Chords

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Triad

We have seen before how the intervals may be created by dividing the string. By putting the finger at:

  • 1/2 string Octave
  • 1/3 string: fifth
  • 1/4 string fourth
  • 1/5 string: major third
  • 1/6 string: minor third

We will now leave the discussion around just intonation and acknowledge the fact that if you want to play modern music and use chords, the tempered scale is a really good compromise.

The fact that the tempered third is a little untuned with relation to the epimoric ((n+1)/n=5/4) third, may actually be an advantage. The hovering produced will make the third sound more interesting and fresh according to some people For the same reason the fifth is often omitted when playing a chord. It is considered to be too dull.

According to modern western theory Chords are built by stacking thirds.

Major chords start with a major third. Minor chords start with a minor third.

The most common chords are: The Tonic, which is based on the root note. The subdominant, based on the fourth, and the dominant based on the fifth.

Major Chords

Root (Tonic) Subdominant Dominant
C F G7
G C D7
D G A7
A D E7
E A H7
H E F#7
F#(=Gb) H C#7
Db Gb Ab7
Ab Db Eb7
Eb Ab Bb7
Bb Eb F7
F Bb C7

 

 

 

The chords of a major scale

Traditional way of defining
Root
Tonic (T)
Subdominant
(S)
Dominant
(D)

Parallel (minor)
(Tp)
(submediant)

Subdominant
parallel (Sp)
(supertonika)

Dominant parallel(Dp)
(mediant)
C F G7 am dm em / E7
G C D7 em am bm / B7
D G A7 BM em f#m / F#7
A D E7 f#m bm c#m / C#7
E A H7 c#m f#m g#m/G#7
H E F#7 g#m c#m d#m/D#7
F#(=Gb) B C#7 ebm abm Bbm/Bbm7
Db Gb Ab7 Bbm ebm fm/F7
Ab Db Eb7 fm Bbm cm/C7
Eb Ab Bb7 cm fm G7
Bb Eb F7 gm cm D7
F Bb C7 dm gm A7

Modern chord definition

A more practical way of remembering the chords is by defining them according to their position in the scale. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII (using roman numbers)
The names now reflect the position according to the tonic. The mediant is the third above, the submediant is the third below. The dominant is the fifth above, and the sub dominant is the fifth below. The supertonic is a note above the tonic, and the subtonic is the note below the tonic.

 

scale trin
designation (1)
Designation
(2)
C-major
G-major
D-major
A-major
E-major
H-major
F#-major
Db-major
Ab-major
Eb-major
Bb-major
F-major
V
Dominant
D
G
D
A
E
H
F#
C#
Ab
Eb
Bb
F
C
IV
Subdominant
S
F
C
G
D
A
E
H
F#
C#
Ab
Eb
Bb
III
Mediant
Tp
Em E7
Bm
H7
F#m
F#7
C#m
C#7
G#m
G#7
D#m
D#7
Bbm
Bb7
Fm
F#7
Cm
C7
Gm
G7
Dm
D7
Am
A7
II
supertonic
SP
Dm
Am
Em
Bm
F#m
C#m
ABM
Ebm
Bbm
Fm
Cm
Gm
I
Tonic (Root note)
T
C
G
D
A
E
H
F# Gb
Db
Ab
Eb
Bb
F
VII
Subtonika
Hø
F#ø
C#ø
G#ø
D#ø
A#ø
Fø
Cø
Gø
Dø
Aø
Eø
IV
Subdominant
S
F
C
G
D
A
E
H
F#
C#
Ab
Eb
Bb

The chords of the minor scale

Minor scales are complicated because there are three different minor scales-.

The +-chord orAug-akkord. is used for the chord on the mediant. The super tonic will sometimes get the half diminished chord)

 

scale trin
designation (1)
Designation
(2)
A-minor
E-minor
H-minor
F#-minor
C#-minor
Ab-minor
F#-major
Db-major
Ab-major
Eb-major
Bb-major
F-major
V
Dominant
D
G
D
A
E
H
F#
C#
Ab
Eb
Bb
F
C
IV
Subdominant
S
Dm
Am
Em
Bm
F#m
C#m
Abm
Ebm
Bbm
Fm
Cm
Gm
III
Mediant
Tp
C
C+
G
G+
D
D+
A
A+
E
E+
H
H+
F# Gb
F#+
Db
Db+
Ab
Ab+
Eb
Eb+
Bb
Bb+
F
F+
II
supertonika
Hø
F#ø
C#ø
G#ø
D#ø
A#ø
Fø
Cø
Gø
Dø
Aø
Eø
I
Tonika (Grundtone)
T
Am
Em
Hm
F#m
C#m
Abm
Ebm
Bbm
Fm
Cm
Gm
dm
VII
Subtonika
Dp
G#ø
G
D#ø
D
A#ø
A
Fø
E
Cø
H
Gø
F#
Dø
C#
Aø
Ab
Eø
Eb
Hø
Bb
F#ø
F
C#ø
C
VI
Submediant
Sp
F
C
G
D
A
E
H
F#
C#
Ab
Eb
Bb

 

 

 
   
   

 

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