Understanding Chords
A chord is a group of three or more notes played simultaneously. Different types of chords can be formed by using different combinations of notes. The most basic type of chord contains three different notes and is called a triad. The most common triads are major chords. All major chords contain three notes taken from the major scale bearing the same letter name as the chord. These three notes are the 1 (first), 3 (third) and 5 (fifth) notes (degrees) of the major scale, so the chord formula for the major chord is:
Using the above chord formula on the C major scale below, you can see that the C major chord contains the notes C, E and G. the note numbers (or scale degrees) indicate the position of the note in the scale.
Once you have the correct notes for a C chord they can be arranged in any order. As long as the notes are still Q E and G# you still have a C chord. E.g. a C chord could be played C E G# or E G C, or G C E, or even G E C. These various arrangements of the notes within a chord are called inversions. It is also possible to double notes within a chord. E.g. the diagram below shows a common way of playing a C major chord on the guitar. It contains two C notes and two E notes. It is still a C major chord because it only contains notes called Ct E and G- Doubling notes is common when playing chords on the guitar.
