Piano Chords – More Than Just
a Group of Notes
At their most basic, piano chords are
formed by playing three or more notes simultaneously. The combinations
that result set the mood of a musical piece – happy, sad, powerful,
soulful, etc.
Historically, major chords have always evoked
positive emotions while minor piano chords evoke the opposite. That’s a
fairly simplistic observation, but it gives you an idea of one of the
most primary effects chords have on music.
It’s a good idea to
understand the various chord types. Each has a formula that creates a
specific musical effect no matter which key you are playing in. Here are
some examples and, bear in mind, these explanations only cover the most
basic of each chord type:
- Triad – three notes
consisting of the root (the key you are playing in), the third and
the fifth.
- Sixth – a fourth note added one full step above a triad’s
fifth position.
- Seventh – a
fourth note is added to a triad at the seventh position above the
root note.
- Extended – a
note is added to a triad chord above the seventh position, such as a
ninth for example. Since a scale has only seven notes, it doesn’t
seem to make sense that you could have a ninth. However, a second
and a ninth are the same note.
- Added Tone – a chord that includes an added note, such as
a sixth, but doesn’t include the basic triad’s third.
- Suspended – a chord that substitutes the third with
either a second or fourth note from the scale. This is an
interesting chord type since, when it is heard, the listener
generally anticipates the next chord being the standard
triad containing the root,
third and fifth.
Piano chords are said to “color” music from various genres. For example,
country music tends to utilize sevenths, and
jazz/blues
tend to incorporate ninths or thirteenths. Rock, especially hard rock,
favors “power chords” that are made up of the root note and the fifth,
often with the octave serving as a third note at the top of the chord.
Most chords are further distinguished by what’s often referred to as
their quality.
- A major chord, which tends to evoke pleasant emotions,
features a major third in the triad. In a C chord, this would be C,
E, and G.
- A minor chord, which most often appears in somber music,
has a minor third in the triad. In a C chord, the notes would be C,
E flat, and G.
- An augmented chord raises the fifth position one-half
step, common in blues, country and jazz. You might be interested to
know how different augmented piano chords are related; for example,
the augmented chords for C, E, and G sharp all contain the same
notes.
- A diminished chord features a minor third and a
“diminished” fifth. More specifically, you lower the third and fifth
of a major triad by one-half step. These are common in classical,
jazz and gospel.
Chords are further designated by
their scale degree, and the two most essential examples are the
tonic and dominant chords. Appropriately, a tonic chord
begins with the tonic note, which is the first note of the scale in
which you are playing. If the song you are playing is in the key of C,
your tonic chord has a C as its bass note and it is, naturally, a C
chord. The dominant chord is a chord in the key of your scale’s fifth
note. In our example, the dominant chord is the G chord and begins with
G as the bass note.
The final element of chords we will learn
about here is an inversion. The number of inversions available to
a chord is the number of notes in a chord minus one. A triad has two
inversions; start with the tonic chord, also called the root when
discussing inversions, which is not an inversion. Then there is a
first inversion, which is the same chord but it begins on the third note
in the scale. You may have already guessed this next one; the second
inversion is the same chord, only it begins on the fifth note in the
scale.
We’ve covered a lot of ground in this discussion on
chords. If you who already have a basic playing ability will no doubt
begin to vary your chord construction to add personality, effect and
emotion to your performances. Good luck!
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