How To Read Piano Chords
Chords are composed of multiple notes played simultaneously. Chords are built from notes within a scale, which is a series of notes related to one another by set intervals. Chords are built using patterns of intervals. Chords are commonly used in music and are written in a specific manner for easy identification
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Instructions
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Learn the basic structure of piano chords. Triads are the most common chords and are the basis for more complex chords. Major and minor triads have three notes. Major triads consist of the first, third and fifth notes of the major scale. In C, these would be C, E and G. Major chords are written with a capitalized letter. For example, "F" denotes an F major chord.
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Use the same notes for minor chords on the piano, but lower the third note a half step, as you would in the minor scale. A C minor chord consists of C, E flat and G, written "Cm," where "m" stands for "minor."
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Add seventh notes to major and minor triads to create seventh chords. In the key of F, a major seventh chord is written as "Fmaj7" (sometimes "FM7"), and contains the notes F, A, C and E.
Lower the seventh note a half step to create a dominant seventh chord, and write it as "F7," which would consist of F, A, C and E flat.
Lower the third and seventh notes a half step to create a minor seventh chord on the piano, written as "Fm7," which would contain F, A flat, C and E flat.
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Suspend chords to alter basic triads. Most commonly, you will use the second note of the scale instead of the third to create suspended chords.
In the key of G, a suspended second chord would be written as "Gsus2" and consist of G, A (second) and D. Gsus4 contains the notes G, C (fourth) and D.
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Explore advanced chords by adding notes to a basic triad. Add the sixth note of a scale to create a sixth chord, written as "C6," and made of C, E, G and A. Lower the third and fifth notes a half step in a triad to create a diminished chord, written as "Cdim," and made of C, E flat and G flat. Raise the fifth note a half step to make augmented chords. In C, that would be written "Caug" or "C+" and consist of C, E and G sharp.
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Tips & Warnings
Learn the piano scales. Chords are built from notes within a scale, and chords for each note consist of the same intervals (first, third and fifth, for example). Learning chord theory helps you form chords. Practice sight reading. Sheet music, especially jazz and blues, often contains the chord written above the music notation.
Composers and sheet music editors may write chord names in different manners. If you come across a chord you don't recognize, check a chord chart.
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Comments
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This was very helpful. Thank you.
