Auto Accompaniment
Chord Basics
Three or more notes are played together is defined as a “chord”.
The most basic chord type is the “triad” consisting three notes: the root,
third and fifth degree of the corresponding scale. A
“C major triad”, for example, is made up of the notes C (the root), E
(the third note of the C major scale) and G (the fifth note of the C major
scale).
In the C major triad shown, the lowest note is the “root” of the chord
(this is the chord's “root position”…using other chord notes for the
lowest note results in “inversion”). The root is the central sound of the
chord, which supports and anchors the other chord notes. The distance
(interval) between adjacent notes of triad in root position is either a
major or minor third.
The lowest interval in our root-position trial (between the root and the
third) determines whether the triad is a major or minor chord, and we
can shift the highest note up or down by a semitone to produce two
additional chords, as shown.
The basic characteristics of the chord sound remain intact even if we
change the order of the notes to create different inversions. Successive
chords in a chord progression can be smoothly connected, for
example, by choosing the appropriate inversions.
Reading Chord Names
Chord names tell you just about everything you need to know about a
chord (other than the inversion/voicing). The chord name tells you what
the root of a chord is, whether it is major, minor or diminished, whether
it requires a major or flatted seventh, what alterations or tension does it
use…all at a glance.
The CHORD FINGER mode
The Chord Finger mode lets you finger your own chords on the AUTO
ACCOMPANIMENT section of the keyboard.
SINGLE FINGER
Single-finger accompaniment makes it simple to produce beautifully
orchestrated accompaniment using major, seventh, minor and minor-
seventh chord by pressing a minimum number of keys on the AUTO
ACCOMPANIMENT section of the keyboard.
MULTI-FINGER
This is the default accompaniment mode. You can use either type of
single fingering or chord fingering in this mode.
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