Learn Sheet MusicChords on the staff
A chord is three or more notes sounding together. To recognize them in sheet music, two ideas are enough: thirds and the bottom note.
Major and minor thirds
An interval is the distance between two notes. On the staff, a third goes from one line to the next line, or from space to space.
They come in two sizes: a major third has 4 semitones (C–E) and a minor third has 3 (C–E♭). On the staff they look the same: the difference is in the accidentals.
Major and minor triads
A triad is three notes stacked in thirds: the root (the bottom one, which gives it its name), the third and the fifth. On the staff it looks like a snowman: three lines or three spaces in a row.
- Major: major third on the bottom and minor on top (4 + 3 semitones). It sounds bright.
- Minor: minor third on the bottom and major on top (3 + 4). It sounds sadder.
Notice that both add up to 7 semitones: the fifth is the same. The only thing that changes is the middle note, and that is enough to change the mood.
How to read them fast
- Find the bottom note: it is the name of the chord.
- Look at the third (the middle one): is it 4 semitones up (major) or 3 (minor)?
- Watch the accidentals: D – F♯ – A is D major, but D – F – A is D minor. A single accidental changes everything.
Diminished and augmented
Stack two equal thirds and you get the other two triads:
- Diminished (°): two minor thirds (3 + 3). The fifth gets smaller. It sounds tense. It is not rare: in C major, the chord built on B (B – D – F) is diminished.
- Augmented (+): two major thirds (4 + 4). The fifth gets bigger. It sounds suspended, unresolved.
Seventh chords
Add one more third on top of a triad and you get the seventh: four notes, all on lines or all in spaces.
- 7 (dominant): major + minor seventh. The most common one in songs.
- maj7: major + major seventh. It sounds soft, jazzy.
- m7: minor + minor seventh.
- m7♭5 (half-diminished): diminished + minor seventh.
- °7 (diminished): all minor thirds.
What they are for
In a key, chords have jobs. The dominant seventh (G7 in C major) builds tension and wants to go back to the tonic (C). That round trip, G7 → C, is in almost every song.
Why it wants to resolve: G7 has B and F, two notes a half step away from C and E. B moves up to C and F moves down to E, and the C chord appears on its own.
Major and minor chord table
The notes of each triad, from the root to the fifth.
| Root | Major chord | Minor chord |
|---|---|---|
| C | C – E – G | C – E♭ – G |
| C♯ / D♭ | D♭ – F – A♭ | C♯ – E – G♯ |
| D | D – F♯ – A | D – F – A |
| E♭ | E♭ – G – B♭ | E♭ – G♭ – B♭ |
| E | E – G♯ – B | E – G – B |
| F | F – A – C | F – A♭ – C |
| F♯ | F♯ – A♯ – C♯ | F♯ – A – C♯ |
| G | G – B – D | G – B♭ – D |
| G♯ / A♭ | A♭ – C – E♭ | G♯ – B – D♯ |
| A | A – C♯ – E | A – C – E |
| B♭ | B♭ – D – F | B♭ – D♭ – F |
| B | B – D♯ – F♯ | B – D – F♯ |
Practice recognizing chords with the game's theory levels.
Play