Lesson 5: Chords

In this lesson, you will learn about: Major chords and inversions Minor chords Scores Practice Opportunity Wrap-up Practice Opportunity These concepts will  help you understand how chords and harmony are notated in music.

Major Chords and Inversions So far, we have looked at simple lines of music in which only one note sounds at a time. However, more than one note can be played simultaneously to create harmony. When three or more notes are played at one time, these notes are called a chord. The notes in a chord correspond to the first, third and fifth notes in a scale. The notes are placed directly over one another to indicate that they are played simultaneously. A C Major chord is shown below, but the notes from any major scale could be used to form a major chord (see key signatures for the possibilities). Note: If this lesson seems too difficult, try not to get discouraged! You need not be an expert at the topics in this lesson in order to read music. The intent of this lesson is to provide you with an introduction to harmony and chords.

		Listen Up! Scale and Chord The recording plays the notes in the diagram at left.   Inverted Chords The recording plays the notes in the diagram at left.
The order of the notes in the chords may be changed. These changes are called inversions. In addition, other notes in the scale may be added to the chord.