2014/03/20

Guitar Lessons On Simple Chord Construction

It takes a minimum of three notes to make a chord, and any combination of three or more notes - however "discordant" they may sound together they can be considered as a chord of some sort.
Simple three note chords are called triads, two note chords are called an interval.
All chords convey to the ear two important musical statements.
The first is the, "Key or Tone center"; this is the principle note of the chord and it is the one on which it is built. For this reason, it is called the root note.
The second is the "harmony"; this is the effect produced by sounding the other notes in the chord relating to the root note.
It is the particular sound of the chord, that is determined by the intervals of the root note and the other notes.
Take for example the three E chords - E major, E seventh, and the E minor. All three of these chords have the E note as the root note, but each has a different sound and therefore a different use.
E major is a simple three note triad chord built from these notes, the E, G# sharp and B.
Now when you play the E seventh, you are introducing another note into the chord, a D.
This is what makes it sound different from the E major.
If you play the E minor you will notice how it differs from E major. You will find it quite distinctive and full of tone.
Both of these chords have strong sounds, and both are three note triads, but the E major chord has a stronger stable sound, whereas the minor chord is full but gives a sadder sound.
In each of these cases, it is the interval between the root note and the third note in the scale of the chord that determines whether it is a major or a minor chord.
If you look at the construction of the C major chord you will see exactly how a triad chord is made from just three notes.
The first note is on the B string in the top fret, the second note is on the D string in the second fret from the top, and the third note which is a C on the A string and is three frets down from the top.
Now you can see and understand why chords which are constructed with three notes are called triads.
To find out more on how you can learn and understand simple, or more complicated chords and their construction and shape, click below now.

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