Right, this is some pretty fun stuff! First and foremost, I want to give a definition of what a scale is, and what a chord is.
Scale = A Sequence of intervals (Whole & Half Steps) going from any note to it's Octave (same note again). Sequence meaning a set pattern or set order
Chord = 3 or more notes played together taken from the Major Scale.
Lets start nice n easy.
Lets take our trusty C Major scale again. Remember I told you to give each scale degree a number from 1 - 8? Time to use it...
C D E F G A B C = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
When we take the 1 3 and 5 out of ANY Major scale, we get a Major Chord. So our formula for a Major chord is 1 3 5
Now when we take the 1 3 5 and we LOWER (flatten) the 3 (called a Flatted 3rd) we get a Minor Chord. Formula for a Minor chord is 1 b3 5
So what 3 notes make up a C Major Chord. Well to figure that out, we must know how to construct a C Major Scale. If you don't know how to do that, you have been cheating and not reading my earlier posts!
We take the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes out of our Major Scale, in this case thats C E and G and we get our TRIAD called C Major. A Triad is simply 3 notes taken from a scale to create the simplest form of a chord there is.
What is our C Minor Triad then? Well C = 1 E = 3 G = 5
We need to flatten our 3, so if you take G down a Half step, you get E flat or D Sharp (same thing)
Hence our C Minor Triad is C D# and G!
I hope that makes sense, it's pretty simple. If not ask me please.
Now just like using a formula to create scales, e use these formulas to create our chords. I will put down the most used and 'important' chord formulas here, and write down your Major Scale, and then write down the notes belonging to the chord you want to work out.
Major = 1 3 5
Minor = 1 b3 5
Sus2 = 1 2 5
Sus4 = 1 4 5
Diminished = 1 b3 b5
Augmented = 1 3 #5
Now some Extended Chords (chords with more than 3 different notes)0
Dominant 7th / 7th = 1 3 5 b7
Major 7th = 1 3 5 7
Minor 7th = 1 b3 5 b7
There are of course MANY more chords and formulas. I'm just giving you the basic ones to learn and master as a beginner. I will do another topic on more advanced chords soon ?
Scale = A Sequence of intervals (Whole & Half Steps) going from any note to it's Octave (same note again). Sequence meaning a set pattern or set order
Chord = 3 or more notes played together taken from the Major Scale.
Lets start nice n easy.
Lets take our trusty C Major scale again. Remember I told you to give each scale degree a number from 1 - 8? Time to use it...
C D E F G A B C = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
When we take the 1 3 and 5 out of ANY Major scale, we get a Major Chord. So our formula for a Major chord is 1 3 5
Now when we take the 1 3 5 and we LOWER (flatten) the 3 (called a Flatted 3rd) we get a Minor Chord. Formula for a Minor chord is 1 b3 5
So what 3 notes make up a C Major Chord. Well to figure that out, we must know how to construct a C Major Scale. If you don't know how to do that, you have been cheating and not reading my earlier posts!
We take the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes out of our Major Scale, in this case thats C E and G and we get our TRIAD called C Major. A Triad is simply 3 notes taken from a scale to create the simplest form of a chord there is.
What is our C Minor Triad then? Well C = 1 E = 3 G = 5
We need to flatten our 3, so if you take G down a Half step, you get E flat or D Sharp (same thing)
Hence our C Minor Triad is C D# and G!
I hope that makes sense, it's pretty simple. If not ask me please.
Now just like using a formula to create scales, e use these formulas to create our chords. I will put down the most used and 'important' chord formulas here, and write down your Major Scale, and then write down the notes belonging to the chord you want to work out.
Major = 1 3 5
Minor = 1 b3 5
Sus2 = 1 2 5
Sus4 = 1 4 5
Diminished = 1 b3 b5
Augmented = 1 3 #5
Now some Extended Chords (chords with more than 3 different notes)0
Dominant 7th / 7th = 1 3 5 b7
Major 7th = 1 3 5 7
Minor 7th = 1 b3 5 b7
There are of course MANY more chords and formulas. I'm just giving you the basic ones to learn and master as a beginner. I will do another topic on more advanced chords soon ?
