Chords

Overview of Chords

  • Chords are a central part of all Western music composed between 1650 and 1910, from the Baroque through Classical to Romantic eras.
  • In the simplest form, a chord is three or more notes played together. It can create harmony and structure in a piece of music.
  • The most commonly used chords are triads – root, a third, and a fifth: either major (happy-sounding), minor (sad-sounding), diminished (tense/unsettled), or augmented (unstable/dissonant).

Major and Minor Chords

  • Major chords consist of a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. These are typically perceived as happy or bright.
  • Minor chords consist of a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. These are generally viewed as sad or melancholy.

Diminished and Augmented Chords

  • A diminished chord consists of a root, minor third, and a diminished fifth, often contributing suspense or tension to the music.
  • Augmented chords are made up of a root, major third, and augmented fifth, creating a sense of instability or dissonance in the music.

Seventh Chords

  • Seventh chords consist of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the root of the chord.
  • They include major sevenths, minor sevenths, and dominant sevenths, each offering a distinct mood or tension to the music due to the extra note.

Inversions of Chords

  • Inversions of chords are made by altering the order of notes. For example, playing the third or the fifth note of a triad as the lowest note changes the chord’s overall sound.
  • Inversions can help create smoother transitions between chords, enhance musical interest, or bring subtle changes in mood or tension.

Functional Harmony

  • The concept of functional harmony emerged in the Baroque period and remained fundamental in Western music until around 1910.
  • It’s the idea that chords have particular roles or functions within the key, mainly, tonic (I - home chord), dominant (V - tension that often resolves to tonic), or subdominant (IV - away from tonic, but less tension than dominant).

Harmonic Progressions

  • Typical harmonic progressions of the era can be seen as patterns in the sequence of chords. For example, the common progression I-IV-V-I can be found in many pieces from this period.
  • Other popular progression trends include the cycle of fifths (where each chord is a fifth below the last), and use of the II-V-I progression in jazz and later music.

Key Points to Recall

Remember the importance of chords within the structure of Western music from 1650-1910 and their role in defining aural mood or tension. Understand the differing sounds and feelings evoked by different chord types: major, minor, diminished, augmented, and sevenths. Learn how inversions can change the character of these chords and add variety to harmonic progressions. Remember how functional harmony influenced the flow of music during this period. Understand typical harmonic progressions and their use in defining tonality.