CHORDS-BY BODOM
by bodom (Jul 26, 2007)
Hey folks Im back again with another lesson. Before you read this one, you should read my KEYS lesson first. Yep this one is on chords. Ok Im going to use the same chart I did last time but a little different. Before I had Major minor minor etc now I am just going to use roman numerals. Capital ones stand for Major and lower case stand for minor. Ok so here is the chart again.
Ok so from this we can find the notes and chords in a certain Key. Now I am going to show you how the chords are formed and why the fit into certain Keys.
Chord formulas
Ok like I said before in my last lesson chords are just a group of notes played together. But what notes? Well there is a formula that tells you what notes are in the chord. You should memorize these formulas. These are the formulas for basic Major and minor chords.
Great now what do the numbers stand for? Look at the first chart again. Remember how there are seven distinct notes that make up the Key? Example Key of C the seven distict notes are C,D,E,F,G,A,B well the formula is telling you what notes make up the chord. For a C major chord you play the 1st 3rd and 5th note of that Key. So the notes are C,E,G. For C minor the notes are the 1st b3rd and 5th so the notes are C,D#,G.
So remember the Major minor minor Major Major minor minorb5 on the last chart well now I switched it to I ii iii IV V vi vii b5 to make it easier to see the number of the notes in the Key. And now we can see why each chord is in that Key. So lets do the key of C lets see why the first two chords fit in that Key.
First chord is C major
Now go to the Key of C And look at the 1st 3rd and 5th notes C,E,G
So the notes are C,E,G now are these notes in the key of C?
Notes in Key of C= C,D,E,F,G,A,B Yep!!
Second chord is D minor
Now go to the Key of D And look at the 1st b3rd and 5th notes
notes in D = D,E,F#,G,A,B,C#
So the notes are D,F,A. Are they in the Key of C?
Notes in Key of C= C,D,E,F,G,A,B Yep!!
Now I will show you why C minor is NOT in the key of C
Notes are C,D,E,F,G,A,B
Now why D Major is NOT in the key of C
Key of D= D,E,F#,G,A,B,C#
Are they in the key of C? Nope!! the F# note is not in the key of C so D major is not in this Key.
Ok thats it, well not really there are alot more chords out there but they work the same way, just different formulas I will list a few below for you. If you have any questions or corrections just let me know.
Key I ii iii IV V vi vii b5
C C D E F G A B
G G A B C D E F#
D D E F# G A B C#
A A B C# D E F# G#
E E F# G# A B C# D#
B B C# D# E F# G# A#
F# F# G# A# B C# D# E#
C# C# D# E# F# G# A# B#
F F G A Bb C D E
Bb Bb C D Eb F G A
Eb Eb F G Ab Bb C D
Ab Ab Bb C Db Eb F G
Db Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
Gb Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F
Cb Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb
Ok so from this we can find the notes and chords in a certain Key. Now I am going to show you how the chords are formed and why the fit into certain Keys.
Chord formulas
Ok like I said before in my last lesson chords are just a group of notes played together. But what notes? Well there is a formula that tells you what notes are in the chord. You should memorize these formulas. These are the formulas for basic Major and minor chords.
Major 1 3 5
minor 1 b3 5
b stands for flat and # stands for sharp
Great now what do the numbers stand for? Look at the first chart again. Remember how there are seven distinct notes that make up the Key? Example Key of C the seven distict notes are C,D,E,F,G,A,B well the formula is telling you what notes make up the chord. For a C major chord you play the 1st 3rd and 5th note of that Key. So the notes are C,E,G. For C minor the notes are the 1st b3rd and 5th so the notes are C,D#,G.
So remember the Major minor minor Major Major minor minorb5 on the last chart well now I switched it to I ii iii IV V vi vii b5 to make it easier to see the number of the notes in the Key. And now we can see why each chord is in that Key. So lets do the key of C lets see why the first two chords fit in that Key.
First chord is C major
formula for Major? 1 3 5
Now go to the Key of C And look at the 1st 3rd and 5th notes C,E,G
So the notes are C,E,G now are these notes in the key of C?
Notes in Key of C= C,D,E,F,G,A,B Yep!!
Second chord is D minor
formula for minor? 1 b3 5
Now go to the Key of D And look at the 1st b3rd and 5th notes
notes in D = D,E,F#,G,A,B,C#
make sure to flatten the 3rd
So the notes are D,F,A. Are they in the Key of C?
Notes in Key of C= C,D,E,F,G,A,B Yep!!
Now I will show you why C minor is NOT in the key of C
formula for minor? 1 b3 5
Notes are C,D,E,F,G,A,B
Flatten the 3rd
so the E becomes a D# note which is not in the Key of C.Now why D Major is NOT in the key of C
formula for Major? 1 3 5
Key of D= D,E,F#,G,A,B,C#
Are they in the key of C? Nope!! the F# note is not in the key of C so D major is not in this Key.
Ok thats it, well not really there are alot more chords out there but they work the same way, just different formulas I will list a few below for you. If you have any questions or corrections just let me know.
Major 1 3 5
minor 1 b3 5
Major 7th 1 3 5 7
7th 1 3 5 b7
minor 7th 1 b3 5 b7
Augmented 1 3 #5
Diminished 1 b3 b5