Warm up

ALL ABOUT CHORDS

First of all an introduction to some basic chords. You will be able to try these chords out on keyboards, guitars and ukuleles.

Question: So what is a chord?

Answer: A chord is the layering of several notes sounding simultaneously.

Rock and pop chords use notes based on the scale of the key or mode being used.                     Chords consist of the main note plus the notes a 3rd and a 5th above above it.                                             The diagram demonstrates the main chords used in the key of C major .                                                    Rock songs don't often use chords based on the 7th note of the scale, so it's standard for songs to use a selection from six chords.

Most chords sound either major or minor. In the diagram above, the major chords are blue and the minor chords are green. Play the two types of chord one after the other. First you see a major chord, then a minor chord. 

In the minor chord, the middle note (the 3rd) is a slightly lower sound than in the major chord. Play these two chords on a keyboard one after the other - first C major, then c minor:

Here are some major chords for guitar. Try to play these and get used to the sound. You will probably find it easier to read the chord chart above the stave than the notes on the stave:

Because the guitar has all six strings sounding, the notes will often be doubled - played more than once - but at different octaves on different strings. 

Here is a G major chord:

Here is a C major chord arranged for keyboard right hand. It contains the root note (C), the 3rd above this (an alphabetical skip above C would be E) and the 5th above the C (G).

Here is the same chord, this time for both hands. The root (C) is doubled an octave lower in the left hand (written in bass clef):

And here is a G major chord for the keyboard. Notice the root note G appears 3 times - twice in the left hand an octave apart and also the middle note for the right hand:

Now here are some minor chords. Again play these on the instruments and listen carefully to get used to the sound of the minor.

The minor chord has a lower sounding middle note. Let's start with E minor for guitar:

Here is an A minor chord with guitar chord chart:

Here is an A minor chord arranged for keyboard. It contains the main note or root which is A, plus the 3rd above (C) and the 5th above the root (E):

Here is the same A minor chord, this time arranged slightly differently. It is for both hands on the keyboard, with the root note in the left hand and the order of the three right hand notes mixed up:

And on ukulele: