Harmony and Theory Bible (part 2) - Chords (Triads and 4 Note Chords) - Live4guitar

Welcome to my Harmony and Theory Bible series. These articles will aim to teach you how to approach theory and harmony, in a fun and creative way. Here you will find everything from beginners’ areas like intervals, chords, scale construction and modes to more complex harmony analysis and soloing approaches. Whether you are total beginner or somebody looking to recap some knowledge, this is the right place for you!

In today’s article we are focusing on chords (triads and 4 note chords).

Chords

What are chords, how do we construct and use them, many of you might wonder? “Chord” by definition is 3 or more notes played simultaneously! In western music, we use Triads and 4 note chords as standard, when it comes to chords. Modern styles of music use different type of chords (clusters, voicing in 4^ths and 5^ths, as well as unconventional types of triads). We will focus on traditional/standard type chords in this article (Triads and 4 note chords) but will later (in future articles) focus on the other types of chords as well.

Triads are also known as 3 note chords. We construct triads by stacking intervals of 3rds on top of each other or in different words by using some sort of 3^rd and 5^th from the root of the chord. For those of you that skipped part 1 article, intervals are dealing with relation between any two notes in music. We have 2 types of 3rds (minor and major) and 3 types of 5ths (diminished, perfect and augmented). We will be using combination of these intervals to construct 4 main types of triads. Now let’s look at 4 main triad types and interval formula that goes with them!

Major Triad

Major triad, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Major 3^rd and Perfect 5^th
Major triad, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Major 3^rd and Minor 3^rd.
For example, C major triad would be: C, E and G. C to E is Major 3^rd while C to G is Perfect 5^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to E is Major 3^rd while E to G is Minor 3^rd.
We use Maj or Major when labeling this type of chord.

C major triad

Minor Triad

Minor triad, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Minor 3^rd and Perfect 5^th
Minor triad, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Minor 3^rd and Major 3^rd.
For example, C minor triad would be: C, Eb and G. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while C to G is Perfect 5^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while Eb to G is Major 3^rd.
We use Min or Minor when labeling this type of chord.

C minor triad

Diminished Triad

Diminished triad, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Minor 3^rd and Diminished 5^th
Diminished triad, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Minor 3^rd and Minor 3^rd.
For example, C minor triad would be: C, Eb and Gb. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while C to Gb is Diminished 5^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while Eb to Gb is another Minor 3^rd.
We use Dim or Diminished when labeling this type of chord.

C diminished triad

Augmented Triad

Augmented triad, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Major 3^rd and Augmented 5^th
Augmented triad, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Major 3^rd and Major 3^rd.
For example, C major triad would be: C, E and G#. C to E is Major 3^rd while C to G# is Augmented 5^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to E is Major 3^rd while E to G# is another Major 3^rd.
We use Aug or Augmented when labeling this type of chord.

C augmented triad

Common Types of 7^th Chords (4 Note Chords)

4 note chords are extensions of actual triads. In order to get 4 note chords, we add some sort of 7^th to the root of the chord, or we continue stacking some sort of 3^rd after the last note in the triad. Today we will cover some of the most common types of 7^th chords which are constructed with 4 notes. These are: Major7^th, Minor7^th, MinorMajor7^th, Minor7^thb5, Diminished7^th, Dominant7^th, Augmented Major7^th (Maj7#5) and Augmented7^th (Dom7#5). Now let’s look at all of them and interval formula that goes with them!

Major7^th Chord

Major7th chord, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Major 3^rd, Perfect 5^th and Major 7^th.
Major7^th chord, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Major 3^rd, Minor 3^rd and Major 3^rd.
For example, C major7^th chord would be: C, E, G and B. C to E is Major 3^rd while C to G is Perfect 5^th and C to B is Major 7th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to E is Major 3rd while E to G is Minor 3rd and G to B is Major 3^rd.
We use Maj7 or Major7 when labeling this type of chord.

C maj7

Minor7th Chord

Minor7^th chord, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Minor 3^rd, Perfect 5^th and Minor 7^th.
Minor7^th chord, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Minor 3^rd, Major 3^rd and Minor 3^rd.
For example, C minor7^th chord would be: C, Eb, G and Bb. C to Eb is Minor 3rd while C to G is Perfect 5^th and C to Bb is Minor 7^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while Eb to G is Major 3^rd and G to Bb is Minor 3rd.
We use Min7 or Minor7 when labeling this type of chord.

C min7

Minor/major 7^th Chord

Minor/major7^th chord, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Minor 3^rd, Perfect 5^th and Major 7^th.
Minor/major7^th chord, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Minor 3^rd, Major 3^rd and another Major 3^rd.
For example, C Minor/major7^th chord would be: C, Eb, G and B. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while C to G is Perfect 5^th and C to B is Major 7^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while Eb to G is Major 3^rd and G to B is another Minor 3^rd.
We use Min/maj7 or Minor/major7 when labeling this type of chord.

C minmaj7

Minor7b5 Chord

Minor7b5 chord, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Minor 3^rd, Diminished 5^th, and Minor 7^th.
Minor7b5 chord, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Minor 3^rd, Minor 3^rd and Major 3^rd.
For example, C minor7b5 chord would be: C, Eb, Gb and Bb. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while C to Gb is Diminished 5^th and C to Bb is Minor 7^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while Eb to Gb is Minor 3^rd and Gb to Bb is Major 3^rd.
We use Min7b5 or Minor7b5 when labeling this type of chord.

C min7b5

Diminished7^th Chord

Diminished7^th chord, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Minor 3^rd, Diminished 5^th, and Diminished 7^th (same interval as Major 6^th!)
Diminished7^th chord, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Minor 3^rd, Minor 3^rd and Minor 3^rd.
For example, C Diminished7^th chord would be: C, Eb, Gb and Bbb (same as A note!). C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while C to Gb is Diminished 5^th and C to Bbb is Diminished 7^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to Eb is Minor 3^rd while Eb to Gb is Minor 3^rd and Gb to Bbb is another Minor 3^rd.
We use Dim7 or Diminished7 when labeling this type of chord.

C dim7

Dominant7^th Chord

Dominant7^th chord, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Major 3^rd, Perfect 5^th and Minor 7^th.
Dominant7^th chord, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Major 3^rd, Minor 3^rd and Minor 3^rd.
For example, C Dominant7^th chord would be: C, E, G and Bb. C to E is Major 3rd while C to G is Perfect 5^th and C to Bb is Minor 7^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to E is Major 3^rd while E to G is Minor 3^rd and G to Bb is another Minor 3^rd.
We use Dom7, just number 7 next to the latter name or Major7 when labeling this type of chord.

Augmented Major7^th or Major7#5 Chord

Augmented Major7^th chord, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Major 3^rd, Augmented 5^th and Major 7^th.
Augmented Major7^th, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Major 3^rd, Major 3^rd and Minor 3^rd.
For example, C Augmented Major7^th chord would be: C, E, G# and B. C to E is Major 3^rd while C to G# is Augmented 5^th and C to B is Major 7^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to E is Major 3^rd while E to G# is another Major 3^rd and G# to B is Minor 3^rd.
We use Augmented Major7, Aug maj7 or Maj7#5 (best way) when labeling this type of chord.

C maj7#5

Augmented7^th or Dominant7#5 Chord

Augmented7^th chord, all intervals from the root of the chord – Root, Major 3^rd, Augmented 5^th and Minor 7^th.
Augmented7^th chord, using just intervals of 3^rd - Root, Major 3^rd, Major 3^rd and Diminished 3^rd (same as Major 2^nd interval).
For example, C Augmented7^th chord would be: C, E, G# and Bb. C to E is Major 3^rd while C to G# is Augmented 5^th and C to Bb is Minor 7^th. If we use the second approach we get the same result. C to E is Major 3^rd while E to G# is another Major 3^rd and G# to Bb is Diminished 3^rd.
We use Augmented7, Aug7, Dominant7#5 or Dom7#5 (best way with Aug7) when labeling this type of chord.

C 7#5

Advanced information about chords

All 4 note chords presented in this article are extensions of 4 basic triad types (major, minor, augmented and diminished)
Every chord is built by stacking specific 3^rd intervals, or simply by using root 3^rd, 5^th, 7^th type analyzing compared to the root of the chord.
The chords mentioned in this article are not all the chords out there! Let me just mention some more: Sus2, Sus4, Maj7b5, Dom7b5, Triads over a bass note (also known as Slash chords) or Polychords (chord over chord) as well as chords using 4^ths, Clusters or any sort of interval combinations that could create 3+ note chord!
This article was just focusing on fundamentals of triads and 4 note chords. In future articles we shall focus more on inversions, chords with tensions as well as other chords mentioned for those of you that are interested in developing your knowledge further.

With all this information I will leave you to enjoy audio examples of all triads and 4 note chords. Study formulas to all these chords and start working them into your own playing/improvising/accompanying/composing.

Feel free to leave comments, ask any questions you might have, or simply share your opinions regarding this article. I will be happy to respond to them and help everybody!

Have fun studying this material and I will see you in part 3 where we will focus on scale structure, various scales and roman numerals application.

Pedja Simovic