Chord of the Week​ ~ Intro part V

«Understanding Chords on the Piano»~ Introduction part V

 ​Practical Learning - Piano Chord Charts - Triads and four note chords
for ​Songwriters - Music Producers - Aspiring Composers

Chord of the Week
( Introduction part V)

You can check out the link to my book under:

Understanding Chords on the Piano

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 Introduction part V of blog

We will now continue with the 5th introduction of this blog, but this time we'll 
​be talking about how to construct chords. Before we can start laying down
«The Chord of the Week» we need to know a bit about how the
chords are built, but we are getting closer. Remember to go
​back in the blog if you miss out on something.

Chord Construction

​​Now back to the major scale. Do you remember the interval of thirds or 3rd’s? If you count to 3 from any note in the major scale and move by steps you will get a 3rd between the first and the last note you count. Take a closer look here:

​C D E  - 3rd between C and E
           (Count 1  2  3 from the C-note)

D E F  - 3rd between D and F
           (Count 1  2  3 from the D-note)

E F G - 3rd between E and G
                (Count 1  2  3 from the E-note)

and so forth…

Chord Formulas
The chord formulas are not too difficult to understand. If you construct a major chord from the 1st, 3rd and 5th step of the major scale, that also becomes the chord formula:
​1, 3, 5

Some chord formula examples
C  (1, 3, 5)
Cm  (1, b3, 5)
​
Notice the C minor chord, the 3rd note has a b (flat) in front of it, this just means that you lower the 3rd note down half a step. All chords will be constructed like this, if you place a b in front of a note it will go down half a step. If you place a # (sharp) in front of a note than the note will go up half a step, as simple as that. On the next pages you will see more examples of chord formulas.

Chord construction
Remember chord construction is the same as the chord formula, a chord formula tells you exactly how a chord is constructed. 
Take a major chord, the chord formula for ALL major chords are 1 - 3 - 5, this also shows you that ALL major chords are constructed from the 1st, 3rd and the 5th step of the major scale.

More about chords
When more than two notes are stacked on top of each other or played at the same time we call them chords. Two notes played at the same time is often referred to as an interval, or the distance between two notes. Two notes can also imply a chord or harmony. Sometimes we find chords with only two notes in music, like the 5 chord, often found in rock music. 

All chords constructed from the major scale
This is important! Remember that the major scale has 8 steps and that all chords will be constructed from the major scale. When you construct any C chords; C, Cm, C7, Cm7b5 or other C chords, you must remember to use the C major scale. Similarly, if you construct any G chords you use the G major scale and so forth.

Remember the 8 steps in the major scale before moving on:

C major chord 
Now let’s look at the C major chord under, only three notes built in 3rd’s, every other note from the note C, derived from the major scale, remember the formula:

G major chord 
The same principle applies for all the major chords.
The G major chord is also built in 3rd’s, but this time from every other note from the G-note in the G major scale. The construction of the G chord and the formula is exactly the same: 1, 3, 5 
​
G major scale 
The steps are over the staves, and the intervals under the staves. Notice the # before the 7th note, you need this sharp to be within the correct formula in the G major scale. The formula for all major scales is the same: 2 1/2 + 3 1/2 steps.

​Here is the G major chord on the piano, take a closer look at all the information on the chart:

F major scale
Notice the b in front of the 4th step of the scale, then you get the F major scale. The formula is still the same as all the other major scales: 2 1/2 + 3 1/2 steps.

The F major scale (one b)

F major chord 
Compare to the C and G major chord.

​End of Introduction part V

​That should be the end of my «Introduction part V». Thanks for reading, I will soon be back for a follow up and continuation of this blog. Remember to follow me on Instagram and to register on this website for free GIVEAWAYS. Feel free to comment as well.

​Next time we'll round of all these introductions, and then the exiting part starts very soon. In «Introduction VI» we'll round of with some definitions and a bit more talk
around chords. Belive it or not that will be the end of a super
​long introduction of six parts to «The Chord of the Week»  😅

​PS!
I would like some help from you to tell me on INSTAGRAM what chord we should start with. It can be your favourite chord, or any type of chord. I can't guarantee it will be your chord that starts the whole thing, but if one type of chord is mention more than other chords on instagram I'll chose that one.  😊

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