Piano Clues

We have already seen how to build chords using major scale degrees. But we can also build chords from intervals, by stacking minor third and major third intervals on top of the root tone.

For example, let’s look at a major chord, C major. It consists of the tones C - E - G.

The interval from C up to E is a major third (4 half-steps).
The interval from E up to G is a minor third (3 half-steps).

This interval formula, root + major third + minor third, applies to all major chords. The other chord types have their own formulas:

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We have seen that it is possible to build chords on the tones of the major or minor scale (the diatonic chords).

Often, these chords are not referred to by their name, but by a number. And not a regular number like 1 or 6, but with Roman numerals.

In case you forgot all about them, here are the Roman numerals 1 to 7:

If we were to write the diatonic chords from the C major scale using Roman numerals, it would look like this:

Notice the following:

• Major chords (C and F) are written using capitals.
• Minor chords (Dm, Em and Am) are in lower-case.
• The dominant-7 chord (G7) is written as V7.
• The diminished chord (Bdim) is written as vii°

Occasionally, you may also see the following notation:

Why use these Roman numerals instead of the chord names? Because using the numbers allows us to talk about chords and chord progressions independently of the key.

For example, the chord progressions C F G7 C and F Bb C7 F can both be written as I IV V7 I.

The first is in the key of C and the second in the key of F, but otherwise they are identical:

One advantage of using numbers instead of chords is that it becomes easy to transcribe a piece from one key to another.

Example. Here is the beginning of Misty in the key of C:

        C          Gm            C7          F
Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree

Suppose you want to play it in another key, say G. First, you replace the chord names with Roman numerals:

        I          Vm            I7          IV
Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree

Then you look up the chords for the new key and fill them in:

        G          Dm            G7          C
Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree

The principle works the same for the chords from a minor scale, although the symbols are slightly different (because the chords have different qualities).

For example, the key of A minor:

It is also possible to use Roman numerals to describe chords that are not diatonic. In other words, chords that are borrowed from other keys.

For example, the chord bIII is the 3rd chord (III), in major (uppercase letters), lowered by a half-step (b). In the key of C, this would be the Eb major chord.

You may also see a sharp symbol combined with a Roman numeral: #IV in the key of C is the F# major chord.

It is not uncommon to add a qualifier to the Roman numeral. Examples: IVmaj7, II7, #IVdim7. To find the real chord, substitute the Roman numeral for the n-th chord from the scale.

You may have heard of the Nashville Number System. This is the same principle, although it works with plain-old numbers instead of Roman numerals. So instead of II-V-I you’d see 2-5-1, but they both mean the same thing.

Solfege is yet another system, except that it doesn’t use numbers, but syllables:

And finally, each of the diatonic chords can also be given a name that more-or-less describes its function. Different chords have different functions in their key. I’ll keep the details for a future article, so I’ll simply give you the list here:

So now you know that when people talk about the “I-chord” or “tonic”, they mean the first chord from the key.

The key that a piece is written in does not just determine the possible melody tones, but also the chords that can be used.

The diatonic chords are the ones most likely to make an appearance. These are the chords that can be built on the tones of the key’s scale. They do not “borrow” tones from other scales.

Let’s assume we’re playing in the “key of C”. That means we’re using the tones from the C major scale.

The C major scale is: C D E F G A B C

We can build a three-note chord — also called a “triad” — on each of these tones.

This is the formula: We pick a root tone to start from, then skip one to find the second chord tone, then skip another to find the last chord tone.

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We have already looked at intervals and you now know that going from C up to G, for example, is called a “perfect fifth” interval.

But you can also go from C down to G. What is that interval called? Hint: it’s not a fifth.

As before, you can count the number of half-steps going down from C to G. Or you can take the elaborate method of counting the number of notes and adjusting for sharps and flats.

But there is another way: you can invert the interval from C-up-to-G to get the interval from C-down-to-G.

Here is the rule: inverted interval = 9 - interval

Fortunately, that is not too heavy on the mathematics. So C-down-to-G is: 9 - 5 = a 4th.

The 5th was perfect. Is our 4th also “perfect”?

A few more rules:

• Perfect intervals remain perfect.
• Major intervals become minor.
• Minor intervals become major.
• Augmented becomes diminished.
• Diminished becomes augmented.

So inverting a perfect fifth indeed results in a perfect fourth, and vice versa.

Another example: the interval C up to A. This is a major sixth. If we invert this interval, we get 9 - 6 = 3 and major becomes minor. So C-down-to-A is a minor third.

To find an interval in the opposite direction, you can also reverse the notes. Instead of doing C-down-to-G you can consider this G-up-to-C, which is identical. Likewise, C-down-to-A is equivalent to the interval A-to-up-C.

Fun, fun, fun.

Musicians can be divided into two groups: those who read sheet music and those who play using the “chord method”.

If you’re a sheet music player, you may think that you don’t need to know about chords. However, I believe that understanding how chords are used in a composition will make it much easier for you to read and understand the piece.

Even for classical music! Just like today’s songwriters, composers of classical music used chords to create their harmonies. Chords are the foundation of all our music.

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Occasionally, you may come across a weird-looking chord symbol such as G7b9 or C7b9#5. The b9 and #5 indicate “alterations” to the chord.

Alterations change the “color” of the chord but do not change its character and purpose.

As always, b means to lower a tone by a half-step and # means to raise the tone a half-step.

The chord G7b9 contains the tones of the G7 chord with an added 9th that is lowered a half-step.

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You don’t need a “1000 Chords Dictionary” to be able to read and play chords. You can learn how to form chords on your own, because chords are built using simple formulas.

A chord is three or more notes played at the same time. It’s as simple as that. Of course, the trick is to know which three notes…

Obviously, not all combinations of notes sound good. Particular combinations each have their own name: there are “major” chords, “minor” chords, “dominant-7″ chords, “diminished chords”, and so on. See a demonstration of the different chord types

Of each chord type, there are 12 possible chords: one for each note. So there is a C major chord, a C# major chord (which is the same as the Db major chord), a D major chord, and so on. There is also a C minor chord, a C# minor chord… you get the drift.

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If there is a song you’d like to play on the piano but you don’t know how, then you can either:a) figure it out by ear; b) buy the sheet music; or c) try to find it online.

You’ll be happy to know that the internet has an incredible amount of simplified sheet music, either in the form of chord sheets or tabulature, a type of simplified notation that guitar players use.

Real sheet music of popular songs is seldom available for free. However, if we can find the chords (and the lyrics if you want to sing along) then we’re already half-way there.

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An interval is nothing more than the distance between two tones. It is often convenient to speak about music in terms of intervals, so it’s important that you know the terminology.

We distinguish between two kinds of intervals:

A melodic interval is the distance between two tones played after each other:

A harmonic interval is the distance between two tones played at the same time:

The rules for both types of intervals are the same.

The problem we are trying to solve is: If you have two tones, then what is the interval between them called?

There are several ways to approach this:

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Let’s start by looking at chords. In future articles I’ll go into greater depth: how to construct chords, how to use them, and why you would want to use them — even if you’re a classical player.

But for now, a quick overview.

What is a chord?

If you’re wondering exactly what a chord is: You make a chord by playing 3 or more tones together. That’s it, as simple as that.

But which tones? Well, that depends on what you want to use the chord for.

Not all chords are the same. There are roughly six different types of chords and each of these types has its own function in the language of music.

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