A chord is three or more notes held together. Every major and minor chord is built from the same semitone counts, so one rule covers all twelve keys. This section builds triads, finds the chords that belong to a key (minor and major), and gets you changing between them in time while moving your hand as little as possible.
Start this section in the interactive courseA triad is a root with two notes stacked above it. Count semitones up from the root: 3 then 4 makes a minor chord, 4 then 3 makes a major one. A minor is A C E; C major is C E G.
It works like a barre shape on guitar: the same count from any root. The difference on keys is that the shape looks different depending on where the black keys fall. D major is D F♯ A, with a black key in the middle; D minor is D F A, all white.
In the right hand, fingers 1, 3 and 5 cover a triad with the root at the bottom.
Diminished is 3 then 3, as in B D F. It sounds tense and turns up far less in this kind of music.
Build a triad on each note of a scale using only that scale’s notes and you get the chords that belong to the key. In A minor, which is all white keys: Am, B°, C, Dm, Em, F and G.
Each gets a number from its place in the scale: i ii° III iv v VI VII, with lower case for minor chords. The numbers work in every key, so i VI III VII is Am F C G in A minor and Bm G D A in B minor.
Plenty of chord loops use just two to four of these. i VI III VII is a common four-chord loop; i with iv, or i with VII, works as a two-chord vamp.
An inversion is the same three notes with a different one at the bottom. A C E is root position, C E A is first inversion and E A C is second inversion. All three are A minor.
Inversions let the hand stay where it is. Going from Am to F in root position moves the whole hand; playing F as A C F instead moves one finger up a semitone.
The lowest note changes the sound a little. With the third at the bottom a chord sounds lighter; with the fifth at the bottom it sounds less settled.
When the chord changes, keep any notes the two chords share and move the others to the nearest note of the new chord. This is voice leading, and it’s why good pads and stabs sound smooth instead of jumpy.
Am to F: keep A and C, move E up to F. F to C: keep C, move A down to G and F down to E. C to G: keep G, move C down to B and E down to D.
The hand barely moves, which also makes the changes easier to play in time.
A major key uses the same notes as its relative minor, with home three semitones higher: C major has A minor’s notes, D major has B minor’s, G major has E minor’s. Every black-key pattern from sections 4 and 5 already covers the major keys.
Numbered from the major home, the chords come out as I ii iii IV V vi vii°: major on I, IV and V, minor on ii, iii and vi.
Major-key loops such as I V vi IV (C G Am F) sound brighter and more open, and a lot of lighter house and melodic electronic music sits there. Many melancholic tracks move between a minor key and its relative major; Am F C G does exactly that.
To improvise over a major-key track, use the same notes as the relative minor but treat the major home as home: land on it at the ends of phrases.
Every minor key’s chords follow the same pattern: i ii° III iv v VI VII. Learn a loop by its numbers and you can play it in any key.
In B minor, i VI III VII is Bm G D A. In F minor it’s Fm D♭ A♭ E♭.
Picture the key’s black keys first (sections 4 and 5), then build each chord from notes in the key. If a chord needs a note outside the key, a count has gone wrong.
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