| Revision as of 17:20, 18 December 2001 editGareth Owen (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users6,215 edits a beginning on the construction and naming of chords...← Previous edit | Revision as of 17:21, 18 December 2001 edit undoGareth Owen (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users6,215 editsmNo edit summaryNext edit → | ||
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| ''The Triad'' | '''The Triad''' | ||
| The most commonly used chords, that form the basis of western diatonic harmony are composed of "triads": a root note, the third of a relevant scale, and the fifth. For example, an octave of the C Major scale consists of the notes | The most commonly used chords, that form the basis of western diatonic harmony are composed of "triads": a root note, the third of a relevant scale, and the fifth. For example, an octave of the C Major scale consists of the notes | ||
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| '''The dominant seventh''' | |||
Revision as of 17:21, 18 December 2001
A chord in musical theory is three or more notes played simultaneously. Chords are named according to the notes of the musical scale that they contain.
The Triad
The most commonly used chords, that form the basis of western diatonic harmony are composed of "triads": a root note, the third of a relevant scale, and the fifth. For example, an octave of the C Major scale consists of the notes
- C D E F G A B C
The triad formed using the C note as the root would consist of C(root), E(third) and G(fifth), and these comprise a C major chord (the designation major denotes the fact that the E is four semitones (a major third) higher than the root note.
Using the same scale (and thus, implicitly, the key of C major) a chord may be constructed using the D as the root note. This would be D(root), F(third), A(fifth), which comprise the chord of D minor, since the third, F, is a minor third (three semitones) higher than the root.
The dominant seventh
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