Piano: Major Chord

What is a chord?

I’ve covered scales, so now I will go over chords. According to the School of Rock, chords are a group of notes that make up a song’s harmony by using more than a single note at a time.

According to Pianochord.org, there are different types of chords. Some examples include triads (Three notes) and tetrachords (Four notes). More complex chords can have five to seven notes in them. Pianochord.org also says that major chords are triad chords. In addition, the School of Rock mentions that triads are the most common chords used in music.

What is a major chord?

According to the School of Rock, triads, including major chords, contain a root note and two other notes. Spinditty lists the major chord formula as 1-3-5. Apply this to the C Major scale, and you get C-E-G. C would be the root note in this scenario. However, Piano Keyboard Guide explains that chords can often have inversions, meaning that the first note doesn’t always have to be the root note. For example: With C Major, you don’t need to use C-E-G every time you can mix it up by using E-G-C or G-C-E. This video below shows me playing each major chord with inversions included. The video also lists the major chords and inversions at the end.

A song example?

According to Hooktheory, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen has C Major, F Major, G Major, and A Minor as the chords used in the song’s verse and chorus. On Hooktheory, you can learn the song on the site and have the option to see chords play along with the melody.