How To Form Basic Major And Minor Chords For Piano Keyboard

A song’s melody is normally performed by right hand with the piano chords which supplement the melody being performed by the left hand. For a musical piece to be complete you need to play chords.

Accordingly, a nice understanding of the theory of basic piano chords is vital.

How To Build Chords

You don’t require a “Chords Dictionary” for being enabled to read or perform chords. You may know how to build chords by yourself, as chords are formed utilizing basic formulas.

The chord comprises 3 or greater notes played simultaneously. It’s as easy as that. Obviously, the trick lies in knowing which 3 notes!

Certainly, not all notes combinations sound nice. Specific combinations each bear their individual name: thus, there are “minor” chords, “major” chords, “diminished” chords, “dominant-7” chords and the like. View an exhibition of the various chord types.

With every chord type, 12 probable chords are there: one for every note. Accordingly, there lies a major chord of C, a major chord of C# (which is similar to the major chord of Db), a major chord of D, and likewise. Moreover, there is even a minor chord of C, a minor chord of C#, you understand the idea.

The note naming a chord is known as the root note. Accordingly within the chord of Cmaj7, C is the root note. The chord type (or chord quality) is maj7, being brief of “major chord containing an added seventh”.

The difference among various chord types lies in the manner they sound with each type having its own specific sound. For instance, major7 chords like the Cmaj7 carry a pleasant sound, whereas dominant-7 chords such as C7 sound extremely depressive.

Chord Formulas

For forming a chord just employ a formula for major scale called with root tone. Furthermore, the formula informs you about the notes of the scale that constitute the chord. Every chord type possesses its individual formula.

Accordingly, to form any chord type, you must know:

the root tone’s major scale of that chord, plus

that chord formula.

Let’s apply this knowledge in practice. The major chords formula is: 1 – 3 – 5

It is known that the C major scale is:

C       D       E       F       G       A        B         C

1         2        3        4       5       6         7         8

When we enter numbers for the formula, it is obtained: C – E – G. These constitute the tones for major chord C. Get the sense! That’s all to know.

Suggestion: When we mention: “The third of the chord” we denote the 3 tone of its major scale, E in the earlier example. ( Accordingly, we don’t imply the third note within the chord, but within the scale ).

The major scale just includes 7 specific notes but occasionally we number to 13. They are called extended tones as they stretch further than the octave. Highly popular extended tones comprise 9, 11 and 13.

It’s important to understand that note “9” resembles note “2”, 11 resembles 4, and 13 resembles 6:

C           D          E          F         G         A           B

1             2           3          4          5         6            7

8             9           10        11         12        13         14

Formulas also exist containing the symbols # and b. The b denotes “flatten” or reduce by a 1/2-step while # denotes ” sharpen” or increase by a 1/2-step.

For instance, a minor chord’s formula is: 1 – b3 – 5.

You are aware that 3 constitutes the scale’s third note, so to obtain b3 we decrease the 3rd note with a 1/2-step.

How To Build And Use Minor Chords

Minor chords generate a sound that is serious, few people even regard minor chords to be “sad”, as against major chords that sound “happy” or “normal”.

Few of the wonderful classics are composed with minor keys, comprising Fur Elise by Beethoven, Prelude in Cm by Chopin and several others. In famous music there is “Summertime”, “Round Midnight”, and others while in folk song we have “Dark Eyes”, “Greensleeves”, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” besides several more.

However, minor chords too feature often in songs that are composed with major keys, which offer the contrast required to create an interesting song. The most-utilized chords within any particular key are the I, IV, and V chords being major, but succeeded by the ii, iii, and iv chords being minor. Accordingly most songs composed within a major key contain between one to three minor chords anywhere down the line.

For knowing minor chords, it is first required to comprehend major chords. The Major chords were designed utilizing the root, third, and fifth of a major scale. The major scale is described as a series of notes which shifts by a root ( below or beginning note) and travels upward by two whole steps, a 1/2 step, three whole steps, and one 1/2 step till it gets to the octave note (8 notes up). By choosing the root, third, and fifth scale notes we build a major chord (also called a triad – a chord with 3-note).

Major Chords

There are just 12 separate major chords:

3 among the major chords are composed of all white keys: C F G.

The major 3 chords bearing white keys externally, with a center black key: D E A.

3 major chords resemble as Oreo cookie? Black externally, with white inside: Db Eb Ab.

This leaves just 3 major chords, of which one is completely black, and one is white, black, black, and the other the opposite – black, white, white. Gb (all black) B (white, black, black) Bb (black, white, white).

And that’s it.

The following is their order:

Major chords built of all white keys:

Major chord C: C, E, G

Major chord F: F, A, C

Major chord G: G, B, D

Major chords bearing white keys externally with a center black key:

Major chord D: D, F#, A

Major chord E: E, G#, B

Major chord A: A, C#, E

Major chords bearing black keys outside and a middle white key:

Major chord Db: Db, F, Ab

Major chord Eb: Eb, G, Bb

Major chord Ab: Ab, C, Eb

Major chords remaining:

Major chord Gb (all black keys): Gb, Bb, Db

Major chord Bb: Bb

Major chord D, F B: B, D#, F#

All these chords displayed above are in “root position”; that is, the root, or name of the chord, is on the bottom of the chord.

Why Am I Required To Know The Major Chords

The reply is plain, the rest of the chords are built by modifying one or more major chord notes. So after you understand major chords, it’s simple to locate minor, augmented, diminished, or extended chords.

Accordingly, to locate a minor chord, what is to be done is to decrease the third of every chord 1/2 step. Therefore to transform the C major chord into a C minor chord, we simply need to reduce E (the third of the chord) 1/2 step to Eb.

Therefore minor chord of C represents C, Eb, G.

These are the minor chords remainders:

Minor chord F: F, Ab, C

Minor chord G: G, Bb, D

Minor chord D: D, F, A

Minor chord E: E, G, B

Minor chord A: A, C, E

Minor chord Db: Db, Fb, Ab ( Fb is the same as E)

Minor chord Eb: Eb, Gb, Bb

Minor chord Ab: Ab, Cb, Eb (Cb is the same as B)

Minor chord Gb: Gb, Bbb, Db (Bbb is the same as A)

Minor chord B: B, D, F#

Minor chord Bb: Bb, Db, F

Master them nicely, as you will be performing them throughout life in numerous songs.

How To Form A Major Chord On Piano

For forming our initial piano chord, the major chord, you utilize notes 1, 3 and 5 of the major scale. So beginning on the note C, the notes you would strike are C, E and G. C is note 1, E is note 3 while G is note 5. It’s that easy. Simply strike notes 1, 3 and 5 of the scale together and you have a major chord. You can perform this with any scale. Whether it be a C major, E major, D major, F major or any different major scale, a major chord can be formed by pressing notes 1, 3 and 5 of that scale.

How To Form Basic Chords

Though chord finders are precious tools online, how do we act while we’re sitting by the piano without access to computer, attempting to figure out chords? The following provides a breakdown on how to build chords you’ll employ in your piano performing.

Major Chords

Beginning from the root note, count up Five semi-tones (5 half steps). Always utilize the root note while counting. This will take you to the second note in the chord. From and inclusive of this note, count up Four semi-tones (4 half steps). This takes us to the final note of the chord.

Example: The Chord C Major – C is the root note of this chord. Count up 5 semi-tones from the C: C=1, C#=2, D=3, Eb=4, E=5. Next, count up 4 semi-tones from the second note of the chord: E=1, F=2,F#=3, G=4. Strike the C, E and G simultaneously and you get a Major chord of C. By applying this ‘Five then Four’ rule, you can construct any major chord.

Minor (m) Chords

Regarding minor chords, just reverse the rule for building major chords. Rather than counting 5 then 4, count 4 then 5.

Example: C Minor – C is the root note of this Chord. Count up 4 semi-tones from the C: C=1, C#=2, D=3, Eb=4. Next, count up 5 semi-tones from the second note of the chord: Eb=1, E=2, F=3, F#=4, G=5. Perform the C, Eb and G simultaneously to obtain a C Minor Chord. By utilizing this ‘Four then Five’ rule, you can figure out any minor chord.

A few piano teachers hold a pianist can play nearly anything upon the piano by possessing a knowledge of basic piano chords. A sound knowledge of musical terms and chords will aid most starters know to play the piano quicker and to raise their potential for learning the piano.