Chords, Arpeggios and who cares!?!?!

Lesson #15

©TB Music 2020

Simple Definition of a Chord:Notes played at the same time.

Instruments that can play chords:

Piano/Keyboard Instruments

String Instruments

“Air” Instruments like the Accordion and Pipe Organ

Because Wind Instruments (Reed and Brass instruments) can only play one note at a time they must play a chord through the use of multiple players or the performance of an arpeggio (more on this later).

Types of Chords For You To Know At This Level

“Voices” are the actual notes in the chord and are labeled by their relationship to the Root (the note the chord is based on).

An “Interval” is the distance between two notes measured in half and whole steps (the definition of half and whole steps can be found in lessons #2, #5 & #7).

An “Arpeggio” is when the chord is broken into its component parts.

Meaning: The voices of a chord are each played one at a time.

Triad: 3 voices

5th

3rd

Root

Types of Chords For You To Know At This Level

Types of Chords For You To Know At This Level

For our purposes, a triad will always contain :

A Root : The note the chord is based on.

A “Perfect” 5th (an interval of 3 1/2 steps up from the root)

A major 3rd (interval of 2 whole steps up from the root)

*OR* minor 3rd (interval of 1 1/2 steps up from the root)

The “quality” (major or minor) of the chord is determined by the type of 3rd contained in the triad.

Types of Chords For You To Know At This Level

Major Triad

Minor Triad

Types of Chords For You To Know At This Level

7th Chord (4 voices in the chord)

7th

5th

3rd

Root

Types of Chords For You To Know At This Level

For our purposes, a 7th chord will always contain :

A Root : The note the chord is based on.

A “Perfect” 5th (an interval of 3 1/2 steps up from the root)

A major 3rd (interval of 2 whole steps up from the root)

*OR* A minor 3rd (interval of 1 1/2 steps up from the root)

A major 7th (1/2 step below the root at an octave)

*OR* A minor 7th (1 whole step below the root at an octave)

Types of Chords For You To Know At This Level

Major Triad

Major Triad

Minor Triad

Major 7th

Minor 7th

Minor 7th

What you should do to learn these concepts better:

Experiment constructing triads and 7th chords on the piano.

Try different combinations of major and minor 3rds and 7ths.

Listen to the combinations you come up with and think of a label for each combination.

Practice Chords/Arpeggios on your instrument.

Seek further information on the internet regarding chord construction.

Triads:

https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/40

7th Chords:

https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/45

.....and of course..........Practice

Practice

Practice

Practice

Practice!!!!!!