Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

Different chord types

A guide to some common chords

Minor chords

Minor chords carry a sad sound, which is created by flattening the third by a

semitone (one key). Rather than play C-E-G to play C major, you play C-Eb-G for C

minor. A lower-case ‘m’ will be above the stave for a minor chord.

Major chords

Major triads are happy-sounding chords that are made by taking the first, third

and fifth note from the chord’s corresponding major scale. If a letter is written

above the stave on its own, ie just ‘D’, then this means it’s a major chord.

Left-hand chords

Don’t think that chords are exclusive to the treble clef. Although we wouldn’t

recommend playing triads low down the keyboard, left-hand chords are useful

when working out progressions, such as the one above.

Dominant seventh chords

Seventh chords have four notes, and feature the first, third, fifth and flattened

seventh notes of the corresponding major scale. C7 comprises C, E, G and Bb.

The first three notes are the same as a major triad.

C G D F

C7 G 7 D7 F7

Cm Gm Dm Fm

C G Dm F7