Introduction to Keyboard Chords
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This document provides an introduction to chords, detailing their types including major, minor, augmented, diminished, and 7th chords. It includes definitions, construction methods, and practical exercises for identifying and playing various chords on a keyboard. The document also emphasizes the importance of recognizing chord progressions and introduces a system for labeling chords using Roman numerals.
Introduction to Keyboard Chords
- 1. INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS Hello. Today we will look at chords. By the end of today you will be able to aurally identify different species of chord. We will look at some very basic chords as well as a useful method of labeling them: Major chords Minor chords Augmented triads Diminished triads Major 7th chords Dominant 7th chords Minor 7th chords
- 2. CHORDS! What is a chord?
- 3. CHORDS! What is a chord? A chord is basically two (but generally) more notes played simultaneously. Arpeggiated chords are where notes of a chord are played in short succession. Dyad: Two notes Triad: Three notes Tetrad: Four notes It goes on… Major 2nd - C & D C Major - C & E & G C Dominant 7th - C & E & G & Bb Pentad, Hexad, Heptad, Octad, Ennead, Decad… **Get your keyboards plugged in and working. You’ll want to play each of the chords we’re going to look at…**
- 4. CHORDS! You should be familiar with the difference between major ☺ and minor ☹ by now. Triads are the easiest way to demonstrate their difference. There are four basic triads. 1. The major triad is constructed out of the root note, a major third above, and a perfect fifth above. The C major triad is constructed out of the notes C, E, and G. Commonly written as C or CM
- 5. CHORDS! You should be very familiar with the difference between major and minor by now. 2. The minor triad is constructed out of the root note, a minor third above, and a perfect fifth above. The C minor triad is constructed out of the notes C, Eb, and G. Commonly written as Cm
- 6. CHORDS! TASK 1: Individually, write down the notes that constitute each of these major and minor chords. Play them on your keyboard to get used to how they sound. 1. D minor 2. E minor 3. F major 4. B major 5. Ab minor 6. B minor 7. D# major 8. Fb minor 9. F# major 10. G major The major triad is constructed out of the root note, a major third above, and a perfect fifth above. The minor triad is constructed out of the root note, a minor third above, and a perfect fifth above. TIPS! Open a google doc, share me into it, and use it as a worksheet to write all your answers down for each of the following tasks.
- 7. CHORDS! Augmented means to make larger. Remember back to our intervals lessons? What was an augmented fourth? An augmented triad: 3. The augmented triad is constructed out of the root note, a major third above, and an augmented fifth above. It sounds great… The augmented triad in C is made up of C, E, and G# Augmented means we increase an interval by one semitone… Commonly written as C+ or Caug
- 8. CHORDS! Diminished means to make smaller. Remember back to our interval's lessons? What was a diminished fifth? A diminished triad: 4. The diminished triad is always constructed out of the root note, a minor third above, and a diminished fifth above. The augmented triad in C is made up of C, Eb, and Gb Diminished means we reduce the interval by one semitone… Commonly written as CO or Cdim
- 9. CHORDS! TASK 2: Individually, write down the notes that constitute each of these augmented and diminished triads. Play them on your keyboard to get used to how they sound. 1. F diminished 2. D augmented 3. G augmented 4. B diminished 5. Eb augmented 6. E diminished 7. C# augmented 8. A diminished The augmented triad is constructed out of the root note, a major third above, and an augmented fifth above. The diminished triad is always constructed out of the root note, a minor third above, and a diminished fifth above. TIPS!
- 10. CHORDS! Now we’re going to look at three major types of 7th chords. There are a few more, but we will look at them later. Major 7th chord Constructed out of the root note, a major third above, a fifth above, and a major 7th above. The major 7th chord in C is made up of the notes C, E, G, and B. Commonly written as CM7 or Cmaj7
- 11. CHORDS! 7th chords Dominant 7th chord Constructed out of the root note, a major third above, a fifth above, and a minor 7th above. The dominant 7th chord in C is made up of the notes C, E, G, and Bb. Commonly written as C7 or Cdom7
- 12. CHORDS! 7th chords Minor 7th chord Constructed out of the root note, a minor third above, a fifth above, and a minor 7th above. The minor 7th chord in C is made up of the notes C, Eb, G, and Bb. Commonly written as Cm7 or Cmin7
- 13. CHORDS! TASK 3: Individually, write down the notes that constitute each of these 7th chords. It is vital that you play them on your keyboard to get used to how they sound. 1. Dominant 7th in D 2. Dominant 7th in F 3. Minor 7th in C# 4. Major 7th in G 5. Major 7th in F# 6. Minor 7th in B TIPS! Major 7th constructed out of the root note, a major third above, a fifth above, and a major 7th above. Dominant 7th constructed out of the root note, a major third above, a fifth above, and a minor 7th above. Minor 7th constructed out of the root note, a minor third above, a fifth above, and a minor 7th above.
- 14. CHORDS! Your practice with intervals over the last few weeks should really help you recognise the sound of each chord we will look at. However, there is an important system of identification which you will come across more and more as you work as a musician. It’s an incredibly useful and helpful way of communicating chords / progressions quickly. We can label all the chords in every scale using Roman numerals, like so… Here, for now, we are only showing the full notation for the three most important and most commonly used chords. It is so important to know what these are… In the C Major scale above, major chords are upper case, and all minor are lower case
- 15. CHORDS! Chord I – known as the TONIC. This is the root of your key. In this instance, C Major. TASK 4: Note that we are in the key of C. 1. Name the Tonic, Subdominant, and Dominant chords. 2. What are the names of chords ii, iii, vi, and vii? 3. Name the notes that constitute each chord. Chord IV – known as the SUBDOMINANT. This is always on the fourth tonal degree. It is generally considered to be the 3rd most important chord after the tonic and dominant. Chord V – known as the DOMINANT. This is always on the fifth tonal degree. In Western music it is generally considered to be next in importance to the tonic.
- 16. CHORDS! TASK 5: Individually, write down the answers to these questions: 1. What key are we in? 2. Name the Tonic, Subdominant, and Dominant chords. 3. What are the names of chords ii, iii, vi, and vii? 4. Name the notes that constitute each of these chords (ii, iii, vi, vii)
- 17. CHORDS! I or i = Tonic II or ii = Supertonic III or iii = Mediant IV or iv = Subdominant V or v = Dominant VI or vi = Submediant VII or vii = Leading note Let’s get clever. This is stuff you should just learn. I, IV, and V are known as primary chords. The remainder are secondary, apart from vii, which is diminished and is a discord.
- 18. CHORDS! EAR TEST QUIZ / Divide into two teams Listen carefully and identify the type of chord: Major / minor / augmented / diminished / dominant7th / major7th / minor7th (Tutor to play chords and get class to identify)
- 19. CHORDS! If we are in the key of C Major, write down the triads that these roman numerals represent (e.g., C major, G major)… I will come round each of you and look at your answers… TASK 6: TEST 2: ii iii V I vi vii
- 20. CHORDS! If we are in the key of C Major, write down the triads that these roman numerals represent (e.g. C major, G major)… I will come round each of you and look at your answers… TEST 2: Answers: ii iii V I vi vii D minor E minor G major C major A minor B dim
- 21. TRIAD IDENTIFICATION EXERCISE: CHORDS! https://www.teoria.com/en/exercises/c3i.php 7th CHORDS IDENTIFICATION EXERCISE: https://www.teoria.com/en/exercises/c4i.php HOMEWORK! !
- 22. Next week we will look at more complex chords, as well as common chord progressions. We will learn to identify chord progressions in pieces of music. CHORDS! We will look at things called inversions, which is essentially when you change the order of a chord’s notes to slightly change the tonal relationship.