Chord music - Triads

In music and music theory, a chord (from the Middle English cord) short for accord is three or more different notes or pitches sounding simultaneously, or nearly simultaneously, over a period of time. On a piano this can be done by playing any three (or more) keys; on a guitar it is done by playing three or more strings. Every chord is given a specific name, based on the notes that constitute the ...

Including:

• Chord music - Simultaneity
• Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction
• Chord music - Triads
• Chord music - Inverted triads
• Chord music - Chord quality
• Chord music - Seventh chords
• Chord music - Extended chords
• Chord music - Augmented sixth chords
• Chord music - Added tone chords
• Chord music - Sustained chords
• Chord music - Borrowed chords
• Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord
• Chord music - Power chords
• Chord music - Other types of chord
• Chord music - Chord sequences
• Chord music - Nonchord tones and dissonance

Read more here: » Chord music: Encyclopedia - Chord music

The most commonly used chords in Western music, triads are the basis of diatonic harmony, and are tertian trichords. That is, they are composed of three notes: a root note, a note which is a third above the root, and a note which is a third above that note, and therefore a fifth above the root. Each note has a function within the chord: the note the chord is built on is called the root of the chord, the next note (a third above the root) is called the third of the chord, and the next note (a third above, again) is called ...

See also:

Chord music, Chord music - Simultaneity, Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction, Chord music - Triads, Chord music - Inverted triads, Chord music - Chord quality, Chord music - Seventh chords, Chord music - Extended chords, Chord music - Augmented sixth chords, Chord music - Added tone chords, Chord music - Sustained chords, Chord music - Borrowed chords, Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord, Chord music - Power chords, Chord music - Other types of chord, Chord music - Chord sequences, Chord music - Nonchord tones and dissonance

Read more here: » Chord music: Encyclopedia II - Chord music - Triads

Chords are commonly played in sequence, much as notes are played in sequence to form melodies. Chord sequences can be conceptualised either in a simplistic way, in which the root notes of the chords play simple melodies while tension is created and relieved by increasing and decreasing dissonance, or full attention can be paid to each note in every chord, in which case chord sequences can be regarded as multi-part harmony of unlimited complexity. Listen to an example of a chord sequence from Erik Satie's Sarabande no. 3. Chor ...

See also:

Chord music, Chord music - Simultaneity, Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction, Chord music - Triads, Chord music - Inverted triads, Chord music - Chord quality, Chord music - Seventh chords, Chord music - Extended chords, Chord music - Augmented sixth chords, Chord music - Added tone chords, Chord music - Sustained chords, Chord music - Borrowed chords, Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord, Chord music - Power chords, Chord music - Other types of chord, Chord music - Chord sequences, Chord music - Nonchord tones and dissonance

Read more here: » Chord music: Encyclopedia II - Chord music - Chord sequences

The Neapolitan sixth chord is a major triad with the lowered supertonic scale degree as its root. The chord is referred to as a "sixth" because it is almost always found in first inversion (first inversions being traditionally named like this, from their characteristic interval of a sixth from the bass). Though a technically accurate roman numeral analysis would be bII6, it is generally labelled N6. In C major, the chord ...

See also:

Chord music, Chord music - Simultaneity, Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction, Chord music - Triads, Chord music - Inverted triads, Chord music - Chord quality, Chord music - Seventh chords, Chord music - Extended chords, Chord music - Augmented sixth chords, Chord music - Added tone chords, Chord music - Sustained chords, Chord music - Borrowed chords, Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord, Chord music - Power chords, Chord music - Other types of chord, Chord music - Chord sequences, Chord music - Nonchord tones and dissonance

Read more here: » Chord music: Encyclopedia II - Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord

As well as major and minor, there can also be augmented and diminished triads. These four terms describe the quality of a chord. For instance a triad built on top of a root D in the key of C would be said to be minor or have a minor quality. Augmented triads are composed of the root, a note a major third from the root, but then a note an augmented fifth from the root (unlike the major and minor triads); or equivalently, a major third on top of a major third (same as a major triad, except the top note has be ...

See also:

Chord music, Chord music - Simultaneity, Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction, Chord music - Triads, Chord music - Inverted triads, Chord music - Chord quality, Chord music - Seventh chords, Chord music - Extended chords, Chord music - Augmented sixth chords, Chord music - Added tone chords, Chord music - Sustained chords, Chord music - Borrowed chords, Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord, Chord music - Power chords, Chord music - Other types of chord, Chord music - Chord sequences, Chord music - Nonchord tones and dissonance

Read more here: » Chord music: Encyclopedia II - Chord music - Chord quality

Chords are named after the type of intervals they are constructed from or sometimes after the number of notes they contain. They are often distinguished by the root note and bass note. The easiest way to name a chord, or limit its construction, is according to the number of notes included. The simplest and possibly most frequently used chords are trichords, meaning they have three ("tri") notes (before any doubling of not ...

See also:

Chord music, Chord music - Simultaneity, Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction, Chord music - Triads, Chord music - Inverted triads, Chord music - Chord quality, Chord music - Seventh chords, Chord music - Extended chords, Chord music - Augmented sixth chords, Chord music - Added tone chords, Chord music - Sustained chords, Chord music - Borrowed chords, Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord, Chord music - Power chords, Chord music - Other types of chord, Chord music - Chord sequences, Chord music - Nonchord tones and dissonance

Read more here: » Chord music: Encyclopedia II - Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction

A chord is only the harmonic function of a group of notes, and it is unnecessary for all the notes to be played together (called forming a simultaneity). For example, broken chords and arpeggios are ways of playing notes in succession so that they form chords. One of the most familiar broken chord figures is Alberti bass. Since simultaneity is not a required feature of chords, there has been some academic dicussion regarding the point at which a group of notes can be called a chord. Jean-Jacques Nattiez (1990, p.218) explains t ...

See also:

Chord music, Chord music - Simultaneity, Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction, Chord music - Triads, Chord music - Inverted triads, Chord music - Chord quality, Chord music - Seventh chords, Chord music - Extended chords, Chord music - Augmented sixth chords, Chord music - Added tone chords, Chord music - Sustained chords, Chord music - Borrowed chords, Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord, Chord music - Power chords, Chord music - Other types of chord, Chord music - Chord sequences, Chord music - Nonchord tones and dissonance

Read more here: » Chord music: Encyclopedia II - Chord music - Simultaneity

An augmented sixth chord is a chord which contains two notes which are separated by an augmented sixth (or, by inversion, a diminished third - though this inversion is rare in compositional practice). The augmented sixth is generally used as a dissonant interval which resolves by both notes moving outward to an octave. In Western music, the most common use of these chords is to resolve to a dominant chord in root position (that is, a dominant triad with the root doubled to create the octave to which the augmented sixth chord re ...

See also:

Chord music, Chord music - Simultaneity, Chord music - Harmonic analysis and construction, Chord music - Triads, Chord music - Inverted triads, Chord music - Chord quality, Chord music - Seventh chords, Chord music - Extended chords, Chord music - Augmented sixth chords, Chord music - Added tone chords, Chord music - Sustained chords, Chord music - Borrowed chords, Chord music - Neapolitan sixth chord, Chord music - Power chords, Chord music - Other types of chord, Chord music - Chord sequences, Chord music - Nonchord tones and dissonance

Read more here: » Chord music: Encyclopedia II - Chord music - Augmented sixth chords