notes In A Chord

Although less significant, there are other factors that affect chord voicing, such as:

Pitch: is the whole chord high or low?
Range: does the chord cover several octaves or just one?
Density: are there close intervals between some chord notes or are all the notes spread apart?

Try This…

If you play a chord instrument, experiment with different ways of playing the same chord. Test out the effects of inversions, doubling and note distribution for yourself.

You can do this on a melody instrument, too.

On a melody instrument you can create an effect similar to a chord by playing an arpeggio, as we saw in B15. The faster the arpeggio is played, the more chord-like the result.

Arpeggios sound even more chord-like if you play in a reverberant room. If you’re amplified, you can add some reverb instead.

Any pitch order within the instrument’s range can be played as an arpeggio, including doubled notes.

Here are a couple of generalised observations you can test…

Low is strong:

A high chord is weaker than a low chord
Lowering the bass note by an octave makes a chord stronger

Separation equals clarity:

The clearest chords have their notes widely spaced in pitch
Close intervals can clash or muddy the sound, especially at lower octaves (Note: this could be a desired effect. It’s not a critique, just an observation)

NEXT LESSON: B18. Listen And Sing: Learn To Recognise The Notes Of A Major/Minor Chord

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

B16. Listen And Sing: Learn To Sing Major And Minor Triads

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.

Root position

For 1st and 2nd inversion I have included passing notes for both natural and melodic minor. Choose your preference.

Ist inversion

2nd inversion

Once you’re familiar with these, try them in different keys.

NEXT LESSON: B17. Chord Voicing: Doubling And Note Distribution

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

B15. Chord Voicing: Inversions Of Triads

Voicing

The notes of a chord can be used more than once, at different octaves or in unison. They can also be played in any pitch order, not just as listed in the content.

The following are all a C major chord:

Arranging the notes of chords into a specific pitch order is called voicing.

There are many possible ways to voice a chord but the difference in character is often minimal. It’s not uncommon for chord parts to leave much of that detail up to the player, rather than write down the exact order of the notes. Chord charts are a good example of this approach.

However, there is one aspect of voicing that has an obvious impact on how the chord sounds, and that is the lowest note. It’s one detail that we should be able to describe, even in a chord chart.

Inversions Of Triads

The most significant note in how a chord is voiced is the lowest note. The lowest note in a chord is called the bass note, even if it’s not particularly low.

The bass note has more influence in the character of the chord than the higher notes.

When the root note is lowest, we say the chord is in root position
When the 3rd is lowest, the chord is in 1st inversion
When the 5th is lowest, the chord is in 2nd inversion

Note: More complex chords also have a 3rd inversion. We’ll look at 3rd inversion chords in B21. Dominant 7th Chords/inversions.

Inversions of Major Triads

The easiest way to change the inversion of a triad is to take the lowest note and put it up an octave.

Let’s look at a major triad, C major.

You can spot which inversion a triad is in by looking at the intervals from note to note.

in root position we have a Major 3rd, then a minor 3rd
In 1st inversion we have a minor 3rd, then a perfect 4th
In 2nd inversion we have a perfect 4th then a major 3rd

Inversions of Minor Triads

Now let’s look at a minor triad, for example C minor.

The degrees are the same as the inversions of a major triad. Only the quality of the 3rds is different.

in root position we have a minor 3rd, then a Major 3rd
In 1st inversion we have a Major 3rd, then a perfect 4th
In 2nd inversion we have a perfect 4th then a minor 3rd

If the notes are written on a stave, you can spot the inversion for both major and minor triads by just counting scale notes (degrees).

Here are the same inversions as notes on a stave.

In the above examples the notes were written in their default pitch order, as consecutive notes in the triad. Often, the notes will be in a different order: the notes of a chord can be in any pitch order. Notes can be in different octaves, even multiple octaves.

For inversions, we ignore all of that detail. The only thing that affects the inversion is the bass note. If the bass note is the same then the chord is in the same inversion.

The bass note determines the inversion, regardless of the order of the higher notes.

The following C major chords are all in 1st inversion:

How To Name A Chord And Its Inversion

You can work out the name and inversion of a triad by its content. That is, by removing any extra octaves and listing the notes in triad order. Once the content is listed in order, the inversion is easily seen by looking at the intervals from note to note.

Method:

Name each note in the chord, excluding octaves
Write the content in triad order, lowest note first
Name the intervals between consecutive notes in the content
Match the order of the intervals to a chord inversion; either root position, 1st inversion or 2nd inversion
Name the root note, based on the pattern of intervals in the previous step
Name the chord and it’s inversion

Example:

The notes in the example and exercises below are played slightly arpeggiated so you can hear the individual notes more clearly.

From low to high, the notes are E C# A E A
The content, from the lowest note up and in triad order, is E A C#
E-A = perfect 4th, A-C# = Major 3rd
perfect 4th + Major 3rd is the pattern of a major chord in 2nd inversion
In 2nd inversion, the root note is the middle note (the upper note of the perfect 4th) = A
A major 2nd inversion

Try These … 1

The following chords are major or minor triads. There are no key signatures so you can’t assume they’re C major or A minor chords…

Name each chord and state its inversion (root position, 1st inversion or 2nd inversion).

Answers at the end of this post.

TIP: Shortcut For Finding the Root Note of a Triad

If you see two chord notes that are a perfect 5th apart, the lower note is the root note.
If you see two chord notes a perfect 4th apart, the upper note is the root note.

Inversions and Chord Symbols: Slash Notation

For chord charts, there’s an easy, concise way to describe the inversion of a chord in a chord symbol, called slash notation.

In slash notation, we write the chord name, then a forward slash followed by the name of the bass note.

For example, a C minor chord in 1st inversion has an Eb bass.
This would be written as Cm/Eb

In a chord chart, it’s like having a bass line as well as the chords rolled into one part.

Note: When the chord is in root position we don’t use a slash note, as the bass note is already in the chord name.

Try These… 2

Write the following chords in slash notation:

Work out the name of the bass note
Write the chord symbol, then a forward slash, then the name of the bass note

A major chord in 1st inversion
E minor chord in 1st inversion
D major chord in 2nd inversion
F minor chord in 2nd inversion

NEXT LESSON: B16. Listen And Sing: Learn To Sing Major And Minor Triads

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

—-

Answers to Try These…

1

From low to high, the notes are F C A
The content in triad order, from the lowest note up, is F A C
F-A = Major 3rd, A-C = minor 3rd
Major 3rd + minor 3rd is the pattern of a major chord in root position
In root position, the root note is the lowest note = F
F major root position

From low to high, the notes are B E G E
The content in triad order, from the lowest note up, is B E G
B-E = perfect 4th, E-G = minor 3rd
perfect 4th + minor 3rd is the pattern of a minor chord in 2nd inversion
In 2nd inversion, the root note is the middle note (the upper note of the perfect 4th) = E
E minor 2nd inversion

From low to high, the notes are D A D F
The content in triad order, from the lowest note up, is D F A
D-F = minor 3rd, F-A = Major 3rd
minor 3rd + Major 3rd is the pattern of a minor chord in root position
In root position, the root note is the lowest note = D
D minor root position

From low to high, the notes are B E G# B E
The content in triad order, from the lowest note up, is B E G#
B-E = perfect 4th, E-G# = Major 3rd
perfect 4th + Major 3rd is the pattern of a major chord in 2nd inversion
In 2nd inversion, the root note is the middle note (the upper note of the perfect 4th) = E
E major 2nd inversion

From low to high, the notes are Bb G D Bb
The content in triad order, from the lowest note up, is Bb D G
Bb-D = Major 3rd, D-G = perfect 4th
Major 3rd + perfect 4th is the pattern of a minor chord in 1st inversion
In 1st inversion, the root note is the top note (the upper note of the perfect 4th) = G
G minor 1st inversion

From low to high, the notes are E C# A E A
The content in triad order, from the lowest note up, is E A C#
E-A = perfect 4th, A-C# = Major 3rd
perfect 4th + Major 3rd is the pattern of a major chord in 2nd inversion
In 2nd inversion, the root note is the middle note (the upper note of the perfect 4th) = A
A major 2nd inversion

2

A/C#
E/G
D/A
Fm/C

B14. Chords 1: Major/Minor Triads And Modal Chords

What Is A Chord?

In the most general sense, a chord is a combination of two or more (some would argue three or more) sounds which occur at the same time. This definition potentially includes non-musical sounds such as ambiences.

Although always true, this is such a general definition that it isn’t very useful in most genres.

A more useful definition would be:

A chord is an instantaneous representation of a key.

NOTE: This isn’t always true but it’s a good starting point. The majority of chords fit this definition.

Typically, chords are used to accompany and support a melody as it travels on its journey through various keys. Chords are signposts for keys that the melody visits.

The Most Important Notes Of A Key

Most chords represent a key. In order to do this, a chord needs to contain the most important notes of that key.

We could try playing every note in the scale of that key, but it’s a very cluttered sound.

The closer together the notes in a chord, the more cluttered and confusing the sound.

The clearest sounding chords are made up of just a few notes which are far apart in pitch. If we want a chord to sound clear, we need to use only the most important notes of the key.

The Root Note And Perfect 5th

The single most important note of any key is the first note of the scale, the root note or tonic. Without a root note, we have no reference to interpret the mode, the pattern of intervals that give a key it’s character.

The other important note, at least in conventional Western modes, is the note a perfect 5th above the root note. As we saw in 15. Modes, the perfect 5th blends in to the root note and supports it. This helps us to feel the root note in the music.

Modal Chords/Power Chords

Chords made up of just the root note and perfect 5th are quite prevalent in both early music/folk music as well as rock and metal. They are called modal chords in folk based genres and power chords in rock genres.

Modal chords fit all traditional Western modes including both major and minor.

Example

Let’s say we want to find the modal chord on C.
We want the root note, C, and the perfect 5th, G.
There it is; C and G played together.

A modal chord consists of the root note and perfect 5th

The above chord sounds a bit small. Chords can be made to sound bigger by including other octaves.

Content And Voicing

The list of different notes in the chord (excluding other octaves) is called it’s content.

When playing a chord, each note in the content can be played at any octave. You can even play one or more notes at several different octaves at once, to make the chord sound bigger.

The order and pitch distribution of the notes of a chord is called voicing. We’ll look at chord voicing later in this course.

…If a chord is a recipe then the content is the ingredients and voicing is the quantities…

Major And Minor Chords

The problem with modal chords is that you can’t tell major from minor.

To truly represent a key, a chord needs a note that differs between major and minor. If we look at a major and minor scale on the same root note, we can see that there are 3 possible notes we could use; the 3rd, 6th or 7th.

The Third – The Other Important Note

Most music in minor keys is written in either the melodic or harmonic minor, or sometimes a combination of both. As we saw in B3. Melodic And Harmonic Minor, the harmonic minor has a major 7th and the melodic minor ascending has both a major 6th and a major 7th.

Given these variations, the 3rd is the only consistent difference between parallel major and minor keys.

There’s another reason why the 3rd is the best choice to represent major or minor. Look at the example in C major below:

When the 6th or 7th is used in a chord, there is a close interval between one pair of notes in the chord, which can cause clutter.
When the 3rd is used, the notes are almost evenly spread within the octave.

Major chords are made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale they represent.
Minor chords are made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the minor scale they represent.

For example:

The chord A major = A + C# + E
The chord A minor = A + C + E

Triads

Chords that are made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the scale are called triads because the interval between each pair of notes is a third. Major and minor chords are both triads.

A triad is a chord whose content is made up of a sequence of 3rds.

Note: we don’t usually bother to call a major or minor chord a triad unless played as an arpeggio. We just say major chord or minor chord.

Major triad = major chord = Root Note (1st) + Major 3rd + perfect 5th
Minor triad = minor chord = Root Note (1st) + minor 3rd + perfect 5th

Arpeggios: Playing Chords On A Melody Instrument

If you can’t play chords on your instrument, don’t worry. In a way, you can!

Many pitched instruments, including the voice, are monophonic; they can only produce one note at a time.

You can still create the effect of a chord on these instruments by playing the notes quickly one after the other and holding the last note or by repeating the pattern several times.

This sounds even better if you finish on the octave of the root note.

You can also ascend and descend like a scale. This one’s an A minor triad:

Triads played in this way are called arpeggios.

Arpeggios are also variously known as arpeggiated chords, broken chords or simply triads.

For pitched instruments, arpeggios, together with scales, make up an important part of practice technique known as technical work. Technical work limbers up the fingers/vocal chords. It also prepares a player for playing in different keys.

How to Notate Chords

Chords can be notated on a stave by writing the notes one above the other. The great stave, as used for piano and other keyboard instruments, is especially useful for this.

The following example uses the chords C major, A minor, F and G:

Chords aren’t as easy to read as a melody. Depending on how many notes there are and how closely they’re spaced, the music can look quite cluttered. Here’s the same chord progression for guitar:

Chord Symbols

One alternative is to use chord symbols. A chord symbol is a shorthand method of writing down chords as text.

Chord symbols are made up of the name of the root note and the quality of the chord; major, minor or modal.

Other chord types can also be written as symbols, using added text or numbers called a suffix. We’ll look at some of these in coming lessons.

A major chord is just written as the name of the root note. No quality is used.
A minor chord is the root note followed by the letter “m” (sometimes “mi” or “min”) as the quality.
A modal chord is written in different ways depending on the genre, as below:

In folk genres, the letters “mod” are written after the root note, as the quality.
In rock and metal genres, the number 5 is written after the root note, as a suffix.
In Classical and Jazz genres, the modal chord is not considered a complete chord. Instead, it is described as a major chord with the 3rd left out. Accordingly, the text “no 3rd” is written in parentheses after the root note.

Example:

C major chord = C
C minor chord = Cm

C modal chord (folk) = Cmod
C modal chord (metal) = C5
C modal chord (jazz) = C(no 3rd)

Summary of Chord Types

Modal chords fit both major and minor keys as they don’t have a note to represent the difference between major and minor. They consist of only the 1st and 5th notes of the key they represent.
Major chords consist of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the major key they represent.
Minor chords consist of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the minor key they represent.

Modal chord = Rote Note (1st) + perfect 5th
Major triad = major chord = Root Note (1st) + Major 3rd + perfect 5th
Minor triad = minor chord = Root Note (1st) + minor 3rd + perfect 5th

Try These…

1 Write out the content (notes) of the following chords:

G
Gm
Gmod
Bb
F#m
D5

2 Name the following chords using chord symbols:

E G B
E G# B
Ab C Eb
C# G#
F Ab C
D F# A

Answers at the end of this post.

NEXT LESSON: B15. Chord Voicing: Inversions Of Triads

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

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Answers to Try These…

1
G = G B D
Gm = G Bb D
Gmod = G D
Bb = Bb D F
F#m = F# A C#
D5 = D A

2
E G B = Em
E G# B = E
Ab C Eb = Ab
C# G# = C#mod, C#5 or C#(no 3rd)
F Ab C = Fm
D F# A = D

B13. Degrees Of A Scale: Relative Note Names

Scale Degrees

As we’ve seen in 10. How To Find The Notes Of A Scale, we can name the notes of a scale by using the interval pattern of its mode to find the right notes.

If we want to look at scales in a more general way, we can replace the actual note names by degree names; numbers representing the position of each note in the scale, such as 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. The exception is the root note, which is either called the root note (RN for short) or tonic.

Interval Names As Scale Degrees

Further, we can distinguish notes in the major from the parallel minor by thinking of each degree as an interval above the root note and include the quality in the name.

For instance,

the 3rd note of a major scale is called the major 3rd
the 6th note of a minor scale is called the minor 6th
the 4th note of both major and minor scales is called the perfect 4th

Interval names as scale degrees allow us to describe scale notes in relative terms, so we can look at an example in one key and apply what we notice to any key.

Degree Names Quick Tip

For major and natural minor scales,

the 3rd, 6th and 7th are major or minor, as per the scale
the 2nd is always major
the 4th and 5th are always perfect

Note: we don’t use a quality for the 1st/octave.

The harmonic minor has a major 7th. The rest of the notes have the same degree names as the natural minor.

Why use degree names when we already have note names?

Degree names are a great analysis and learning tool.

As mentioned earlier, degree names make it easy to apply something we noticed in a particular key to any other key. This could be in the melody but it applies equally to chords.

Degree names are particularly useful for understanding chords: notes in a chord are also described as intervals above the root note.

Try These…

The first note in each exercise is the root note/tonic.

Use the key signature to work out if the key is major or minor.
Name the key.
Name the following notes as scale degrees.
Don’t forget to include the interval quality in the degree name, as described above.