MUSIC. Chords. Level 3

Triads

Major Triads

A major triad can be built on each note:

C

C♯ / Db

D

D♯ / Eb

E

F

F♯ / Gb

G

G♯ / Ab

A

A♯ / Bb

B

Referring to the interval table, we can see that the notes to play for C are the root C, the major third E and the perfect fifth G. For Bb the notes are Bb, D, F:

	Root	Major Third	Perfect Fifth
C	C	E	G

	Root	Major Third	Perfect Fifth
Bb	Bb	D	F

For the rest of this article, we will build our examples using C as the root of our chords.

Minor Triads

Minor triads are the same as major triads, but with the third lowered by a half step. The most common notations are as follows:

Cm

Cmin

C−

Example:

	Root	Minor third	Perfect Fifth
Cm	C	Eb	G

 

Augmented Triads

These are the same as a major triad, but with an augmented fifth instead of a perfect fifth. The most common ways to notate this are as follows:

C+

Caug

Example:

	Root	Major third	Augmented fifth
C+	C	E	G♯

Diminished Triads

Diminished triads are similar to minor triads, but with a diminished fifth instead of a perfect fifth (the minor third is retained). The most common ways this is notated are as follows:

C°

Cdim

Cm(b5)

Cmin(b5)

C-(b5)

Example:

	Root	Minor third	Diminished fifth
C°	C	Eb	Gb

Please note that while the above symbols are commonly seen, the technically correct way to write a C diminished triad is C°.

Dominant Triads

Dominant triads have a major third with a perfect fifth. The seventh is minor. The most common ways this is notated are as follows:

C7

Example:

	Root	Major third	Fifth Seventh
C°	C	E	G        F

Sevenths

A seventh chord is a triad with an added note, which is either a major 7th above the root, a minor 7th above the root (flatted 7th), or a diminished 7th above the root (double flatted 7th). Note that the diminished 7th note is enharmonically the same note as the major 6th above the root of the chord.
There are several different kinds of seventh chords, including major, dominant, minor, and diminished. For example, if you add the major 7th interval to your triad the resulting chord is called a major 7th, because the note you are adding to your triad is a major 7th interval above the root and the base chord is a major chord. A major chord built with the flatted 7th note above the root is known as a major-minor 7th chord, or a dominant 7th chord, or simply just a 7th chord. However, a dominant 7th chord usually refers to a chord built on the 5th note of the scale (in C major, this would be G). The G chord is the dominant (V) chord in the key of C major, therefore a G7 chord in C major is the dominant 7th, and all the notes used in this chord are diatonic to the key of C Major.
The table below shows the various kinds of 7th chords:

	Major 7th	Minor7th	Augmented-Major 7th	(Dominant) 7th	Minor 7th	Augmented 7th	Half-Diminished 7th	Diminished 7th
Notational forms:	CM7  Cmaj7  CΔ7	Cm7	CΔ♯5 CΔ+	C7 / C7	Cm7  C−7	C+7 C7♯5	CØ /Cm7b5	C°7 / Cdim7
3rd	major	minor	major	major	minor	major	minor	minor
5th	perfect	perfect	augmented	perfect	perfect	augmented	diminished	diminished
7th	major	major	major	minor	minor	minor	minor	diminished
Example	C E G B	C Eb G Bb	C E G♯ B	C E G Bb	C Eb G Bb	C E G♯ B♭	C Eb Gb Bb	C Eb Gb B