C Major Chord

Intro to Chords

Let's talk about chords. A chord is three or more notes simultaneously. Chords are based around a root note. Other notes are classified in terms of the intervals they create with the root note.

Triads are chords composed of a root note and its third and fifth. There are 4 main types of triads:

Chord Type	1st Interval	2nd Interval
Major	Major 3rd	Perfect 5th
Minor	Minor 3rd	Perfect 5th
Diminished	Minor 3rd	Diminished 5th
Augmented	Major 3rd	Augmented 5th

A basic major chord is root, major third, and perfect fifth. For a C Major chord, that's C - E and C - G. The C Major chord is spelled C E G or C - E - G.

Often, a chord spans more than one octave, reusing the same set of notes in a higher octave. For example, C2 E2 G2 C3 E3 is 5 notes, but all 5 notes are found in the C major triad. This is still a C Major chord.

Inversions

Usually, the root note of the chord is also the lowest-pitched note. This gives a strong harmonic foundation where the intervals created by the other notes can be clearly heard and felt. However, the third or fifth can also be the lowest-pitched note. This is called an inversion.

Inversion	Lowest Note
0th (no inversion)	root
1st	third
2nd	fifth

Open Position C Major Chord

fig 1
|o|-|-|p|-| E and G
|-|i|-|-|-| C
|o|-|-|-|-| G
|-|-|m|-|-| E
|-|-|-|r|-| C
|o|-|-|p|-| E and G*
 0 1 2 3 4