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3.1 · Building Chords

Stacking thirds

A chord is multiple notes sounding together. The simplest and most common type of chord is the triad, whose basic recipe is a root, a third, and a fifth.

Stack it up

CC: the note the chord is named after.
C ESkip a letter up to E.
C E GSkip again to G: that's a chord.

The chord lives in the scale

Every major scale hides its chord in plain sight. The tinted keys are the scale, numbered 1 to 8 from home to home. Take 1, 3, and 5: skip a note, take one, skip a note, take one. The chord tones wear shapes: star for the root, triangle for the third, pentagon for the fifth.

Home note · sets the scale
1 · C 2 · D 3 · E 4 · F 5 · G 6 · A 7 · B 8 · C

Notes 1, 3, and 5 of C major are C E G. Together they are the C major chord. Same counting, any scale.

Game · Stack the chord

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Build C major. Tap the root: C.

Stack the skips: root, then third, then fifth.

Quiz

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A triad is built from how many notes?

Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson.Major vs. minor →