Piano Guidance
Piano Guidance
Photo: Dalila Dalprat
In any major key, the 1st, 4th and 5th chords will be major. In the example given here, the C chord was the 1st chord and the D chord was the second chord of the C major key. The second, third, and 6th chords in any major key are minor.
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In this answer I discuss what a scale is and explain how a major scale is derived. This is followed by the definition of a key with contrasting of the keys of C major and D major as examples. After which, I explain how triads (three note chords) are formed using each note of a major scale. Major, minor and diminished chords are defined. The question of why minor chords are contained in a major scale is addressed. I finish with a discussion of naming conventions for major and minor chords in a given key. Scale -- a series of notes organized based on a formula that defines the interval between the notes. There are many different scales, each defined by a unique formula. Intervals are most commonly expressed as a multiple of "half steps" and "whole steps" between the notes that make up a scale. A half step on a piano is the interval between a white and a black key, or the interval between B and C or E and F white keys on a piano. A whole step is two half steps. The most commonly used scale is the major scale. It is based on the formula W-W-H-W-W-W-H (W=whole step, H=half step). A scale is named after it's "root note," the first note in the scale. The C major scale follows the major scale formula perfectly: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. This is due to the fact that there is only a half step between E&F and B&C and a whole step between the remaining notes. However, start on any note other than C, and the major scale formula can't be followed without some help. That help comes in the form of sharps/flats. These are two names for the same note (Google it). Here, we will call them sharps (represented by the symbol "#"), and these notes are represented by the black keys on a piano. A sharp is one half step higher than the "natural" note (e.g., F vs F#). Next, let's take a look at a D major scale derived from the major scale formula: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D. Why the F# and C#? Again, the interval between E and F is only a half step. The major scale formula says we need a whole step between the second and third notes of the scale. F# adds a half step to F. Thus, the interval from E to F# is a whole step, as required by the formula. The interval between F# and G is one half step. This is also what the formula requires. The same logic applies with B, C#, and D with regard to the major scale formula. All the major scales are derived in this manner. Key--A key derives from a scale. A key consists of only notes and chords derived from the notes of a scale as defined by the root note and the formula for the scale in question. Example: C major scale, where C is the root note and the major scale formula defines the notes in the scale and the resulting chords. Let's compare the C major and D major keys. There is no F# or C# in the C major scale as compared to the D major scale, so these notes are not played in the key of C major, and no chords in C major will contain these notes. In contrast, there is no F or C in the scale of D major. Therefore, these notes will not be played and will not contained in any chords in the key of D major.
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Read More »Triads -- These are chords derived from the notes that make up a scale, and taken together, form a key based on the root note of the scale. Each note of a scale can be used as the first note (triad root note) to form a triad. A triad normally consists of the root note and the third and fifth note as counted up from the root note. Example: Key of C major, with C as the root note of the first triad, the triad would be C, E, G. For the next note in the C major key, D, the triad would consist of D, F, A. Now, let's take a look at the intervals between the notes in these two triads, specifically, between the root and the third note. For the triad with C as the root, there are two whole steps between C and E (C to D and D to E). Two whole steps between the root and third note in a triad is called a major third. Triads with a major third are called major chords. For the chord with the first note of D, there are only a step and a half between D and F (D to E = one step and E to F = half step). One and a half steps between the root and the third note of a triad is called a "flattened third". A triad that contains a flattened third is known as a minor chord. If one forms triads for the rest of the notes in the C major scale, you will find that the triads that start with C, F, and G have major thirds. The triads that start with D, E, and A have flattened thirds, and are consequently minor chords. This is how a major key comes to contain minor chords. In any major key, the 1st, 4th and 5th chords will be major. In the example given here, the C chord was the 1st chord and the D chord was the second chord of the C major key. The second, third, and 6th chords in any major key are minor. By convention, the chords in a key are represented by roman numerals, the major chords are represented by capital roman numerals I, IV, V, and the minors by small roman numerals ii, iii, vi. The final chord in the C major scale, with B as it's root, has a flattened third and a flattened fifth (only 6 semitones from the root instead of the normal 7). This is referred to as a diminished chord.
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