Chords

A chord is three or more tones sounding simultaneously. (When the notes of a chord are played one after another they are said to be arpeggiated or an arpeggio.) (ex.1).

In Western music, chords have been traditionally constructed (or stacked) in thirds. A three note chord is called a triad (e.g. C-E-G). The lowest (fundamental) note of a triad is called the root, the note above the root is called the third and the note above the third is called the fifth. When the root of a chord is doubled (e.g. repeated an octave higher) the chord is said to be full (e.g. C-E-G-C) (ex.2).

When a triad or full chord has an additional note added (usually a third above the fifth) a seventh chord results (so-called because the added note is a seventh above the root of the chord). Some examples are major-minor seventh (C-E-G-Bb), major-major seventh (C-E-G-B), minor-major seventh (C-Eb-G-B), diminished-minor or half-diminished (C-Eb-Gb-Bb) and diminished-diminished or fully diminished

As in seventh chords, more complex chords can be constructed simply by adding tones a third higher than the previous tone. In this manner we arrive at ninth chords (e.g. C-E-G-B-D), eleventh chords (e.g. C-E-G-B-D-F) and thirteenth chords

(e.g. C-E-G-B-D-F-A). In practice any of these chords can be and frequently are used without all chord tones present. Just how this is done is beyond the scope of this lesson, however, suffice it to say that for any of these chords to be recognizable, certain chord tones need to be present - mainly the root, the third and the top most tone of the chord (ex.5).

When chords are built from the tones of a major or minor scale (within the chosen key center) they are said to be diatonic (e.g. in C major: C-E-G-C or G-B-D-F). When chords are built using one or more chromatic tones (outside the chosen key center) they are said to be chromatic (e.g. in C major: Bb-D-F or E-G#-B-D) (ex.6).

Chords are said to be inverted when any tone other than the root of the chord is the lowest tone. A chord is in root position when the root of the chord is the lowest tone (e.g. C-E-G). When the third of the chord is the lowest tone, the chord is in first inversion (e.g. E-G-C). When the fifth of the chord is the lowest tone, the chord is in second inversion (e.g. G-C-E) (ex.7).

Any note of a chord can be doubled (repetition of a chord tone) at any octave. This will change the sonority of the chord somewhat but the quality and terminolgy of the chord will stay the same (e.g. C-E-G, C-E-G-C, E-G-C, G-C-E-C and E, C, E, G, C are all C major chords) (ex.8).

Step 1: Take a piece of staff paper and draw a treble clef sign at the begining of each staff. On the first staff draw middle-C four times using whole notes for each tone. Space each tone about an inch apart. Each C will become the root of a triad.

Step 2: Above each C construct a triad by adding two tones, each a third higher (e.g. C-E-G). Then using accidentals (sharps and flats) as needed, make the first triad major (C-E-G), the second minor (C-Eb-G), the third augmented (C-E-G#) and the fourth diminished (C-Eb-Gb). Label each of the triads by writing the following symbols underneath: M for major, m for minor; + for augmented and o for diminished (e.g. CM, Cm, C+ and Co) (ex.9).

Step 3: Continue this process on each successive staff using the following consectutive tones of a chromatic scale (C#, D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, B) as the lowest note of each triad.

Hint: Use accidentals throughout this assignment instead of key signatures. Be sure to write in the correct accidental (sharp or flat) before each tone as needed in order to create the properly spelled triads.

Step 1: Take a piece of staff paper and draw a treble clef sign at the beginning of each staff. On the first staff, starting with C, write a major scale (ascending only) using whole notes to indicate each tone. Continue this process on each successive staff until you have completed all twelve major scales (C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, and B). This time use the appropriate key signatures at the beginning of each staff.

Step 2: Now construct a triad above each tone of each scale. Then using your newly gained knowledge of chord quality, label each chord as major (M), minor (m), augmented (+) or diminished (o) (ex.10).

Hint: In major scales, chords built over the first, fourth and fifth tones of the scale will be major, chords built over the second, third and sixth tones of the scale will be minor and chords built over the seventh scale tone will be diminished.

Step 3: Now go back and add a tone a third higher above each triad. You have just created a series of seventh chords on each tone of the major scales. Re-label each chord as to its proper seventh chord quality - e.g. the chord over C (C-E-G-B) will be a major-major seventh (MM7), over D (D-F-A-C) a minor-minor seventh (mm7), over E (E-G-B-D) a minor-minor seventh (mm7), over F (F-A-C-E) a major-major seventh (MM7), over G (G-B-D-F) a major-minor seventh (Mm7), over A (A-C-E-G) a minor-minor seventh (mm7) and over B (B-D-F-A) a half-diminished seventh ( 7o-) or (B-D-F-Ab) a fully-diminished seventh (7o) (ex.11).

Take a piece of staff paper and write a treble clef sign at the beginning of each staff. On the first staff write five middle-Cs spaced about an inch apart. Now construct a major triad over the first C (C-E-G), a 7th chord over the next C (C-E-G-B), a 9th chord over the next C (C-E-G-B-D), an 11th chord over the next C (C-E-G-B-D-F) and a 13th chord over the last C (C-E-G-B-D-F-A) (ex.12).

Notice that each successive (and more complex) chord was created by simply adding a note a third higher to the previous chord. In actual usage, however, all the tones of a chord do not have to be present for the chord to maintain its quality and utility. When omitting certain tones, some are more important to retain than others (chiefly the root, the third and the top note of the chord) but this is a subject for a more advanced lesson.

Continue this process of constructing 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th chords over different tones until you gain some skill in chord building. Play these chords on a piano. Compare them to one another. See what happens when you omit one or more tones of a chord.

Get with a friend and play these chords for one another. Take turns trying to identify which chord is being played. It's best at first to keep each chord in root position.

Practice constructing triads in various inversions. Take a piece of staff paper and add a treble clef at the beginning of each staff. On the first staff construct three C major triads, the first one in root position (C-E-G), the next one in first inversion (E-G-C) and the next one in second inversion (G-C-E). Use whole notes for each tone and accidentals instead of key signatures. Be sure to align the tones of each triad vertically (ex.13).

Hint: When the notes of a triad are as close together as possible, it is said to be in close spacing (e.g C-E-G). When there is an extra space between tones of the triad it is said to be in open spacing (C-G-E or E-C-G or G-E-C). After you have constructed all of the inversions in close spacing, go back and on each staff add some triads in open spacing (ex.14).

Look at the series of chords in example15. They are in the key of F Major. 1.) Label each chord as to type (e.g. major, minor, augmented or diminished. 2.) Label each chord as diatonic or chromatic (to the key of F Major). 3.) Label each chord as to position (e.g. root position, 1rst inversion or 2nd inversion). 4.) Label each chord as to spacing (e.g. close or open). 5.) Look for any seventh chords and label them as such (e.g. C7).

Hint: It would be helpful to play these chords at the piano. Play the bottom note of each chord with the left hand and the top three notes of each chord with the right hand. Play very slowly and listen carfully to the quality of each chord and to the relatinship of each chord to all the others.