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.

Writing Conventions

C Cm Cdim C+

Inversions

Usually, the root note of the chord is also the lowest-pitched note, or bass 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 bass note. This is called an inversion. Inversions are numbered by the bass note's occurrence in the chord.

Inversion	Lowest Note
Root Position	Root
1st Inversion	Third
2nd Inversion	Fifth

2nd inversion doesn't sound/feel terribly different from root position, while 1st inversion is clearly different but still retains much of the feel of root position. Really, we classify them as the same chord - whether its C E G, E G C, or G C E, it's a C Major chord.

Why Invert?

So what's the point of using an inverted chord vs. root position? This mainly deals with voice leading, which can get a little advanced. Basically, even if an instrument is used in a strictly harmonic function, each note of a chord being played should be treated as an individual voice, as though it were one person in a chorus. When changing chords, each voice can keep the same pitch, move higher, or move lower. Classical voice leading has a number of guidelines to make transitions smooth, natural, and pleasant. They highlight the harmonic content of the change moreso than the pitch changes. Let's look at some chord changes, trying to use as little movement as possible for each voice.

Root Position Chord 1	Chord 1 Member Notes	Chord 2	Chord 2 Member Notes	Notes Movement	Inversion of Chord 2
C	C E G	Em	B E G	C moves 1 half step to B	2nd Inversion
C	C E G	Am	C E A	G moves 1 whole step to A	1st Inversion
C	C E G	F	C F A	E moves 1 half step to F, G moves 1 whole step to A	2nd Inversion
C	C E G	G	B D G	C moves 1 half step to B, E moves 1 whole step to D	1st Inversion

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