Musical terminology is quite unique with a wide range of terms that you might never have come across before.

Learning to play music might feel like learning a new language at first. Minor key example: Schindler’s list theme Major key example: What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong Here are two examples for you: One song is played using major chords, the other song is made up of minor chords.

A minor chord can be described as melancholic or sad. How to recognise major and minor piano chords from their sound?Ī major chord sounds bright, joyful and light. a perfect fifth, which is 7 semitones above the root note, i.e. in the C minor chord, the minor third is E flat) a minor third, which is 3 semitones above the root note (e.g. in the C minor chord, the root is the note C) the root note, which gives the chord its name (e.g. What is a minor chord?Ī minor chord (also known as a minor triad) is a chord consisting of three notes: You will find all major (and minor) chords on our piano chord chart which you can download for free. Thirds are also known as “skips” because you skip one finger and one note on the piano when you play a third. in the C major chord, the major third is E) a major third, which is 4 semitones above the root note (e.g. in the C major chord, the root is the note C) What is a major chord?Ī major chord (also known as a major triad) is a chord consisting of three notes: In general, chords are divided into major and minor chords. To make your piano chords sound musical, you can learn the structure of chords and apply them in many different ways on the piano. Most piano chords are made up of 3 notes, which is also known as a “triad”.īut does every chord actually sound nice on the piano? Well, that’s a matter of taste but there are certain rules around piano chords that will help you to play the songs you love on the piano. In fact, if you are playing three or more notes on the piano at the same time, you are already playing a chord. Playing chords on the piano is not as difficult as it may sound.

Jazz piano chord chart pdf