Since Western music started to evolve, songs for happy occasions were generally centered around major chords, while songs for sad occasions used more minor chords. The most common thinking is that these associations have simply built up over time. The reason why major is “happy” and minor is “sad” to Western ears is possibly the oldest mystery in musical theory. One of the wonderful elements of music is how simple differences-like a single half step change in a chord-can evoke such different emotions in us. Like this:įor a minor chord, the most common descriptions we use are negative, like “sad” or “dark.” The reason for this is a complex one, so let’s dig in. Since we now have three notes, this chord is also called a "minor triad."Īnd just like before, to play this minor chord, place your first, third, and fifth fingers on the first, third, and fifth notes respectively. Again, since the fifth is the same for major and minor scales- the fifth is seven half steps higher than the root note. Just like before, the minor chord is made up of the first, third, and fifth notes of the scale. In this example, the key is C minor-so the minor third is E♭. A minor third is three half steps higher than the root note. You’ll notice that here, the third is one half step lower than for the major scale. Let’s go back to scales again, but this time looking at a minor scale.Īgain, the most important note is the third. Minor chords How do you play minor chords on piano? You can describe the sound of a major chord in various ways, but the words we use are positive, like “happy” or “bright.” The reason why we associate major chords with positivity is a more difficult question, but it’s easier to get into that after we’ve introduced minor chords. To play this major chord, place your first, third, and fifth fingers on the first, third, and fifth notes respectively. Since we now have three notes, this is also called a major “triad”. This is always true for any chord, whether major or minor. The fifth is seven half steps higher than the root note. The major chord consists of only the first, third, and fifth from the scale. In this example, the key is C major-so the major third is E. Because this is a major scale, the third is called a "major third." A major third is four half steps higher than the root note. The most important note in this particular scale is the third. So the fourth note is the "fourth," the fifth note is the "fifth," and so on. If you’re familiar with scales, you might know that most scales have seven notes (on the eighth note, the scale starts again an octave higher-see our Beginners Guide to Piano for more on this).įor any scale, the first note is called the "root" note, and every other note is named after its position in the scale. Major chords How do you play major chords on piano? Let’s go through how to play major and minor chords on piano, how they sound, why they sound different and some examples of both-with a final note on relative major/minor chords. The second is human: how the chords “sound” different to us as listeners. The first difference is technical: how you play them. But what’s the difference between major and minor chords?
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