CHORDS
MAJOR KEYS
Chord
degree name
I
Tonic
ii
Supertonic
iii
Mediant
IV
Subdominant
V
Dominant
vi
Submediant
vii
Leading note
Chord
Quality
(to 3# & 3♭)
Type of 7th chord
C
G
D
A
F
B♭
E♭
0
1#
2#
3#
1♭
2♭
3♭
Major
Major 7
C E G /B
G
D
A
F
B♭
E♭
minor
minor 7
D F A /C
A
E
B
G
C
F
minor
minor 7
E G B /D
B
F#
C#
A
D
G
Major
Major 7
F A C /E
C
G
D
B♭
E♭
A♭
Major
Dominant 7
G B D /F
D
A
E
C
F
B♭
minor
minor 7
A C E /G
E
B
F#
D
G
C
diminished
½ diminished 7
B D F /A
F#
C#
G#
E
A
D
A
E
B
F#
D
G
C
0
1#
2#
3#
1♭
2♭
3♭
ACE-
E
B
F#
D
G
C
MINOR KEYS
(to 3# & 3♭)
Chord
degree name
Chord
Quality
Type of 7th chord
I
Tonic
ii
Supertonic
iii
Mediant
IV
Subdominant
V
Dominant
vi
Submediant
vii
Leading note
minor
[min/maj7 –
not required]
diminished
½ diminished 7
B D F /A
F#
C#
G#
E
A
D
augmented
[no 7th required]
C E G# -
G
D
A
F
B♭
E♭
minor
minor 7
D F A /C
A
E
B
G
C
F
Major
Dominant 7
E G# B/D
B
F#
C#
A
D
G
Major
major 7
F A C /E
C
G
D
B♭
E♭
A♭
diminished
diminished 7
G# B D/F
D#
A#
E#
C#
F#
B
CHORDS REQUIRED TO WRITE
Students are required to write any of the chords from the chord tables using either treble or bass clef.

Major and suspended 4th triads on C, C#, D, E♭, E, F, F#, G, Ab, A, B♭, B and
Maj 7 chords on C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, A, B♭
Dom 7 chords on C, C#, D, E, F, F#, G, A, B♭, B

Minor triads and minor 7 chords on C, C#, D, E, F, F#, G, A, B

Diminished triads on C#, D, D#, E, E#, F#, G, G#, A,A#, B
Half dim chords on C#, D, E, F#, G, G#, A, B
(Full) diminished 7 chords on C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B

Aug chords on C, D, E♭, F, G, A, B♭
CHORD CONSTRUCTION
Major triad: Major 3rd and perfect 5th OR major 3rd + minor 3rd
Minor triad: Minor 3rd and perfect 5th OR minor 3rd + major 3rd
Augmented triad: Major triad with 5th raised (aug 5th) OR major 3rd + major 3rd
Diminished triad: Minor triad with 5th lowered (dim 5th) OR minor 3rd + minor 3rd
Note: Major and minor chords are required for scale degrees other than the tonic (see tables).
Students will therefore need to have a method for constructing these chords if they do not
know all the key signatures.
The notes in a major or minor triad can be raised or lowered a semitone to construct triads on other
degrees:
Raise the notes of C, E♭, F, B♭ major triads one semitone to create C#, E, F# and B major triads.
Lower the notes of an A major triad one semitone to create A♭ major.
The 3rd of a major triad can be lowered to create a minor triad.
Students can resort to counting semitones to create major/minor 3rds but this can be time-consuming.
Adding 7ths
 Maj 7 - add a major 7th above the root of the chord - (OR a semitone below 8ve)
(OR a major 3rd above the perfect 5th)

Min 7, Dom 7 and ½ dim 7 - add a minor 7th from the root of the chord - ( OR a tone below 8ve)
(OR a minor 3rd above the perfect 5th)

Dim 7 - add a diminished 7th above the root of the chord - (OR 1½ tones/ 3 semitones below 8ve)
(OR a minor 3rd above the diminished 5th)
Area of Study 3 – Music Language
Christine Simpson
INTERVALS
Diatonic and chromatic intervals that occur IN scales and modes set for study.
Ascending AND descending.
This means you could get ANY interval above or below ANY note that occurs in ANY of the scales.
Basically you need to be able to do intervals above or below any note.
Writing intervals
Always work out the major interval first, then adjust it using accidentals –
a semitone higher = augmented, semitone lower = minor, another semitone lower = diminished.
Perfect intervals drop one semitone only for diminished.
Diagram
PERFECT
Unison, 4th , 5th, 8th
down 1 semitone
DIM
down 1 semitone
←
up 1 semitone
←
MIN
MAJ
↑
→
AUG
Work out first
Adjust semitones with accidentals
-
º
♭
§ # ×
Do not change the original letter name of the note as this changes the number (2nd, 3rd etc) of the interval.
Naming bracketed intervals in a melody




Work out interval from the lower note.
Consider the effect of the key signature on any notes in the interval to be named.
Check for accidentals earlier in the bar that may alter a note in the interval.
Consider working out the name of an interval by inverting it – useful when the lower note is not
as easy to deal with as the upper note.
A
E#
Example: Name the interval

Invert to
E#

= aug 5th .
A
Invert answer back to give the name of the original interval. [Aug 5 th becomes a dim 4th]
Inversion names
Numbers ADD to 9 –
2nds become 7ths, 3rds become 6ths, 4ths become 5ths (and vice-versa)
Interval name changes so that –
Major becomes minor, augmented becomes diminished, perfects remain unchanged (and vice-versa)
Example: Write a dim 5th below A¨
1. A dim 5th inverted would become an aug 4th.
2. An aug 4th above A¨ is D.
3. Write D below A¨ . .. a dim 5th.