Introduction

Chords form the basis of harmony in most music that we perform and listen to. Fundamentally, harmony is playing two or more pitches at the same time; an interval is a simple form of harmony. Usually, harmony is two or three voices singing melodies together, or one singer with a piano or guitar accompaniment. These can create different textures (patterns of multiple voices and/or instruments), but generically they make up harmony.

Since the concept of harmony is somewhat free-flowing–multiple voices (or one voice and an instrument) that may or may not sing at exactly the same time–how does a chord fit into this concept? A chord is a convenient way to take a collection of notes, for example, 3-4 notes, and put them into a group with one label name, like a C Major chord, or an Eb Dominant 7^th chord, or a D^sus4 chord, etc. Depending on the texture, these groups of notes are more or less easy to see and hear. Look at this Bach Chorale hymn; here, the chord groupings are easy to see as a vertical stack of notes (blue boxes); each vertical group of notes constitutes a 3-note chord being sung by 4 voices (notice that one pitch is always doubled in each chord):

In this Debussy excerpt, from Première Arabesque, the notes of the chords are spread out–arpeggiated–but are still considered a chord. 

Chord Structure and Position

Triads in Root Position

Triads are the most common type of chord used in our styles of music. We need to clarify two terms: Triad means a 3-note chord. Tertian refers to the interval used to build the chord–the 3^rd. Don’t confuse the two separate uses of three.

Parts of a chord.

The basic triad is built using stacked 3^rd intervals, and when they are stacked only in 3rds, this is called Root Position (other arrangements covered below). The named parts of the chord—Root, 3^rd, 5^th—are important to understand and remember. The 3^rd of the chord is written a third higher than the root, and the 5^th of the chord is written a fifth higher than the root; so, the two 3rds make up a 5th. [Why not a 6th, 3 + 3? Because, each 3rd shares the same middle note, so there’s an overlap–see the illustration on the right, above: D to F# = 3rd; F# to A = 3rd.]

One of the interesting things about chords is that they maintain their identity, even when they are broken apart and rearranged (remember the Debussy above). It does not matter how far the higher notes are from the lowest note, or how many of each note there are (doubles at different octaves or on different instruments, like in the orchestra score video example above); what matters is which note is lowest, as you can see below. ALL five examples of this G major chord are in root position, because G, the root, is the lowest sounding pitch; even when the other notes are rearranged in various ways above the Root, that does not affect the position label.

First and Second Inversions

You may have wondered why it’s important to determine Root Position by which note is the lowest. Why not the highest? The reason, as with most practices in art and music, is partly history and partly physics.

It’s easy to understand how the melody line is the most important one in music; what’s less well-known is the importance of the Bass voice (we use the word “bass” generically a lot in music–it’s the lowest sounding instrument or voice). You may have an idea already about the importance of the bass player in a rock band and a jazz big band–that is somewhat dependent on the time period and style. Much of modern pop music uses electronic bass instead; however, the importance of the bass is still there. That is actually a very old concept in music history.

Composers and performers in much of western culture developed a particular style and texture that favored the highest and the lowest voices, which primarily has to do with the fact that they are easiest to hear when there are multiple voices. Additional voices filled out the harmony, but the Bass and the Soprano (again, these names are used generically for the lowest and highest voices or instruments) came to be considered the essential framework for the harmony. In the 17^th century, the Bass voice became the primary structural voice, the foundation, for establishing the flow of the chord progression of a piece. This texture and technique was called Figured Bass (this notation was in use well into the 18^th century). We won’t study figured bass in this course, but it’s good to know about if you study music further, especially if you are interested in more historic styles.

Once you’ve established which pitch is the Root, we can then begin to rearrange chords into different positions. If the third of the chord is the lowest note, the chord is in first inversion. If the fifth of the chord is the lowest note, the chord is in second inversion.

Here is another example with a G chord, showing more variations.

Inverting a chord–changing the bass position note–has several musical uses, which we will discuss later. It also creates a new “sound” or “effect” on the chord: inverted chords generally sound less “stable,” so it’s a nice variety (listen to the above examples).

It’s important to remember that a chord maintains its identity no matter how it is arranged: if the Root is C, that doesn’t change no matter where the root is placed in the voicing of the music. That holds true for the other parts of the chord as well–the 3^rd and the 5^th remain the same pitches that they were no matter where they show up. Also, doubling notes–having 2 or more copies in different octaves also does not change the identity of the chord. In summary:

• Remove any doubled notes.
• The Root is determined by arranging the notes so that they stack in 3^rd intervals–this can only work one way (remove any doubled notes and compress notes close together).
• The Bass, lowest, note determines which position is being used–Root (Rt) or an Inversion (3^rd or 5^th of chord)

Voicing is how the notes are arranged in the music. Root Position rearranges the notes in 3^rd intervals to determine which note is the Root. Note that the double C pitch has been removed in the root position version.

Naming Triad Qualities

As mentioned earlier, inverting a chord does affect its sound quality, but a much bigger difference in the chord’s sound comes from the quality of the intervals building the chord.

Chords are named according to the root and the interval qualities between the notes when the chord is in root position. Play these four different G chords.

Defining Major and Minor Chords

The most commonly used triads are major chords and minor chords.

• All major chords and minor chords have an interval of a perfect fifth between the root and the fifth of the chord.

A perfect fifth can be divided into a M3 plus a m3. If the interval between the root and the third of the chord is the M3 (the “bottom” 3^rd), then the triad is a major chord. If the interval between the root and the third of the chord is the m3, then the triad is a minor chord. Both chords derive their name from the quality of the bottom 3^rd. Listen closely to a major triad and a minor triad in the Triad Chord Qualities Noteflight file above.

Arrangement of the 5thd and 3rds in Major and Minor Triads. Both major and minor have P5 (red) from root to 5th. The 3rds have a swapped pattern: major has M3 on bottom – root to 3rd (purple) and a m3 on top – 3rd to 5th (green). The minor triad has the opposite 3rds pattern. The major triad is named by 3rd built on the root, M3 and m3, respectively. 

In order to make identifying and building chords as simple as possible, we are going to use a modified interval approach. We are going to focus on just the 5ths and 3rds.

Next, it’s easy to memorize the 3rds that are built on C, F, G are major, and all the others are minor, as long as they have matched (or no) accidentals. Using your knowledge of intervals from the last chapter—and the simplified approach here—see how the 5ths and 3rds patterns consistently create major and minor triads. To “speed up” your recognition, it can be simpler to remove the accidentals, see what type of 5^th or 3^rd you have, and then add them back to see how they are modified. Again, the 5ths are the quickest to recognize when they have MAP, then all you need to look at is the bottom 3^rd.

Defining Augmented and Diminished Chords

Because they don’t contain a P5, augmented and diminished chords have an unsettled feeling and are normally used sparingly. An augmented chord is built from two M3’s, which adds up to an augmented fifth, which is where it derives its name. A diminished chord is built from two m3’s, which add up to a diminished fifth, which is where it derives its name.

Using our MAP approach, most 5ths are going to be un-matched for augmented and diminished chords. Again, recognizing P5ths first can speed things up—remove the accidentals if it helps you—and then see how the un­-matched accidental creates the Aug. (⁺) or Dim. (^o)5^th. Notice below that all 5ths are unmatched accidentals *except* the B-F pair on the B dim. chord, because the natural version of these two notes is already a diminished 5^th.

Notice that sometimes you can’t avoid 1) double sharps or double flats; 2) mis-matched accidentals. If you use an enharmonic equivalent to avoid 1 or 2, you are changing the pitch class name, which change the spelling of the intervals and the entire chord.  For example, here’s what would change if you did that in the above examples.

You can put the chord in a different position or add more of the same-named notes at other octaves without changing the name of the chord. But changing the note names or adding different-named notes will change the name of the chord.

Pitch Class Chords Method

Becoming proficient with chords takes time and practice, but there is a way to make that practice more efficient. Musicians who use chords frequently have multiple ways of thinking about them, but that isn’t always practical for a general education student.

The best way to start is to stick with one method, which for this course is the pitch class method.

Dominant Seventh Chords

If you take a basic triad and add a fourth note on top that is a seventh above the root, you have a seventh chord. There are several different types of seventh chords, distinguished by both the type of triad and the type of seventh interval used. We will only be looking at one type in this course, the Dominant 7^th chord.

The Dominant 7th chord is made up of a Major triad and a m7 interval above the root. It is called the dominant 7^th because it is constructed on the fifth (dominant) scale degree of a key.

Step 1 is to build a major triad. Step 2, create a minor 7^th interval above the root of the major triad. Therefore, using our MAP interval approach, let’s look at just the 7^th pitch class intervals to find a quick way to memorize 7^th intervals.

Chord Labels, Inversions, and Leadsheet Symbols

So far, we’ve only labeled the chords by naming the root and listing the quality. Musicians need a less cumbersome method of labeling chords. This is practical for composers, arrangers, and performers (especially people using a lot of chords, like pianists and guitarists), who need to be able to talk to each other about the chords that they are reading, writing, and playing.

Chord manuals, fingering charts, chord diagrams, and notes written out on a staff are all very useful, especially if the composer wants a very particular sound (called a “voicing”) on a chord. In many cases, though, all you really need to know are the name of the chord, your major scales and minor scales, a few rules, and you can figure out the notes in any chord. If you know all your scales (always a good thing to know, for so many reasons), you can find all the intervals from the root using scales. If you plan to take the Jazz Theory course, being proficient at these skills will be extremely helpful.

Chord Symbols and Leadsheets

Some instrumentalists, such as guitarists and pianists, are often expected to be able to play a named chord, or an accompaniment based on that chord, without seeing the notes written out in staff notation. In such cases, a chord symbol above the staff tells the performer what chord should be used as an accompaniment to the melody until the next symbol appears. This is called “lead sheet” (also “leadsheet”) notation. It’s used in conjunction with “fake books” and “charts,” which have to do with a player showing up to a gig, and being able to play along (“fake it”) with other musicians on “sight”. The idea is that you are given the “lead” part—the melody—and then the player comes up with their own accompaniment (depending on the instrument), based on the chord symbols, to go along with the melody, as below.

Here are the basic chord symbols used for leadsheet, below. The example above has a couple chords that we won’t even deal with in this course, such “add9” but you can imagine how they would work: we just learned about putting a 7th above the root, so an “add 9” would put a 9th above the root – a compound interval (Ch. 5).

Another example of leadsheet, from Beyonce’s “Sandcastles,” which also includes the guitar fretboard symbol and a notated piano accompaniment. The fretboard symbols are just a basic guide for a beginning guitarist; the guitarist would need to improvise or imitate the original. The pianist could read the given version, improvise their own, based on the leadsheet, or do a combination of both. 

From sample page @ musicnotes.com

In popular music, it’s relatively straightforward how leadsheet symbols are used, as covered in the video below.  Some of the symbols, like in the examples above, above would need some more study, but it’s easy to find many guides for these online. Once you know the basics from a course like this, transferring and expanding your chord knowledge just takes some regular practice.

In jazz music, the chord system is quite a bit more extensive and fairly complicated, and beyond this course. In addition, which symbols are used has changed slightly over time. In reality, the best way to understand jazz chord theory and symbols is to take a jazz theory course (Music 29) as well as play with other jazz musicians (Music 57AD—Jazz Combos and Music 23AD—Jazz Choir). Within historical music theory, Roman Numeral symbols are also used (Ch. 7 and Music 1A).

This figure is just for illustration but gives a brief sense of how chord symbols can get more complicated in more advanced music. If your goal is mostly focused on songbooks, then you won’t need to worry about most of these – the simple symbols discussed above will suffice.

Additional leadsheet symbols. Most of these are beyond use in this course, and are shown only for illustration.

Leadsheet Symbols and Inversions

Leadsheet music scores communicate inversions with a slash (/) and another pitch letter to state which pitch should be in the bass. For example, the following examples show leadsheet above the staff, where it is typically written. The pitch beneath the slash is the pitch in the bass–the lowest-sounding pitch.

Leadsheet symbols with inversions.

Voicing and Texture

How the notes of a chord move from one chord to another chord is called voiceleading. How you place notes inside a given chord is the voicing. This is closely related to the texture of the music: the three notes of one chord voiced on a guitar, versus a piano, versus a choir, versus an orchestra will create very different textures. For this class, we will look at only two textures: chorale (SATB, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass – voices of a typical choir) and Keyboard. For voiceleading, we will only look at keyboard voiceleading.

Keyboard Texture and Voiceleading

Here, the chords have been voiced in all root position, which means each chord “jumps” to the next, with the root always on the bottom and the 3^rd and 5^th only stacked above—somewhat interesting, but not very sophisticated sounding.

Keyboard texture actually needs two components:

1. Put the complete chord in the treble clef, as shown above—this lets the keyboard player “voice” the chord with only their right hand.
2. Combine this with a bass “line” in the bass clef (creating a grand staff), which the keyboardist plays with their left hand—this “thickens” the texture for a fuller sound. This also allows for a more complete use of inversion.

Here is a complete keyboard texture:

Keyboard texture provides an easy way for someone to accompany a singer (or instrumental soloist) by creating a simple, yet clear, background texture of the harmony. By voicing the chords mostly in the right hand (treble clef), the complete harmony is easy to play with one hand. By adding the bass line in the bass clef, the acoustics of the lower note create a richer texture and also allow for a clear inversion voice to create a more interesting texture.

What we are covering here is the simplest version of keyboard texture, but is still quite useful. Building on this would be typical songbooks you can find for popular music of all kinds. If you were interested in learning more about it, you could take Music 51A, our beginning piano course.

Chorale SATB Texture

In contrast with keyboard texture, SATB texture has a more complex set of “rules” for the voicing and voiceleading work. As mentioned before, these go beyond this course (see Music 1A to continue), but I want to just introduce it to help illustrate the concept of how texture can be expressed in many different ways.

As noted earlier, SATB stands for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass, which are the standard voice ranges for a choir, from highest to lowest. Traditionally, these encompass the female (soprano, high; alto, low) and male (tenor, high; bass, low) ranges. These are not hard categories, as some females can sing low enough to cover the tenor range, and some males learn to expand their range into soprano range (countertenors).

This texture was historically known as chorale texture, referring to the old hymn texture made well-known by J.S. Bach. See here for an example:

While the only place these are still used is in religious settings, the practical use in theory courses is that we can efficiently teach the principles of multiple voice textures in a compact form. For instance, this Haydn symphony score…

…can be essentially reduced to…

This is a very basic reduction of Haydn’s score, just showing some of the basic notes that are making up certain chords, eliminating most of the doubled pitches. Compare to his version:

The essential idea behind SATB voiceleading is a way to help students grasp the underlying structure of more complicated pieces in a simpler format. If you continue in music theory (Music 1A and others), you’ll learn these concepts.