
What is a chord?
Definition: A
chord is a combination of three or more different
notes. They may be played at the same time or
sequentially. CHORD is just the relation between notes,
played more or less at the same time. FULL STOP.
So we have to learn the rules. Once we know the
rules we can use them, or we can break them, which
is a very interesting experience.
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The most common three-note chord are made with
major thirds and minor thirds. These chords have the
interval structures major=1 3 5, minor=1 b3 5,
diminished=1 b3 b5
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The sequence of the three notes does not change the
name.
Chord Scale Relationships
You can know all the chords in the world, but if you don't know
how or when to use them over a scale, they really mean nothing.
If you're a beginner or intermediate keyboard player you may
well find it hard to find one chord that will fit over that
scale. The relationship between the vertical usage of a scale is
chords (harmony), and the horizontal usage of a scale is the
melody.
The first step is to learn how to build chords. What we're
going to learn in this lesson is how to put the right chord
to the correct scales or vice-versa. Basically, when the
melody notes and chords come from the same scale they
generally sound good together, but if the melody and chords
come from different scales it sounds not so melodic.
Let's start with the melodic stuff. What we're going to do
is get the C major scale and build triads (three note) on
each note of the scale. If you play already, you probably
know that a three-note chord is called a triad and that it
has a root, third and fifth tone. As you can see the triad
contains the notes C, E, G - the C major triad. This is
known as the I chord. We use Roman numerals to label the
chord number. The second (II) triad has D, F, A which is a D
minor triad. The III chord has E, G, B, which is Emi7. The
IV chord contains F, A, C, which is F major. The V chord
contains G, B, D which is G major chord. The VI chord
contains A, C, E which is A minor. The VII chord contains
the B, D, F which is a B diminished chord.
So, all these chords belong to the key of C major.
Therefore, the C major chord can be played over the
top of C major scale. Since every major scale
has the same scale pattern, the chord patterns will
remain the same. The I chord is major, the II chord
is minor, the III chord is minor, the IV chord is
major, the V chord is major, the VI chord is minor,
the VII chord is diminished. (See Example 2 for
triads in G major)
Basically, this is where chord progressions come
from. Let's make up a I, V, VI, IV chord progression
in the key of C major (see example below). Play
these chords over the C major scale, D major scale,
E major scale, F major scale ...... and so on.
What
chords are in what Scale, and why?
Basic Triads.
(triads means three notes chord)
Each diatonic
scale has 7 different notes, which gives way to 7
possible triads for each key in music. A triad is
the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of a scale played
simultaneously to form a chord.
All chords
are formed based on their respective major diatonic
scale. A C chord is built on a C major scale,
a D chord is built on a D major scale, etc.
There are 7 chords for each key, which correspond to
the 7 notes in each key's scale. Some chords can be
in more than one key - for example, a D major chord
can be in the keys D, A, or G.
I'll use the
key of C as an example. You may use any major key
like Cmaj, Dmaj, Emaj .....etc,
The key of
C includes the notes C D E F G A B C.
Each
note of the scale corresponds to a scale degree as
shown:
..Note: C D E F G A B C
Degree: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
You can form 7 basic chords (triads) from the notes
in the key of C. Each different note is the root of
a different chord.
There are 3 combinations
of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes that will be covered
in this lesson. There are 3 more, but they are not
included.
Major triad: 1 3 5
Minor triad: 1 b3 5
Diminished triad: 1 b3 b5
Your first chord will
be a C chord, because C is the first scale degree. Now,
since this is a C chord, it will be based on the C major
diatonic scale. Take scale degrees 1 3 5 as shown below:
..Note: C D E F G A B C
Degree: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
This gives you notes C, E, and G. Since all 3 of those notes
are in the key of C, you do not have to modify them to fit,
and you have a major triad (1 3 5). So your first chord is C
major.
The second chord will be a D chord, because D
is the 2nd scale degree. It's based on the D scale, which is
D E F# G A B C# D. Now, take 1 3 5 of this scale:
..Note: D E F# G A B C# D
Degree: 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 1
.
This gives notes D F# A. This
presents a problem - F# is not in the key of C! In order to
keep this chord in key, we have to flat the F# (lower it by
1/2 step) down to F natural. This gives D F A, which is
scale degrees 1 b3 5 of the D major scale. 1 b3 5 is the
formula for a minor triad. Therefore, your second chord is D
minor.
The seventh chord will be a B chord, because B
is the 7th scale degree. It's based on the B scale, which is
B C# D# E F# G# A# B. Now, take 1 3 5 of this scale:
..Note: B C#
D# E F# G# A# B
Degree: 1
2 3 4 5 6
7 1
This gives notes B D# F#. D#
(3) and F# (5) are not in the key of C, and must be
flatted to D (b3) and F (b5), respectively. This gives us
scale degrees 1 b3 b5, which is the formula for a diminished
triad.
Based on these examples, you can figure out the rest
of the chords. However, they always follow a pattern:
1 - major
2 - minor
3 - minor
4 - major
5 -
major
6 - minor
7 - diminished
By
applying this pattern, you can quickly figure out that the
chords in the key of C are:
Cmaj
Dmin
Emin
Fmaj
Gmaj
Amin
Bdim
All the
notes contained in the above chords will be in the key of C.
This pattern works for any of the keys in the Circle of 5ths. It
does not, however, cover any scales that are not the major scale
(such as the harmonic minor scale, for example. That has its own
pattern of chords).
What are 12 desi scales and 12
desi chords. See scales chords relationship, in teacself
keyboard. What are 12 major desi scales and their desi chords,12
major portant.