A chord is a combination of several sounds taken simultaneously. Chords look different on different instruments. For example, on a button accordion or accordion, it is enough to press one button with your left hand to get such a consonance. When playing the piano or guitar, chords have to be built, and on some instruments it is almost impossible to sound multiple sounds at the same time.
Where to find chords
Chords can be composed of two, three, four or more sounds. The most popular are triads and a seventh chord consisting of four sounds. To imagine what they look like, just look at the sheet music, for example, for the piano. If this collection is not for a beginner, you will see that in many places the notes are not written in succession, but one below the other. This is the chord. You can find chords that are used in a particular key in a collection of scales, chords, and arpeggios, as well as in the guitar sequence table or chord finder.
What are the chords
A chord consisting of two sounds is often referred to as an interval. This is not a very accurate definition, since the interval can be taken both simultaneously and sequentially. The combination of three sounds is called a triad. The tonic triad is the main chord in any key. It is built on the first step, that is, the tonic. The name of the scale is formed from the tonic, so that in A major and A minor the tonic will be “A”, in F major and F minor - “F”, and so on. Each key necessarily contains not only a tonic triad, but also chords that are built on the basic steps - the fourth and fifth, which are called subdominant (S) and dominant (D). The sequence T - S - D - T is called a square by amateur musicians. Usually a four-note sequence is added to this sequence, which is built on the fifth step - the dominant seventh chord. The so-called diminished chords are also used in musical works. In natural major, such a chord is built on the seventh step, in minor and harmonic major - on the second and seventh. In musical works, you can also find chords that are not included in the harmonic sequence characteristic of a given key. Such accords are sometimes called random combinations.
How to build a tonic triad
The tonic triad is built on the first step. It consists of two thirds - major and minor. In the major triad, the major third is at the bottom, the minor third is at the top, and in the minor - vice versa. The major third consists of two tones, the minor third consists of one and a half. Build a major triad, for example, from the sound "D". The third step is at a distance of two tones up, that is, it will be "F-sharp". Count up one and a half tones from this sound. You will get the sound "la". Write the chord down in a music book. The sounds "re", "f-sharp" and "la" should be located strictly one below the other. The D minor triad will differ in the third degree - instead of "F-sharp", you just need to write "F" in it.
What chords look like in digital codes
In musical literature for piano or accordion, chords are usually recorded in full, as in compilations for classical guitar. As for the collection of songs, another type of chord recording is usually used there - digital. Above the music line for the voice or above the text, you can see the Russian or Latin designation. In the Russian version it is "La" or "La", "Re7", "E-flat", etc. In old collections, it was customary to write the names of major chords with a capital letter, minor ones with a lowercase letter, but now this rule is not always observed. Russian designations are found in modern literature much less frequently than Latin ones. In the world musical literature, the following designations of sounds are accepted: A - la, B - si, C - do, D - re, E - mi, F - fa, G - salt. In old Russian musical literature, sometimes the letter B denoted B-flat, and for pure si there was the designation H.
