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Chords, Keys, and Scales - What are they, and what do all those names
mean?? An explanation for MYC parents
1. A chord is simply a group of three or more notes played together. In MYC, children
are taught to harmonize scales using primary chords. The primary chords are the chords
based on the 1st, 4th, and 5th notes of the scale. For example, in C major, the primary
chords are C, F, and G.
2. We use two types of chords: triads and 7th chords. A triad is a group of three notes
that are a third apart from each other (and can therefore be stacked like a snowman). For
example, C E G, or F A C. Note that we always name the chord notes from the
bottom up.
A 7th chord is a triad with another note added, two notes higher than the triad’s
top note, and 7 notes up from the bottom note (hence the name). Note: when we are
counting notes for a 7th, or whatever, count the starting note as “1". For example, a G
Triad is G B D; the G7 chord is G B D F. We use the 7th chord (rather than a triad)
basically because it sounds cooler!
3. If you try to play the chords one after another when they are all stacked like snowmen,
you have to jump your hand all over the keyboard. It feels and sounds awkward.
Therefore, we use inversions for some of the chords.
Note: I STRONGLY suggest you make the chords on the tinsheet for the
following explanations.
To invert something is to turn it over. To invert a chord is to play the same notes,
but to stack them differently. For example, the F triad is F A C. (Start on Low F, the
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space below the bass clef.) If we move the bottom note up an 8ve to the next F, the notes
are now A C F (this is called the 1st inversion). Now put the A up an 8ve (2nd inversion),
and the notes are C F A – a “nosy chord”.
It’s very easy to move from a C triad (C E G) to an F triad in 2nd inversion (C F A).
Remember that F is note 4 of the C scale, so the F triad (in any position) is a IV chord.
4. A similar process is followed to invert the 7th chord. The notes of the G7 chord are G
B D F. (Start on Groundfloor G, bass clef line 1.) Put the G up one 8ve and the notes are
B D F G. We omit the D just to make the chord easier to play, and we have B F G, the
hugging chord. Since this chord started out on G, it’s a G7 chord (in 1st inversion); since
G is the 5th note of the C scale, it’s a V7 chord.
Again, it’s very easy to move from a C triad to the hugging chord.
5. By the way, when a chord has not been inverted, but is stacked like a snowman, we say
it’s in root position. The root is the note that gives it its name. The root always stays
the same, no matter whether the chord is in root position or in an inversion. Therefore F
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A C and A C F and C F A are all F triads, just as your name remains the same whether
you are standing up, lying down, or standing on your head.
6. Chords have several names and nicknames.
The shape name is a nickname that we use to help the children remember the
shape of the chord, so they can play it more easily. The shape names are: snowman
chord, hugging chord, and nosy chord. No matter what scale you are working with, you
can make a snowman chord, hugging chord, and nosy chord for that scale (or key), and
they will all be the same basic shape. (There will be black keys in some chords, but
overall the shape is the same)
Roman numerals are used for the numerical name. The numerical name is based
on the chord’s relation to the scale. For example, in C major an F chord is a IV chord,
because F is note 4 of the C scale. But in F major an F chord is a I chord, because F is
note 1 of the F scale.
The letter name belongs to the chord itself – that is, an F chord is an F chord, no
matter what scale it’s in or what inversion it’s in. Remember that the naming note, or
root, is the note that is on the bottom when the chord is stacked like a snowman.
CF
I IV
7. What is a “key” in music?
A key is a group of notes that are related to each other. The easiest way to think
of a key is to think of a scale. In the key of C major, for instance, the scale notes are C D
E F G A B C. If a song is written in C (major), we can expect it to use mostly those notes,
and when we get to C it will feel like returning home. Pieces in a particular key usually –
though not always – end on that note.
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If we saw a lot of sharps in a piece, we might (rightly) suspect it was some other
key than C major – although there may be a few flats and sharps that appear as
accidentals in the music. (Accidentals are extra sharps, flats, or naturals that are not in
the key; they may indicate a temporary key change, or they may just “spice up” the
music.)
8. What is a minor key?
Minor keys or scales have a different “flavour” from majors. The reason is that
the distances from one note of the scale to the next happen in a different pattern in major
keys and minor keys.
Example 1: C major uses all the white piano keys from C to C. You will notice
that there is no black key between E and F or between B and C. That means that there is
only a semitone between the 3rd and 4th notes of the major scale (E and F), and the 7th and
8th notes of the scale (B and C). Between each other pair of notes, there is a black key;
therefore we say there is a whole tone (or simply a tone) between C and D, D and E, F
and G, G and A, A and B. This same pattern – with semitones between the 3rd and 4th and
7th and 8th notes – is found in every major key.
Example 2: The key of “A” minor uses all the white keys from A to A. The
semitones are found between the 2nd and 3rd notes (B and C) and the 5th and 6th notes (E
and F). This pattern gives a different sound/flavour, which we call minor. When we build
a snowman chord on A with no black keys we have the A minor triad (A C E). It has a
very different sound from a major triad.
9. Relative majors and minors
Every major scale has a minor scale that is related to it. The relative minor, as
it’s called, has the same key signature (sharps or flats) as the major. The relative minor is
found three semitones down from the major. Example: C major has no sharps and no
flats. Three semitones down from C is A. “A” minor also has no sharps and no flats.
(Another way to find the relative minor is to go to the 6th note of the major scale; A is the
6th note of the C major scale, therefore A is C’s relative minor
10. Harmonic, melodic, and natural minor scales
Minor scales actually occur in three different forms. We primarily study the
natural and harmonic minor scales in SB2 and MB1.
The natural minor is like the “A” minor scale mentioned above. It has the same
key signature as its relative major, with nothing added (hence the name “natural”).
The harmonic minor is nicknamed the 7-up scale in MYC, because the 7th note
of the scale is raised. For example, the A harmonic minor scale is A B C D E F G# A.
The 7th note of the natural scale, G, has had a sharp added to raise it.
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The melodic minor scale is trickier – but it sounds very beautiful! In the melodic,
the 6 and 7th notes are raised when the scale is ascending, but lowered (back to their
“natural” state when descending: A B C D E F# G# A going up; A G F E D C B A
coming down. .) Look up the explanation of the ‘Cinderella’ story that I gave you for
further enlightenment .
th
11. Chords in minor keys
We use the same shapes and numbers to make the chords in minor keys.
However, there is one difference: for the V7 (hugging) chord, we use the harmonic or 7up form of the scale to build the chord. Therefore, the V7 chord (in root position) of A
minor is not E G B D but E G# B D. In hugging position, the notes are G# D E, not G D
E.
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