Your root note (starting note) will always be a C. Note: From now on, when referencing the piano keyboard, we will be using the key of C. Semitones and whole tones are arranged in a variety of different patterns to make up scales and chords. It is important to think of the keyboard and its notes in terms of semitones and whole tones because they are the building blocks of Western music. Semitones and whole tones are also called half steps and whole steps. If you skip two semitones to get to the next note, it is always referred to as a whole tone. For example, D to E is a whole tone, F sharp to G sharp is a whole tone, and so on. If you go from your C white key, skip a semitone and land on the next white key (D) – you have jumped two semitones, and we call this a whole tone. For example, C (white key) to C sharp (black key) is a semitone, C sharp (black key) to D (white key) is a semitone, and so on. The step from one note to the other is referred to as a semitone. These are slightly higher or lower in pitch compared to their white key counterparts. There are 7 white keys: C D E F G A B and C, and then the sequence of notes starts all over again! There are also 5 black keys scattered in between the white keys (which are called sharps and flats). Note: For this article, it will help if you have a piano keyboard in front of you (even if just on a screen).Ī keyboard consists of 12 keys that represent the chromatic scale. Similarly, for the producers out there, you will have more control over your music when building chord progressions with synthesizers and electric pianos. Doing so will not only help you memorize the chords but will also help you become familiar with the sound of major, and the relationships of half and whole-steps within the scale.Having a solid foundation in the basics of music theory and chord construction means you will understand any piece of music you are learning to play, and you will become a more well-rounded musician overall. Practice building major chords in all 12 keys. Count up three more half-steps to get to the 5th. Count up four half-steps to get to the 3rd. There is another way to quickly build a major chord. Playing these three notes together gives us a major chord. Once we've found those first 5 notes, we simply select the root, 3rd, and 5th. But in order to build our major chords we only need to be able to find the first 5 notes of the major scale. Now, to be clear, a major scale contains 7 notes. So here is that formula applied to a C major scale: And that's our formula! Root, whole-step, whole-step, half-step, whole-step. And the 5th note is a whole-step above the 4th. The 4th note is a half-step above the 3rd. The 3rd note is a whole-step above the 2nd. The 2nd note of the major scale is a whole-step above the root. The starting note for any major scale is called the root. A major chord is built by using the notes from the major scale. Major chords and major scales are very closely related. Learn All 12 Major Chords: Finding the Root, 3rd, and 5th Playing these three notes together produces the major triad. So, which three notes are we concerned with when building major chords? In order to play a major triad we need to find the root, 3rd, and 5th of the major scale. These three notes represent the fundamental chord tones of a major (or minor) chord. But a basic building block for all of them is the major (and minor) triad. Is there such a thing as 4-, 5-, or 6-note chords? You betcha. As the name suggests, triads are 3-note chords. What follows below is an explanation of how to build major triads. We might say that major chords sound happy while minor chords sound sad, if we are speaking in very broad and general terms. We generally deal with two very basic tonalities in music: major and minor. What is a tonality? A tonality is a collection of notes that possesses a certain characteristic of sound. Let's get started! Learn All 12 Major Chords: Understanding Tonalities But it is a pattern that is very simple to memorize and can be used to easily build a major chord starting on any note of the piano. There is also a secret formula that only the wisest of piano instructors know about that allows you to build major chords starting on any note! Ok, so maybe it's not a secret formula. In this article you will learn all 12 major chords, and how to play them! There are 12 unique notes at the piano, which means we can build a major chord on each of those 12 notes - C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, an B.
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