Chords: Some Terms to Remember

Chords: Some Terms to Remember

The root of a chordThe root of a chord is the letter you see in the chord name its the basic note to from which you stack other notes onto to make your chord. For example, the C chord is built as C-E-G. Its root is C. For the case of an E chord (E-G-B), the root is E. Inversions of a chordWhile we remember a C chord played as C-E-G, it actually can also be played as E-G-C, or G-C-E (give it a try!). These are called inversions of the chord. The root is moved around, but it still gives about the same feeling.SemitonesUnderstanding semitones is really important here. Semitones are what we can call half-steps up and down the keyboard.

Chords: Some Terms to Remember1