Chords are named according to their root note and the intervals between the
notes that make up the chord. Chords of a diatonic major scale fall into four
types:
major, minor, dominant,
and
diminished.
Chord names also depend on what notes are in them. To understand the names,
we must first know how chords are constructed.
Chord construction
A chord is simply a group of notes sounded simultaneously. A group of three
notes is called a
triad
. Commonly, triads are made of the first, third, and fifth
notes of a scale or mode. Other notes can be added, but in the diatonic system
any note added to a triad must belong to the key.
Major Chord
For example, the C major triad is made up of C, E, and G. Observe that the
interval from C to E is a major third (2 steps) and the interval from E to G is a
minor third (1½ steps). This arrangement of intervals produces a major chord.
When we add the seventh note of the major scale, we create a four-note chord
known as a
major 7th.
Even though the notes of the Lydian mode (beginning on the fourth note of the
major scale) are spaced differently than the major scale, its 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th
notes produce a major 7th chord.
w
h
C
w
w
h
w
w
D
E
F
G
A
B C
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Cmaj7
C Major Scale
C
D
E
F
G
A
B C
Cmaj7
C Major Scale
{
Major 3rd
{
Major 3rd
{
Minor 3rd
w
h
F
w
w
h
w
w
G
A
B C
D
E F
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
F Lydian Mode
(4th mode of C major)
Fmaj7
C
D
E
F> G
A
B C
C Lydian Mode
(4th mode of G major)
Cmaj7
8.
C
Chhoorrdd N
Naam
meess
Major & Minor Scales
14
