My Color Music

So … major chords are easy to play. They’re all built from a basic note pattern of “1-3-5” … and each one has a nice, strong sound that goes well with most songs. But the truth is, the major chord isn’t our only option. Because, really, it’s just one of four basic chords in music:

In the key of C, for example, these basic chords include the:

• C major triad
• C minor triad
• C augmented triad
• C diminished triad

Like four superheroes—each with its own special powers—these chords show up in all sorts of music. The major triad and minor triad are definitely the leaders of the pack … while the augmented and diminished triads are used a little less often. As you play each of these chords, notice how they’re all really similar to the major chord. The only difference is in the way we play note 3 and note 5:

The intervals in each chord are what make them sound unique. For example, the major triad sounds the most stable or “consonant” because it includes a major-third (3) and perfect fifth (5)—which are both at strong intervals from the root note (1). The minor triad sounds a little less stable because of its minor-third note (b3). This sad, melancholy sound makes it a little less popular than the happy-sounding major triad.

The augmented triad sounds even more unstable (or “dissonant”) because of its augmented (or raised) fifth note (#5). So it’s even less popular than the minor triad. And with its minor-third note (b3) and diminished fifth (b5), the diminished triad is probably the least popular … because it sounds very dissonant.

To tell each chord apart, musicians label them with special little symbols … like this:

Basically, the major chord is so popular that it simply goes by the letter name of its root note. (For example, the C major chord is labeled “C.”) And the other chords are given symbols that mean “minor” (-), “augmented” (+), and “diminished” (o).

As you start to play different songs in music, you’ll also notice that—for some weird reason—there isn’t a standard set of chord symbols. So you might see a few different labels from time to time. For example, check out the following chord labels. Each one is pretty common … but they all mean the same thing:

No matter which labels we use, these basic triads are good to know. And because the major and minor chords are especially popular in music, let’s get a really nice feel for each one, shall we? As you practice hitting these chords in each key, your brain will definitely get smarter … and your hands will, too. By learning to move between these different chords, we’re totally setting ourselves up for greatness.

All this talk about squares and circles has got me noticing things. Now that they’re on my radar, I see these two simple shapes everywhere. I mean, it’s like the world is full of them.

Squares and circles show up at breakfast … in my waffles and pancakes …

… they jump out at me while I’m walking down the street …

… and they even follow me home when I’m sitting down to play a nice game of checkers.

Really. The next thing you know, I’ll start dreaming about them in my sleep….

You’ve got to admit … music just sounds better with chords. And in our last song, it was pretty fun to move between two different chords. But things would have been a lot easier to play if our left hand didn’t have to move so much.

I mean, when we go from playing a C major chord to playing a G major chord in the song “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” our fingers have to travel pretty far down the keyboard. And that can make things a little difficult.

So to work around this issue, musicians sometimes rearrange the notes of a chord. That way, they can easily change chords by moving just a couple of fingers. To see what I mean, check out the following versions of the G major chord:

All three of these chords are actually the same. We can play the same G major chord as “1-3-5” … or as “3-5-1” … or even as “5-1-3.” It really doesn’t matter. We simply call the different versions of this chord “inversions.”

Just like in scales, the strongest and most defining note of a chord is its tonic note (or “root”). And when we play a chord with its root at the bottom, we say it’s in “root position.” For example, the root position of the G major chord is played as “1-3-5” … or G-B-D. This basic arrangement of notes is the most common way to play any chord.

But chord inversions are also pretty popular. And you’ll see them a lot in music. For example, we can easily play the “first inversion” of this G major chord by moving B (note 3) to the bottom. Or we could play the same chord in its “second inversion” by moving D (note 5) to the bottom. Either way, we’re still playing the same G major chord … which you can hear as we play through the following song.

Just like before, our left hand simply moves between a C major chord and a G major chord. But because the G major chord is played in its first inversion (with B—note 3—on the bottom), our fingers have to move a lot less. The shift between the two chords takes much less effort. And that makes the song easier to play.

To get an even better feel for how chord inversions work, try playing the following chords in each key. Just like before, we’re still just playing the same basic major chords. Only now, we’re giving our hands (and brains) a little more exercise. Remember to focus on your fingers and the notes as you play. And don’t forget to stop and smile every once in a while … because your friends are going to be jealous of your cool new skills….