Chords

A chord is a combination of at least three sounds. Not every musical instrument can play a chord by itself, but many musical instruments can still play together and complete one when needed. Chords are important because they define the key in which you play a whole song.

If you wonder why not every musical instrument can play a chord, it is because of its structure. Wind instruments or percussion instruments of a set note, like the drum, by they nature, cannot play three notes at the time. String instruments, like the piano or the guitar, or percussion instruments with many notes, like the xylophone, conversely, can. This doesn't mean three wind instruments cannot play together and combine their sounds to create a chord, and keep the beauty of the key the song is played in. Actually music wouldn't be what it is if they couldn't do it.

In addition, you need to know that there are many chords. The basics are still major and minor chords, but variants are made so easily that any list will be quite long. It is easier to understand the theory this way:

How to make a chord

A chord will basically take three notes:

+ The first one, which will give it its name
+ The one which is four half-tones after, known as the third
+ The one which is seven half-tones after, known as the perfect fifth, or simply the fifth

If you play these three notes together, you will get a major chord.

Variants

With a major chord, you can easily build the following variants:

+ Lower the third a half-tone, and you will get a minor chord
+ Lower the fifth a half-tone, and you will get a diminished chord
+ Raise the fifth a half-tone, and you will get an augmented chord
+ Raise the third a half-tone, and you will get a suspended fourth chord
+ Change the third for the second, and you will get a suspended second chord
+ Add a fourth note to a major chord, one tone before the octave, and you will get a seventh chord
+ Add a fourth note to a major chord, a half-tone before the octave, and you will get a major seventh chord
+ Add a fourth note to a minor chord, one tone before the octave, and you will get a minor seventh chord
+ Add a fourth note to a major chord, one tone after the octave, and you will get a ninth chord
+ Add a fourth note to a minor chord, one tone after the octave, and you will get a minor ninth chord

Honestly, it is easier done than said. I will include the list of notes in the following web pages.

Chords are played either simultaneously or in very close successions. To complete a chord, you just need to make the three (or more) notes present while you play, in any order you may need or like. Thus, to play a major do, you can play its composing notes (C – E – G) at the same time or one after the other, in that order (I mean, do has the sound in the lowest pitch) or another (C – E – G, E – G – C, G – C – E, etc.), which are known as inversions.

This is one of the things that make music so interesting.

Continue with... Major and minor chords

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