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Chords and Triads

Structure and Quality

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Chords and Triads: In music, a CHORD is generally thought of as a simultaneous combination of notes.

"A chord in music is any set of notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords..." (From Wikipedia)

Translation:

The first measure in the above example is a BROKEN CHORD or ARPEGGIO (Fmaj7). The second measure is the same chord, but in this case it is a BLOCK CHORD - the notes are played simultaneously.

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Triads

A TRIAD is one of the most basic types of chords. A triad is a 3 note chord containing a root, third and a fifth. Here is an example:

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Basic chords and triads can be expanded and presented in many different ways.

These pages have detailed information on many common variants, extensions and types of chords:

all 7th chords - chord inversions - sus chords

extended chords - diatonic triads - diatonic 7th chords

primary chords - secondary chords - secondary dominants

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FREE DOWNLOAD: Seventh chords!

Click the icon to download s free PDF of ALL 7th, minor 7th and major 7th CHORDS.  You can then save a copy or print a hard copy of the included sheet.

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Chords and triads can be either MAJOR, MINOR, AUGMENTED or DIMINISHED. The quality is determined by the size of the 3rd and 5th.

• maj triad = root - M3 - P5
• min triad = root - m3 - P5
• aug triad = root - M3 - aug5
• dim triad = root - m3 - dim5

If learning chords is either new, or unclear, go here for a review of intervals. Understanding intervals is vital to knowing and understanding chords.

Now we move on to MAJOR, MINOR, AUGMENTED and DIMINISHED chords.

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Major Chords

A major triad has a major 3rd and a perfect 5th.

Here are examples of some major chords. Each one has a major third and a perfect fifth. These examples use block chords.

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Minor Chords

A minor triad has a minor 3rd and a perfect 5th.

Here are examples of some minor chords. Each one has a minor third and a perfect fifth. These examples use broken chords.

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Diminished Chords

A diminished triad has a minor 3rd and a diminished 5th.

Here are examples of some diminished chords. Each one has a minor third and a diminished fifth. These examples use broken and block chords.

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Augmented Chords

An augmented triad has a major 3rd and an augmented 5th.

Here are examples of some augmented chords. Each one has a major third and an augmented fifth. These examples use broken and block chords.

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7th chords - chord inversions - sus chords

extended chords - diatonic triads - diatonic 7th chords

primary chords - secondary chords - secondary dominants

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Hear & Play

(jazz 101)

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Hear & Play

(jazz 201)

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THE COMPLETE
ONLINE BUSINESS BUILDER
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Harmony and Theory: 

by Carl Schroeder and Keith Wyatt 

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