Piano Guidance
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How many chords are on a piano?

There are 12 major chords that you can play on the piano. To make a major chord, you play the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of a major scale together. For example, the C major scale has the notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. So you use C E G to make the major chord.

piano-lessons-info.com - 12 Major Chords - Piano Lessons Info
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What Are the 12 Major Chords?

There are 12 major chords that you can play on the piano. To make a major chord, you play the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of a major scale together. For example, the C major scale has the notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. So you use C E G to make the major chord. Keep in mind that you call one black note by 2 names, like C# and Db. Chords like this have the same notes but are called and written differently. Both ways will be written here.

About Major Chords

Major chords are written as just a letter name. They come from major scales and use the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the scale with the same name. (You can learn more about this on the chord theory page.)

Here they are:

D = D F# A Db = Db F Ab

G = G B D Gb = Gb Bb Db

Video Playlist of the 12 Major Chords

Chart of The 12 Major Chords (+ 2)

Charts can be useful and here is one for you. This is the chart of all the major chords for piano. You can also find this and the individual major chords at Piano Lessons on Pinterest.

Chart of Major Chords

Major Chord Quiz / Game

We have created a little quiz or game for you to practice coming up with the notes in the different major chords.

Check out the major chords quiz page here.

Old School Chart:

This is the original chart of the major chords I published on the site. I've just left it up here as it shows things slightly differently and you may find it useful. These major chords are the most common ones you’ll come across when playing a song. Learning and knowing these will get you a long way. To learn some more kinds of chords, go to minor chords or back to chord charts.

Free Download:

Ultimate Chord Cheat Sheet

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Can 2 notes make a chord?

In music, a dyad (less commonly, diad) is a set of two notes or pitches that, in particular contexts, may imply a chord.

en.wikipedia.org - Dyad (music) - Wikipedia

( help · info ) All dyads within an octave on C.

In music, a dyad (less commonly, diad) is a set of two notes or pitches[1] that, in particular contexts, may imply a chord. Dyads can be classified by the interval between the notes.[2] For example, the interval between C and E is a major third, which can imply a C major chord, made up of the notes C, E and G.[3] When the pitches of a dyad occur in succession, they form a melodic interval. When they occur simultaneously, they form a harmonic interval. [4] ( help · info ) In a triadic context chords with omitted thirds may be considered "indeterminate" triads. The harmonic series is built over a fundamental pitch, and the rest of the partials in the series are called overtones. The second partial is an octave above the fundamental and the third pitch is a fifth, so if C is the fundamental pitch the second note is C an octave higher and then the next pitch would be G. The harmonic series has more fifths than just this one, for example the fourth to the sixth, the sixth to the ninth and the seventh to the eleventh partial are all a fifth away from each other, though the latter is of a slightly different size than the former ones.

Harmonic series with C as the fundamental.

( help · info ) Melodic and harmonic intervals, respectively above and below.

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

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