Chords and HarmonyWhy learn chords?Musicians can be divided into two groups: those who read sheet music and those who play using the chord method.If youre a sheet music player, you may think that you dont need to know about chords. owever, I believe that understanding how chords are used in a composition will make it much easier for you to read and understand the piece.!ven for classical music" #ust like todays songwriters, composers of classical music usedchords to create their harmonies. $hords are the foundation of all our music.ere is an e%ample:&his is the first phrase of 'argo in !b ma(or by $hopin.)ow Im not a particularly good sight*reader and this looks pretty intimidating to me. +ut when I write down the chords, it instantly becomes a lot easier for me to read.+ecause I know how to form chords, I can predict what the notes will be and what shapes my hands need to assume.ere is the same phrase with added chord symbols:It may be a little hard to read in the picture, but the chords are: Eb, Bb7, G7/B, Cm, G7, Ab, Fm, Eb/Bb, Bb7, Bb7/Eb, Eb.I notated some chords as slash chords, for e%ample ,-.+. &his is a ,- chord but with a+ tone in the bass.)ow its (ust a matter of playing the correct melody note in the right hand and the bass note in the left hand, and filling in the rest with chord tones.I dont really need to read each individual note: I can assume with a large likelihood of success that most of them will be tones from the chord. /nd if they are not, then playing a chord tone will still sound acceptable. I do this on all my sheet music pieces now: first find the chords and write them above the music. It makes the structure of the piece more understandable to me, and I learn it 0uicker.+y making the chords visible, the dots on the page are no longer arbitrary and unrelated.The different types of chords'ets start by looking at chords. In future articles Ill go into greater depth: how to construct chords, how to use them, and why you would want to use them 1 even if youre a classical player.+ut for now, a 0uick overview.What is a chord?If youre wondering e%actly what a chord is: 2ou make a chord by playing 3 or more tones together. &hats it, as simple as that.+ut which tones4 5ell, that depends on what you want to use the chord for.)ot all chords are the same. &here are roughly si% different types of chords and each of these types has its own function in the language of music.&he most important tone in the chord is called the root tone. &his is the tone that the chord gets its name from. 6or e%ample, the C major chord is built on the root tone C and is of the type major.2ou can use each of the 78 uni0ue tones on the piano as the root to build a chord on, but in this article well (ust look at C.ere are the different chord types:The major chord&his is the $ ma(or chord:Ma(or chords are the most common chords in our music. &he tones in this particular ma(or chord are: C 9the root tone:, E and G.The minor chord &his is the $ minor chord:&he minor chord has two tones in common with the ma(or chord, but the middle tone is different: an Eb instead of the E. Minor chords are often labeled as having a sad sound.The dominant-7 chord&his is the $ dominant*- chord:$hords can have more than 3 tones. It is possible to e%tend ma(or and minor chords with additional tones, but most of these do not change the type of the chord: it stays ma(or or minor.owever, by adding a Bb to the $ ma(or chord we do change its character and thereby its function. &he resulting chord is called the dominant*- chord 9or (ust - chord:.The diminished chord&his is the $ diminished chord:It looks a little like the $ minor chord but with a Gb instead of a G. 2ou can make a diminished chord by lowering the highest tone of a minor chord, or the top two tones of a ma(or chord.The augmented chord&his is the $ augmented chord:)ot only can you lower tones, you can also raise them. ere, we have raised the G to a G# to form an augmented chord./n augmented chord has the same function as a dominant*- chord, and they can substitute for each other. 9;ften they are combined into one chord.:The suspended chord&his is the $ suspended chord:+y taking a $ ma(or chord and playing an F instead of the E, the chord becomes suspended. &hese types of chords create tension that is often resolved by playing a ma(or chord.&ry it: play the $ suspended chord followed by $ ma(or. $an you hear how $ ma(or relieves the tension created by the suspended chord4An audio example/s you can see in the pictures above, what causes the differences between these chord types are the distances between the tones that make up the chord. &hese distances are called intervals and we look at those in detail here.&o illustrate these different chord types, I have made a recording that plays these chordsin the order they are listed in the article: first $ ma(or, then $ minor, and so on. &he recording ends on a final $ ma(or chord.How to construct chords2ou dont need a 7 you get the drift.&he note that names the chord is called the root note. Ao in the Cmaj7 chord, the root note is C. &he chord quality 9or chord type: is maj7, which is short for ma(or chord with an added -th.5hats the difference between all these chord types4 &he way they sound, of course: each type has its own uni0ue sound. 6or e%ample, ma(or*- chords such as the Cmaj7 have a warm sound, while dominant*- chords like C7 sound very bluesy.Chord formulas&o form a chord you simply apply a formula to the ma(or scale named by the root tone. &his formula tells you which notes from the scale make up the chord. !ach chord type has its own formula.Ao to build any type of chord, you need to know: the ma(or scale for the root tone of that chord, and the formula for that chord.I am assuming that you already can play the 78 ma(or scales. If not, learn the ma(or scales first.'ets put this knowledge into practice.&he formula for ma(or chords is: 1!"5e know that the scale for $ ma(or is:CDEFGAC12345678If we fill in the numbers from the formula, we get: CEG. &hese are the tones of the $ ma(or chord. Make sense4 &hats all there is to it.&ip: 5hen we say: &he 3rd of the chord we mean the third tone from its ma(or scale, !in the previous e%ample. 9Ao we dont mean the 3rd note in the chord, but in the scale.:/ ma(or scale only contains - uni0ue tones but sometimes we count to 73" 5e call these e#tended tones because they e%tend beyond the octave. &he most common e%tended tones are B, 77 and 73.Its important to realiCe that note B is the same as note 8, 77 is the same as D, and 73 is the same as E:CDE F G A 12 3 4 5 6 7891011121314&here are also formulas that contain the symbols b and #. &he b stands for flatten or lower by a half*step and # stands for sharpen or raise by a half*step.6or e%ample, the formula for a minor chord is: 1b!".2ou know that 3 is the third note of the scale, so to get b! we lower the third note by a half*step.'ikewise, the formula for an augmented chord contains a #": this is the fifth note raised by a half*step. /ny note can be raised or lowered but 3, F, and - are the most common ones.The chart$hord naming rules and chord symbols are not always very consistent. ;ften the same chord can have multiple names. &he chart lists the most common symbols.)ote that the numbers in the formulas always indicate positions in the major scale.Ma(or chords:ChordnameChord s!m"ol FormulaMajor(nothing), maj, ma,M, 1 3 5Major 6 6, maj6, ma6 1 3 5 6Major 7 maj7, ma7, M7, 7, 1 3 5 7j7Major 9maj9, ma9, M9, 9,j91 3 5 7 9Major 11maj11, M11, 11,j111 3 5 7 9 11Major 13maj13, M13, 13,j131 3 5 7 9 11 13Major add9add9, /9 1 3 5 9Major 6/9 6/9, 9/6 1 3 5 6 9Minor chords:ChordnameChord s!m"ol FormulaMinor m, min, mi, - 1 b3 5Minor 6 m6, min6 1 b3 5 6Minor 7 m7, min7 1 b3 5 b7Minor 9 m9, min9 1 b3 5 b7 9Minor 11 m11, min11 1 b3 5 b7 9 11Minor 13 m13, min131 b3 5 b7 9 11 13Minormajor 7m(maj7), mM7,m71 b3 5 7Minormajor 9m(maj9), mM9,m91 b3 5 7 9Minor add 9 m(add9), m/9 1 b3 5 9Minor 6/9 m6/9, m9/6 1 b3 5 6 9=ominant chords:ChordnameChords!m"olFormulaominant77 1 3 5 b7ominant99 1 3 5 b7 9ominant1111 1 3 5 b7 9 11ominant13131 3 5 b7 9 11 13=iminished chords:Chord nameChords!m"olFormulaimini!h"d dim, # 1 b3 b5imini!h"d 7 dim7, #71 b3 b5 bb7(bb7 $ 6)%a&'-dimini!h"d(7)m7b5, m7-5, (1 b3 b5 b7/ugmented chords:Chord Chord Formulaname s!m"ol)*gm"nt"da*g, +, +5 1 3 ,5)*gm"nt"d 7a*g7, 7,5,7+51 3 ,5 b7Auspended chords:ChordnameChords!m"olFormula-*!."nd"d(4)!*!, !*!4 1 4 5-*!."nd"d77!*!,7!*!41 4 5 b7-*!."nd"d2!*!2 1 2 5&ip: If the chord symbol is some kind of complicated chord, like Cmaj1!, and you dont know how to play all the additional tones, then you can simplify the chord to its basics. In this case, the basic chord is the ma(or chord, so you can get away by playing only 1!". It might not sound entirely as intended, but it will still sound good.Altered chords;ccasionally, you may come across a weird*looking chord symbol such as G7b$ orC7b$#". &he b$ and #" indicate alterations to the chord./lterations change the color of the chord but do not change its character and purpose./s always, b means to lower a tone by a half*step and # means to raise the tone a half*step.&he chord G7b$ contains the tones of the G7 chord with an added Bth that is lowered a half*step.&he tones of the ,- chord are: GBDF&he Bth from the ma(or scale of , is A, but we still need to flatten it. 9Gemember that the Bth is the same as the 8nd degree from the scale.:&he final chord is: GBDFAb&he chord C7b$#" also contains a lowered B 9Db in this case: and its Fth has been raised 9to a G#:.&hat makes the tones for this chord: CEG#BbDbIf the chord symbol is 7alt, then you are free to make your own alterations. Hsually only the Bth and the Fth are altered, but raising or lowering the 77th and 73th also happens.Aometimes the alterations are put in parentheses: C7%b$&. &hat is especially helpful on chords that already have a b or # in their name: C#$ is a $I dominant*B chord, not a $ chord with a raised B";ccasionally, the symbols ' and ( are used for b and #. 6or e%ample: C7'"&hats it" If youre already comfortable with building chords from scale degrees then altered chords should not cause you any problems.Simplifying chordsIf you play from leadsheets or you downloaded a chord chart from the internet, you may occasionally find chord symbols that you dont know yet how to play.eres the trick: the only thing that really matters about a chord is whether it is ma(or orminor. 2ou can safely ignore anything else about the chord.6or e%ample, you may encounter the chord symbols Am$ and D1!.&he first one is an / minor chord with an added -th and an added Bth.&he second one is a = dominant*-@ chord with an added 73th but it could also have a Bth and 77th, depending on how you voice it.If that didnt make any sense to you and you have no clue how to form these chords, then keep what you know and throw away the rest.In our e%ample:/mB can be simplified to /m, which is / minor. &hats a very simple three*tone chord.=73 can simply be played as = ma(or. /gain, a very simple chord.5hen you play /m instead of /mB and = ma(or instead of =7B, the tune probably wont sound 0uite like its supposed to, but it wont sound bad either. 2ou can get away with it"&he only important thing to get right is the distinction between ma(or and minor. If you mi% those up, something will sound bad.&o recap: / chord symbol that has an m or min 9or sometimes a minus sign: can be simplified to a minor chord. /ny other chords can be simplified to a ma(or chord./nd if youre really not sure, you can simplify even further to a power chord. 9&here are a few other chord types too, such as diminished and augmented, but well ignore those for now. #ust worry about ma(or and minor.:Diatonic chords&he key that a piece is written in does not (ust determine the possible melody tones, but also the chords that can be used.&he diatonic chords are the ones most likely to make an appearance. &hese are the chords that can be built on the tones of the keys scale. &hey do not borrow tones from other scales.'ets assume were playing in the key of $. &hat means were using the tones from the $ ma(or scale.&he $ ma(or scale is: C D E F G A B C5e can build a three*note chord 1 also called a triad 1 on each of these tones.&his is the formula: 5e pick a root tone to start from, then skip one to find the second chord tone, then skip another to find the last chord tone.&he first chord is $ ma(or: C E GAee what I did4 I started on the first tone from the scale, $. &hen I skipped a tone, =, to land on !. &hen I skipped another tone, 6, to get to ,. /nd I know that the combination $*!*, is called the $ ma(or chord.&he second chord is = minor: D F A&his time I started on =, skipped !, found 6, skipped ,, found /. Jery simple.If we apply that formula to all tones in the scale, we find the following chords:ChordTones/ major / 01 minor 2)0 minor0 132 major 2 ) /1 major1 3

) minor) /03dimini!h"d3 2;r viewed slightly differently:CDEFGACDEF/major/ 0 1

minor2 )0minor0 1 32major2 ) /1major1 3)minor) / 03 dim 3 2ere it is in sheet music notation:6or any piece in the key of $, these are the most common chords. 9/ctually, + diminished is much less common than the others.:)ot all of the chords have the same type: some are ma(or, some are minor, and one is diminished.6or any ma(or scale, the order is always as follows:7. ma(or8. minor3. minorD. ma(orF. ma(orE. minor-. diminished&ry it for yourself on the scale of 6 ma(or: F G A Bb C D E F2ou should find the following chords:ChordTones2 major 2 ) /1 minor1 3b

) minor ) / 03b major 3b 2/ major / 0 1 minor2 )0dimini!h"d0 13b#inor $e!s5e can also build chords on the tones from a minor key. 'ets take the key of / minor. 5e will use the natural minor scale to build the chords, e%cept for one.&he natural scale of / minor is: A B C D E F G A&hese are the same tones as the scale of $ ma(or, although in a slightly different order. &hat is because / minor is the relative minor of $ ma(or.+ecause the two scales have the same tones, we can simply use the diatonic chords from the key of $ ma(or, but we now begin at / instead of $:ChordTones) minor ) / 03dimini!h"d32/ major/ 01 minor2 )E majorE G#B2 major 2 ) /1 major1 3

?ay attention to the Fth chord, ! ma(or. &his is the e%ception. If we used the natural minor scale as we did for the other chords, this chord would have been called ! minor.Instead, we use the harmonic minor scale, which has a ,I note instead of ,. &he reasonis this: the F*chord should have a strong, powerful sound, even in minor keys.In sheet music notation the chords are:/gain, notice the ,I on the ! ma(or chord.%e&enth chords&he chords we looked at so far were triads, chords with only 3 tones. 5e can add another tone on top to make them seventh chords. /dding this -th will refine the character of the chords.95e could add more tones too, to make Bth, 77th, or even 73th chords, but these additional tones dont have as much impact on the character of the chord.:+ack to the key of $ and the $ ma(or scale: C D E F G A B C5e made our chords by skipping tones. Akipping another tone and adding the ne%t note to our $ ma(or chord makes it a $ ma(or*-th or $ma(- for short: C E G B&he second chord then becomes =m- 9= minor*-th:: D F A C,et the drift4 ere are all the diatonic -th chords:ChordTones/maj7/ 0 13m7 2 )/0m70 1 322maj72 ) /0171 3 2)m7) / 013 ha&'-dim732)In sheet music:)ow what did I mean by refining the character of the chords4 5hen we had (ust 3*tone chords, 6 and , were both ma(or. )ow, however, 6 has become a ma(or*- chord but, is a dominant*- chord./ ma(or*- chord and a dominant*- chord have two very different functions in the language of music.&he Fth chord in the key, in this case ,-, is therefore usually played as a four*tone chord, to make this distinction between ma(or and dominant*- clearer.'ike I said, the F*chord is special./lso, + diminished was refined to a + half*diminished*- chord 9and not a fully diminished*- chord:. )ote that +m-bF@ is another way of writing + half*dim-@.&he order of diatonic seventh chords in a ma(or key is always:7. ma(-8. m-3. m-D. ma(-F. dominant*- 9or (ust -:E. m--. half*dim- 9or m-bF@:5e can also add -ths to the chords from a minor key:Chord Tones)m7) / 013 ha&'-dim732)/maj7/ 0 13m7 2 )/E7E G#B F2maj72 ) /0171 3 2/gain, these are simply the chords from $ ma(or in a different order. 5ith the e%ception of the the F*chord, !-, which has also become a dominant*- chord here.Roman numerals (and the number system5e have seen that it is possible to build chords on the tones of the ma(or or minor scale 9the diatonic chords:.;ften, these chords are not referred to by their name, but by a number. /nd not a regular number like 7 or E, but with Goman numerals.In case you forgot all about them, here are the Goman numerals 7 to -:1 23 4 5 6 7I II III IVVVI VIIIf we were to write the diatonic chords from the $ ma(or scale using Goman numerals, it would look like this:CDmEmFG7 AmBdimI ii iii IVV7vi vii)otice the following: Ma(or chords 9$ and 6: are written using capitals. Minor chords 9=m, !m and /m: are in lower*case. &he dominant*- chord 9,-: is written as J-. &he diminished chord 9+dim: is written as viiK;ccasionally, you may also see the following notation:CDmEm F G7 AmBdimI IImIIImIVV7 VImVII5hy use these Goman numerals instead of the chord names4 +ecause using the numbers allows us to talk about chords and chord progressions independently of the key.6or e%ample, the chord progressions C F G7 C and F Bb C7 F can both be written as ) )* *7 ).&he first is in the key of $ and the second in the key of 6, but otherwise they are identical:Roman numerals:I ii iii IV V7 vi viiKey of C: C Dm EmFG7 Am BdimKey of F: F Gm Am Bb C7 Dm Edim;ne advantage of using numbers instead of chords is that it becomes easy to transcribe apiece from one key to another.!%ample. ere is the beginning of Misty in the key of $:CGmC7FLook at me, I'm as helpless as a kitte !p a treeAuppose you want to play it in another key, say ,. 6irst, you replace the chord names with Goman numerals:I"mI7I"Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitte !p a tree&hen you look up the chords for the new key and fill them in:G#mG7CLook at me, I'm as helpless as a kitte !p a tree&he principle works the same for the chords from a minor scale, although the symbols are slightly different 9because the chords have different 0ualities:.6or e%ample, the key of / minor:Am Bdim C Dm E7F G7i ii III iv V7 VI VII7It is also possible to use Goman numerals to describe chords that are not diatonic. In other words, chords that are borrowed from other keys.6or e%ample, the chord b))) is the 3rd chord 9III:, in ma(or 9uppercase letters:, lowered by a half*step 9b:. In the key of $, this would be the !b ma(or chord.2ou may also see a sharp symbol combined with a Goman numeral: #)* in the key of $ is the 6I ma(or chord.It is not uncommon to add a 0ualifier to the Goman numeral. !%amples: )*maj7, ))7, #)*dim7. &o find the real chord, substitute the Goman numeral for the n*th chord from the scale.2ou may have heard of the +ashville +umber ,ystem. &his is the same principle, although it works with plain*old numbers instead of Goman numerals. Ao instead of ))'*') youd see -'"'1, but they both mean the same thing.,ol.e/e is yet another system, e%cept that it doesnt use numbers, but syllables:1 2 3 4 5 6 7Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti/nd finally, each of the diatonic chords can also be given a name that more*or*less describes its function. =ifferent chords have different functions in their key. Ill keep thedetails for a future article, so Ill simply give you the list here:1 Toi!2 S"#e$%oi!3 Media%4 S"bdomia%5 Domia%6 S"bmedia%7 Leadi& %oe (o$ )"b%oi!*Ao now you know that when people talk about the I*chord or tonic, they mean the first chord from the key.!uilding chords from inter"als5e have already seen how to build chords using ma(or scale degrees. +ut we can also build chords from intervals, by stacking minor third and ma(or third intervals on top of the root tone.6or e%ample, lets look at a ma(or chord, $ ma(or. It consists of the tones CEG.&he interval from $ up to ! is a major third 9D half*steps:.&he interval from ! up to , is a minor third 93 half*steps:.&his interval formula, root L ma(or third L minor third, applies to all ma(or chords. &he other chord types have their own formulas:ChordnameFormulaMajor root + maj 3rd + min 3rdMajor 7root + maj 3rd + min 3rd +maj 3rdMinor root + min 3rd + maj 3rdMinor 7root + min 3rd + maj 3rd +min 3rdMinor major7root + min 3rd + maj 3rd +maj 3rdominant 7root + maj 3rd + min 3rd +min 3rdimini!h"d root + min 3rd + min 3rdimini!h"d 7root + min 3rd + min 3rd +min 3rd%a&'-dimini!h"droot + min 3rd + min 3rd +maj 3rd)*gm"nt"d root + maj 3rd + maj 3rd&he table above only lists chords that are built using thirds. ;f course, you can think of all other types of chords in terms of intervals too.6or e%ample, the interval formula for a suspended chord like $susD 9$*6*,: is: root L perfect fourth L ma(or second. /nd a ma(or E chord such as $ma(E 9$*!*,*/: is: root L ma( 3rd L min 3rd L ma(or 8nd./nd so on> 6iguring out the interval formulas for all the other possible chord types is left as an e%ercise for the reader. /lternatively, you can look at intervals this way: / ma(or chord consists of the root, the tone a ma(or third up from the root, and the tone a 0er.ect .i.th up from the root. /fterall, $ up to , is a perfect fifth interval.?ersonally, I dont often think about chords in terms of intervals, but I do believe that learning this skill will add to your understanding of the language of music.#n"ersions$hords are made by playing three or more tones at once. ;ften we will play chords in root 0osition, which means that the lowest tone is the root tone of the chord.6or e%ample, $ ma(or in root position is played as: CEG 9from low to high:;ften it is useful to put the chord tones in a different order. 5ell go into the reasons why later, but for now Ill show you how to play such inversions.If there are three tones in the chord, as in the $ ma(or chord above, we can play it in three different positions:7. Goot position 9or fundamental position:8. 6irst inversion3. Aecond inversionIn .irst inversion, you take the lowest tone and put it on top. )ow the chord becomes: EGC. In terms of ma(or scale degrees, the chord is now: 3*F*7In second inversion, you take the highest tone and put it at the bottom. )ow the chord is: GCE. In scale degrees, the chord is now: F*7*392ou can also make the second inversion by taking the first inversion and putting its lowest tone on top again.:&he number of tones in a chord determines the number of ways the chord can be played.Ao four*tone chords can be played four different ways.6or e%ample, the $ma(- chord:7. Goot position: $*!*,*+ 97*3*F*-:8. 6irst inversion: !*,*+*$ 93*F*-*7:3. Aecond inversion: ,*+*$*! 9F*-*7*3:D. &hird inversion: +*$*!*, 9-*7*3*F:Its as easy as that.In popular music, inversions are usually notated as slash chords, which look like: chord name.bass tone./n e%ample is Cmaj7/E. &his means you should play the $ma(- chord but so that the ! tone is at the bottom. In other words: in first inversion.&he classical way is a little trickierM it uses intervals to notate the inversion. 6or triads 9three*tone chords:: Goot position: (ust the chord name 6irst inversion: chordE 1 because the root is now a si%th interval above the bass tone Aecond inversion: chordED 1 the root is now a fourth above the bass tone and the 3rd of the chord is now a si%th above the bass tone$onfused yet4 ere are the notations for seventh chords 9i.e. chords with four tones:: Goot position: chord- 6irst inversion: chordEF Aecond inversion: chordD3 &hird inversion: chord8)otice that from top to bottom, the inversion numbers go from - to 8. &hats a handy trick to remember this notation scheme./nyway, I prefer the slash chord method to notate inversions. &he main reasons for using inversions are: a: playing a smoother bass line, b: voiceleading. +ut that is for a future article.The power chord&he power chord is a simplified chord, used mostly by rock guitarists but it also has a place on the piano.Gemember that a ma(or chord consists of the first, third and fifth degrees of the ma(or scale. / minor chord is like a ma(or chord but with the 3rd lowered a half*step./ power chord, however, (ust has the 7 and F and omits the 3rd. +ecause we leave out the 3rd in a power chord, it is neither ma(or nor minor.2ou can play a power chord whenever a ma(or or minor chord is re0uired. In fact, because the 7 and F are present in every chord e%cept for diminished and augmented chords, you can substitute power chords almost everywhere.&he reason rock guitar players love power chords is that you only have to learn a single handshape in order to play all possible power chords. /lso, when you apply a lot of distortion to the sound, power chords sound better than full chords.?ower chords are not very common in piano music. +ut they are useful if you want to play chords way down low on the keyboard.5ith those low tones, adding the 3rd makes the sound too muddy, so playing (ust 7*F will sound better than 7*3*F.&he notation for a power chord, for e%ample the $ power chord, is C". 'ess common is something like $9omit3:.