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The most natural way to play chords with correct fingering and easiest form is to develop the
habit of "feeling the chords." The chord exercises below should help you get under way.
Keep in mind that although the following exercises are written in the key of C major, the chord
formula remains the same for any major key, based on the major scale pattern.
THE I CHORD (TONIC)
Major triad built on notes 1-3-5 of the major scale
Key of C Major
PLAY WITH HANDS SEPARATE FIRST,
THEN WITH BOTH HANDS TOGETHER. |
REPEAT EACH EXERCISE 4 TIMES
(IN TEMPO) |
A CHORD has as many INVERSIONS as it has notes above the key note. Inversions merely
re-arrange the order of the notes. The name of the chord does not change.
The major triad, a three-note chord, has two inversions.
THE IV CHORD (SUB-DOMINANT)
The major triad built from the 4th or sub-dominant note of the major scale is called the Sub-dominant. It is made up of notes 1-3-5 of a major scale starting on the Sub-dominant note.
In the Key of C Major the 4th note is F. The Major Triad built from that note would be F - A - C, or notes 1-3-5 of the key of F Major.
PLAY WITH HANDS SEPARATE FIRST,
THEN WITH BOTH HANDS TOGETHER. |
REPEAT EACH EXERCISE 4 TIMES
(IN TEMPO) |
F MAJOR TRIAD
Key signature of F major is shown for theory only.
NOTE: The IV chord in the key of C Major is the SAME CHORD as the I chord in the key of F Major.
THE V CHORD (DOMINANT)
The Dominant chord is the major triad built from the 5th or Dominant note of the major scale. It consists of notes 1-3-5 of the major scale of the key starting on the dominant note.
In the key of C Major the 5th note is G. The major triad build from that note would be G-B-D, or notes 1-3-5 of the key of G Major.
PLAY WITH HANDS SEPARATE FIRST,
THEN WITH BOTH HANDS TOGETHER. |
REPEAT EACH EXERCISE 4 TIMES
(IN TEMPO) |
G MAJOR TRIAD
Key signature of G major is shown for theory only.
THE V7 CHORD (DOMINANT SEVENTH)
This chord is based on the 5th note or Dominant note of the Major Scale. To the Dominant Major
Triad (notes 1-3-5 of the Key starting on the Dominant note) ADD the note THREE HALF STEPS
above. This is the "flatted seventh" note ( 7) of the key of the dominant.
In the exercise below you will notice that, in the key of C Major, the Dominant triad is G-B-D, or the major triad of the key of G major. The 7th note of the G major scale being F#, we lower or "flat" this note one-half step to make the "flatted seventh," then ADD this note to the G Major triad. Thus we have the complete Dominant Seventh chord of C Major, or notes G-B-D-F natural.
PLAY WITH HANDS SEPARATE FIRST,
THEN WITH BOTH HANDS TOGETHER. |
REPEAT EACH EXERCISE 4 TIMES
(IN TEMPO) |
G 7TH CHORD
Dominant 7th of C Major
The Dominant Seventh, a four-note chord, has THREE inversions:
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