Triads: Everything You Need To Know.

Triad

A chord made of three notes stacked together.

Chord Quality

The special sound of a triad which can be major (happy), minor (sad), diminished (tense), or augmented (bright).

C Major Triad

A chord with the notes C (the root), E (the third), and G (the fifth). It sounds happy!

Minor Triad

A chord that changes a major triad by lowering the middle note to make it sound sad.

Diminished Triad

A chord that sounds tense, made of a minor third and a smaller gap from the root.

Augmented Triad

A bright-sounding chord made of a major third and a larger gap from the root.

Inversion

Changing the order of the notes in a triad, so the bottom note isn't the root.

Root Position

A triad where the root note is at the bottom.

First Inversion

A triad where the third note is on the bottom.

Second Inversion

A triad where the fifth note is on the bottom.

Roman Numeral Notation

A way to write chords using Roman numbers to show where they belong in a song.

Voice Leading

Moving from note to note smoothly in music.

Chord Progression

A series of chords that are played one after another in a song.

Figured Bass

A way old musicians wrote chords using numbers and symbols.

Major Triad

A chord that sounds bright, made from a major third and a perfect fifth.

D Triad

A chord that starts with the note D, which can be happy (major), sad (minor), tense (diminished), or bright (augmented).

A Flat Major Triad

A chord made up of A flat (the root), C (the third), and E flat (the fifth).

Suspended Chords

Chords that swap the third note with either the second or fourth note to create a different sound.

Chordal Cruncher

A fun name for a chord that has a happy third note and a lower fifth.

Chord Crunch Supreme

A fun name for a chord that raises the third note and lowers the fifth.