Welcome to the first part in a multi-part series on chords. Today we are going to talk about how to identify the chords you are playing. I’ve had questions from people playing certain sonorities and wondering what exactly they are playing. In this lesson, we are going to talk about the basics of identifying chords.
The most basic thing to know about chords is that they are (almost always) built on the interval of a third. What is a third? A third is any notes that are on lines or spaces (not both) – they are two letter names apart. Here are some examples of thirds: A-C (leaving out B) or C-E (leaving out D).
Some chords are more sophisticated and they have what is called altered tones. This means that there might be an augmented or diminished chord that will have raised or lowered notes.
So knowing all this, how are you supposed to figure out what the chords are? It’s easier than you might think. Simply arrange the notes into thirds on the staff.
When you are reading your music, make sure that the notes are arranged in thirds. To do this, simply look at the notes that are on lines or spaces. Sometimes this can be tricky because there is something referred to as inversions. An inversion is done by taking the bottom note of a chord and placing it on the top (or the top note is placed on the bottom) – in the end, it will be exactly the same chord. So how do you know which chord it is? In an inversion, the notes will not be arranged in thirds, if you rearrange the notes until they form thirds (all lines or all spaces) you will find the root of the chord which is on the bottom. Take the bottom note and place it on top, or the top note on the bottom and the notes will arrange into thirds – all lines, or all spaces.
So how do you handle chords with more than three notes? The same principle applies to these chords. You can actually build chords all the way to the 13th utilizing only the interval of a third. Why is a 13 chord the limit? Because if you play one more third you will arrive back at the note you started on. This is because there are only seven possible notes within a scale and a 13 chord contains all of them!
This might sound confusing but once you start applying the basic principles in this lesson you will see that it makes perfect sense and is an easy way to identify chords. Next time we will be covering how to approach expanded chords.
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