NOTE
The notes of a chord don’t always have to be played in unison. You can play the notes one at a time, starting (usually, but not always) with the bottom note. This is called arpeggiating the chord, and the result is an arpeggio.
Different Types of Chords
Let’s go back to the piano. Putting your fingers on every other white note, form a chord starting on middle C. (Your fingers should be on the keys C, E, and G.) Nice sounding chord, isn’t it? Now move your fingers one key to the right, so that you’re starting on D. (Your fingers should now be on the keys D, F, and A.) This chord sounds different—kind of sad, compared to the happier C chord.
You’ve just demonstrated the difference between major and minor chords. The first chord you played was a major chord: C Major. The second chord was a minor chord: D minor. As with major and minor scales, major and minor chords sound different to the listener, because the intervals in the chords are slightly different.
In most cases, the type of chord is determined by the middle note: the third. When the interval between the first note and the second note is a major third—two whole steps—you have a major chord. When the interval between the first note and the second note is a minor third—three half steps—you have a minor chord.
It’s no more complex than that. If you change the middle note, you change the chord from major to minor.
Read on to learn all about major and minor chords—as well as some other types of chords that aren’t quite major and aren’t quite minor.
WARNING
You should always spell a triad using every other letter. So D♭-F-A♭ is a correct spelling (for a D♭ Major chord), but the enharmonic spelling of C♯-F-A♭ is wrong.
Major Chords
A major chord consists of a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. For example, the C Major chord includes the notes C, E, and G. The E is a major third above the C; the G is a perfect fifth above the C.
Here’s a quick look at how to build major chords on every note of the scale:
Major triads.
There are many different ways to indicate a major chord in your music, as shown in the following table.
Notation for Major Chords
Major Chord Notation
Example
Major
C Major
Maj
C Maj
Ma
C Ma
M
CM
Δ
CΔ
In addition, just printing the letter of the chord (using a capital letter) indicates that the chord is major. (So if you see C in a score, you know to play a C Major chord.)
TIP
When you play a chord based on the tonic note of a major scale or key, that chord is always a major chord. For example, in the key of C, the tonic chord is C Major.
Minor Chords
The main difference between a major chord and a minor chord is the third. Although a major chord utilizes a major third, a minor chord flattens that interval to create a minor third. The fifth is the same.
In other words, a minor chord consists of a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. This is sometimes notated 1-♭3-5. For example, the C minor chord includes the notes C, E♭, and G.
Here’s a quick look at how to build minor chords on every note of the scale:
Minor triads.
There are many different ways to indicate a minor chord, as shown in the following table.
Notation for Minor Chords
Minor Chord Notation
Example
minor
C minor
min
C min
mi
C mi
m
Cm
Diminished Chords
A diminished chord is like a minor chord with a lowered fifth. It has a kind of eerie and ominous sound. You build a diminished chord with a root note, a minor third, and a diminished (lowered) fifth. This is sometimes noted 1-♭3-♭5.
TIP
In this and other chord charts in this book, the accidentals apply only to the specific chord; they don’t carry across to successive chords.
For example, the C diminished chord includes the notes C, E♭, and G♭.
Here’s a quick look at how to build diminished chords on every note of the scale:
Diminished triads.
NOTE
Note the double flat on the fifth of the E♭ diminished chord.
There are many different ways to indicate a diminished chord, as shown in the following table.
Notation for Diminished Chords
Diminished Chord Notation
Example
diminished
C diminished
dimin
C dimin
dim
C dim
°
C°
Augmented Chords
An augmented chord is like a major chord with a raised fifth; thus an augmented chord consists of a root, a major third, and an augmented (raised) fifth. This is sometimes notated 1-3-♯5.
For example, the C augmented chord includes the notes C, E, and G♯.
Here’s a quick look at how to build augmented chords on every note of the scale:
Augmented triads.
NOTE
Did you spot the double sharp on the fifth of the B augmented chord in the illustration of augmented chords?
There are many different ways to indicate an augmented chord, as shown in the following table.
Notation for Augmented Chords
Augmented Chord Notation
Example
augmented
C augmented
aug
C aug
+
C+
NOTE
Although it’s important to learn about diminished and augmented chords, you won’t run into too many of them, especially in popular music. If you base the root of your chord on the notes of a major scale, as you’ll learn in Chapter 10, only the seventh degree triad forms a diminished chord. (Triads based on the other degrees of the scale form major or minor chords.) There is no augmented chord found on any degree of the major scale.
Chord Extensions
Chords can include more than three notes. When you get above the basic triad, the other notes you add to a chord are called extensions.
Chord extensions are typically added in thirds; so the first type of extended chord is called a seventh chord because the seventh is a third above the fifth. Next up would be the ninth chord, which adds a third above the seventh, and so on.
Chord extensions are nice to know, but you can simplify most pieces of music to work with just the basic triads. The extended notes add more color or flavor to the sound, kind of like a musical seasoning. Like a good meal, what’s important is what’s underneath—and you can always do without the seasoning.
So if you see a piece of music with lots of seventh and ninth chords, don’t panic—you can probably play the music without the extensions and still have things sound okay. Of course, for the full experience, you want to play the extended chords as written. But remember, the basic harmonic structure comes from the base triads; not from the extensions.
That said, it helps to have a full understanding of extended chords, just as a good chef must have a full understanding of all the different seasonings at his or her disposal. That means you need to know how to build extended chords, so you can throw them into the mix when necessary.
Sevenths
The seventh chord is the most common chord extension—in fact, it’s so common that some music theorists categorize it as a basic chord type, not as an extension. In any case, you need to be as familiar with seventh chords as you are with triads. They’re that important.
Creating a seventh chord within a specific key or scale is normally as simple as adding another third on top of the fifth of the base triad. This gives you a 1-3-5-7 structure—the equivalent of playing every other note in the scale.
There are actually three basic types of seventh chords: major, minor, and dominant. Major and minor seventh chords are kind of sweet sounding; the dominant seventh chord has its own internal tension.
Dominant Sevenths
The dominant seventh chord—sometimes just called the “seventh” chord, with no other designation—takes a major triad and adds a minor seventh on top. In other words, it’s a major chord with a lowered seventh; the chord itself consists of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. This is sometimes notated 1-3-5-♭7.
For example, a C7 chord includes the notes C, E, G, and B♭.
The dominant seventh chord is an especially important—and frequently used—extension, as this is what you get if you play a seventh chord based on the fifth (dominant) tone of a major scale. As you’ll learn in Chapter 10, the dominant chord is frequently used to set up the tension leading back to the tonic chord; when you add a seventh to the dominant triad (with its mix of major triad and minor seventh), you introduce even more tension to the music. So when you want to get back home to the tonic, you set it up with a dominant seventh chord. (Although it’s possible, of course, to also form dominant seventh chords on any note of the scale—it’s not limited to the fifth tone.)
Here’s a quick look at how to build dominant seventh chords on every note of the scale:
Dominant seventh chords.
There’s really only one way to notate a dominant seventh chord: by placing a single 7 after the name of the chord. For example, you notate a C dominant seventh chord like this: C7.
Major Sevenths
The major seventh chord takes a standard major chord and adds a major seventh on top of the existing three notes. This gives you a chord consisting of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and major seventh. For example, a C Major 7 chord includes the notes C, E, G, and B.
Here’s a quick look at how to build major seventh chords on every note of the scale:
Major seventh chords.
There are several ways to indicate a major seventh chord, as shown in the following table.
Notation for Major Seventh Chords
Major Seventh Chord Notation
Example
Major 7
C Major 7
Maj7
C Maj7
M7
CM7
Δ7
CΔ7
Minor Sevenths
The minor seventh chord takes a standard minor chord and adds a minor seventh on top of the existing three notes. This gives you a chord consisting of a root, minor third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. (This is sometimes notated 1-♭3-5-♭7.)
For example, a C minor 7 chord includes the notes C, E♭, G, and B♭.
Here’s a quick look at how to build minor seventh chords on every note of the scale:
Minor seventh chords.
There are several ways to indicate a minor seventh chord, as shown in the following table.
Notation for Minor Seventh Chords
Minor Seventh Chord Notation
Example
minor 7
C minor 7
min7
C min7
m7
Cm7
Other Sevenths
When I said there were three basic types of seventh chords, I left the door open for other types of less frequently used seventh chords. Indeed, you can stick either a minor or a major seventh on top of any type of triad—major, minor, augmented, or diminished—to create different types of seventh chords.
For example, a major seventh stuck on top of a minor triad creates a minor major seventh chord. (That is, the base chord is minor, but the seventh is major.) This is notated 1-♭3-5-7; a C minor Major 7 chord would include the notes C, E♭, G, and B (natural).
Other types of seventh chords.
A minor seventh on top of a diminished triad creates what’s called a half-diminished seventh chord, like this: 1-♭3-♭5-♭7. It’s sometimes notated as a minor 7 with a flatted fifth. (This is the chord you get if you play a seventh chord based on the seventh tone of a major key.) If you want a full diminished seventh chord, you need to double-flat the seventh, like this: 1-♭3-♭5-♭♭7.
Put a minor seventh on top of an augmented triad and you get an augmented seventh chord, like this: 1-3-♯5-♭7. A major seventh on top of an augmented triad creates a major seventh chord with a raised fifth (♯5), like this: 1-3-♯5-7 … and so on.
Other Extensions
Although the seventh chord is almost as common as an unadorned triad, other chord extensions are less widely used. That doesn’t mean you don’t need to bother with them; when used properly, sixths and ninths and other extended chords can add a lot to a piece of music.
Let’s look, then, at the other extensions you can use to spice up your basic chords.
Sixths
I said previously that all chords are based on notes a third apart from each other. There’s an important exception to that rule: the sixth chord. With a sixth chord (sometimes called an added sixth chord), you start with a basic triad; then add an extra note a second above the fifth—or a sixth above the root. You can have major sixth and minor sixth chords, as well as sixths above diminished and augmented triads, as shown in the following figure:
Different types of sixth chords.
NOTE
Later in this chapter, you’ll learn about chord inversions, where the order of the notes in a chord is changed. Interestingly, a sixth chord can be viewed as nothing more than the first inversion of a seventh chord. For example, the C Major 6 chord (C E G A) contains the same notes as the A minor 7 chord (A C E G), just in a different order. For that reason, you sometimes might see sixth chords notated as seventh chords with a separate note (the third) in the bass. (C Major 6 could be notated like this: Am7/C.) This is a little advanced—come back to this sidebar after you’ve read the section on inversions. It’ll make sense then.
Ninths
A ninth chord adds another third on top of the four notes in the seventh chord. That makes for five individual notes; each a third apart. You can have ninth chords based on both major and minor triads, with both major and minor sevenths. Here’s just a smattering of the different types of ninth chords you can build:
Different types of ninth chords.
Seventh, ninth, and eleventh chords see frequent use in modern jazz music, which often employs sophisticated harmonic concepts.
NOTE
When you get up to the ninth chord, you assume that the chord includes both the underlying triad and the seventh.
Elevenths … and Beyond
An eleventh chord adds another note a third above the ninth, for six notes total: 1-3-5-7-9-11. You can set an eleventh on top of any type of triad, along with all sorts of seventh and ninth variations—although the most common eleventh chord always uses the unchanged note from within the underlying key or scale.
As with the ninth chord, you have to make a few assumptions with the eleventh chord. You have to assume the underlying triad, of course, but you also have to assume the presence of both the seventh and the ninth.
Different types of eleventh chords.
It’s also possible to construct a thirteenth chord by adding another third above the eleventh. But that’s as high as you can go because the new note for the next chord up—the fifteenth chord—is exactly two octaves up from the chord root. There’s no point in calling it a new chord when all you’re doing is doubling the root note.
Altered, Suspended, and Power Chords
To ensure that you have a comprehensive background in chord theory, there are three other chord types you need to know about. These are variations on the basic chord types that crop up from time to time—and can help you notate more complex musical sounds.
Altered Chords
When you get into seventh and ninth and eleventh chords, you run into the possibility of a lot of different variations. It’s math again; the more notes in a chord, the more possible combinations of flats and shar
ps and such you can create.
This is why we have something called altered chords. Altered chords take standard, easy-to-understand chords and alter them. The alteration—a lowered fifth, perhaps, or maybe an added ninth—is typically notated in parentheses, after the main chord notation. (By the way, don’t confuse altered chords with the altered bass chords discussed in Chapter 16. The names are similar but they’re completely different beasts.)
For example, let’s say you wanted to write a C Major seventh chord, but with a lowered fifth. (I know … that’s a really weird-sounding combination.) To notate this, you start with the basic chord—CM7—and add the alteration in parentheses, like this: CM7(♭5). Anyone reading this chord knows to start with the basic chord and then make the alteration shown within the parentheses.
Here’s another example: let’s say you have a C minor chord and want to add the ninth but without adding the seventh. Now, if you wanted to include the seventh, you’d have a Cm9 chord, which is relatively standard. But to leave out the seventh takes a bit more planning. Again, you start with the underlying triad—in this case, Cm—and make the alteration within parentheses, like this: Cm(add9). Anyone reading this chord knows to play a C minor triad and then add the ninth—not to play a standard Cm9 chord.
Idiot's Guides - Music Theory Page 12