Chords
A chord is several tones that sound at the same time. But which tones should we combine to create chords?
There are two basic "templates" for chords: major chords and minor chords. We start by choosing any tone, which we call a root of the chord. E.g., the A minor chord has a root tone of A. G# major chord has a root tone of G#. Then, we add two more tones.
Minor Chords
To create minor chords, we use this pattern: 0, 3, 7. For example, in the D minor chord, there are these three tones:
- D (root D + 0 semitones)
- F (root D + 3 semitones)
- A (root D + 7 semitones)
In the C# minor chord, we have C#, E, and G#. What tones do we have in the F minor chord? Try to play minor chords below!
Major Chords
To create major chords, we use this pattern: 0, 4, 7. For example, in the G major chord, there are these three tones:
- G (root G + 0 semitones)
- B (root G + 4 semitones)
- D (root G + 7 semitones)
In the A# major chord, we have A#, D, and F. What tones do we have in the C major chord? Try to play major chords below!
We have three pianos above. Try to play the following: The tone of C3, the C minor chord, and the C major chord (both at C3). What difference can you hear? People say that minor chords sound "tragic", while major chords sound "cheerful".
We often omit "major" when mentioning major chords: G chord means the G major chord. Minor chords, like A minor, are abbreviated to Am or Ami.
Inversions
Each tone of a chord can be played in any octave, or even in several octaves at the same time! The C major chord can look like this:
- C3, E3, G3
- C3, E3, G3, C4
- C3, E3, G3, C5, E5, G5
- G2, C3, E3
- E2, G2, C3
- ...
Try to play a major chord in several ways by pressing the root key!
We say that the C major chord is being played when every tone that sounds is either C, E, or G.
Let's say we play C major (C, E, G), and we move the C key one semitone lower: (B, E, G). Did we get nonsense? No, it is the E minor chord! It consists of E (E+0), G (E+3), and B (E+7). Such a small change can lead to a new "mood" of the song (as it changes the chord from major to minor). See this: C major and E minor played in a loop.
Combine chords
Chords are building blocks of almost all musical pieces for the past 400 years. We need only two to six chords for the whole song.
Something in the Way from Nirvana consists only of E minor and C major in a loop. Only four tones occur in this song: B, C, E, and G (and a small slide from A to B).
Here is another example with repeating chords: G major (G, B, D) and D major (D, F#, A). The whole piece consists of only five tones: G, A, B, D, and F#, over two octaves. Two chords (five tones) can be enough to create a very interesting piece.
Other Chords
So far, we learned about the Minor chords (0,3,7) and Major chords (0,4,7). Several other "patterns" of chords are used in practice, with their own names. They are created from the Major / Minor chords by moving one of the tones, or addign / dropping a tone.
Names can be confusing. Replace "X" with any tone to name that chord, e.g. C5 or Ddim.
X5: Power Chord: 0, 7
We just "drop the middle" of the Minor / Major chord. The first tone is usually played over two octaves (0, 7, 12).
Xdim: Diminished: 0, 3, 6
Standard minor chord, the last tone is one semitone lower ("two 3-semitone steps").
Xaug: Augmented: 0, 4, 8
Standard major chord, the last tone is one semitone higher ("two 4-semitone steps").
Xsus2: Suspended Second: 0, 2, 7
Minor with "the middle" moved a semitone lower.
Xsus4: Suspended Fourth: 0, 5, 7
Major with "the middle" moved a semitone higher.
Xmin7: Minor Seventh: 0, 3, 7, 10
Standard Minor. The new, fourth tone is the second tone raised by 7 semitones.
Xmaj7: Major Seventh: 0, 4, 7, 11
Standard Major. The new, fourth tone is the second tone raised by 7 semitones.