Anyone else want to learn another easy way to classify chords?

Posted on 24 October 2008 See Comments | Post Comment

Most people just classify chords by name and chord quality (major vs minor, augmented vs diminished).

But today, I want to show you another world. Here’s how to think of chords by the number of notes they contain.

This will be short and to the point.

 

Triads

Music theorists still argue over whether a chord officially starts with 2 or 3 tones played at the same time. It seems like 3 is more accepted. But for the sake of knowing, I’ll give you the name of a two-note combination at the end of this post.

But, for now, let’s start with the popular “triad.”

Any time you have a collection of three notes played together, you’re playing a triad.

Most basic chords fall under this category.

• major triad (e.g. - C major: C + E + G)
• minor triad (e.g. - C minor: C + Eb + G)
• diminished triad (e.g. - C diminished: C + Eb + Gb)
• augmented triad (e.g. - C augmented: C + E + G#)

So any time you hear, “give me a _______ triad,” that’s only asking for a 3-toned chord. Don’t give the composer or music director more than that! After all, in some arrangements, less is better.

 

Tetrads

Then next, there is what we call “tetrads.”

These are chords using four notes. Seventh chords are essentially tetrads.

• major seventh (e.g. - C major 7: C + E + G + B)
• minor seventh (e.g. - C minor 7: C + Eb + G + Bb)
• diminished seventh (e.g. - C diminished 7: C + Eb + Gb + Bbb)
• augmented seventh (e.g. - C augmented 7: C + E + G# + Bb)

 

Pentads

Chords using five notes are called “pentads.” Yes, that sounds like the pentatonic scale from this lesson (5-tone scale).

(In fact, there’s such a thing as tritonic and tetratonic scales too! But let’s save that for another lesson.)

Ninths are a form of pentads.

For example, C major 9 is C + E + G + B + D. Five notes!

Again, it’s just a general term for a chord with 5 notes.

Hexads and Heptads

And lastly, “hexads” and “heptads” are the names given to 6 and 7-toned chords, respectively.

An example of a hexad is an eleventh chord and an example of a heptad is a thirteenth chord.

 

Other classifications

I also promised to give you the name of a 2-toned combination, even though its merit as a chord is questionable…

We call those “dyads.” Others choose to just reference them as “intervals.” Power chords and tritones fall under this category.

And for extra credit, a “monad” is a single note. The “chromatic scale” comes to mind, which is basically composed of twelve monads.

So there you have it! A really fact-filled, reference post for today!

So if you ever hear me referencing any of these, you should now know what they mean!

Exercise: Let’s try to think of every tetrad we can! I’ll start it off!

Until next time —

 

 

Who else wants to get these articles, lessons, and tips sent via e-mail regularly? Sign up to receive my blog updates and never miss a beat…

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Subscribe in a reader

 

Why subscribe?

Popularity: 14% [?]

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed for regular updates. If you'd rather subscribe by e-mail, click here. Thanks for visiting.

Related posts:

1. Have you learned these harmonic minor seventh chords yet?
2. Seventh Chords
3. Do you use secondary dominant chords?
4. These melodic minor chords will have you sounding like a pro…
5. Don’t be “skerrrrred” of diminished chords
6. The “What Key Am I In” Game 4
7. The “What Key Am I In” Game 6

17 Comments For This Post

1. Jermaine says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#1)

   Dominant 7 chord = tetrad

2. John says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#2)

   Diminished 7 chord = TETRAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. Benny says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#3)

   First time posting. Thanks for all the help

   Augmented major 7 chord = tetrads

4. missie says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#4)

   minor chord = tetrad

5. Jermaine says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#5)

   @Benny: Welcome and thanks for posting!

   @missie: Make sure you’re specific cuz when you just say minor, it’s automatically assumed that you’re talking about a triad (3 tones).

6. missie says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#6)

   oops :)

   minor 7 chord = tetrad

7. Roland says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#7)

   A Major Minor 7th chord= a tetrad

8. ALBERTO says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#8)

   A Major 7 chord = tetrad

9. BRIAN AKA TRUMUSIC1SOUL says:
   October 24th, 2008 (comment#9)

   A sus 7 = tetrad…?

10. BRIAN AKA TRUMUSIC1SOUL says:
    October 24th, 2008 (comment#10)

    LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT DVD/DVD ROM PROJECT, I KNOW IT’S GONNA BE AWESOME!11

11. michel says:
    October 24th, 2008 (comment#11)

    Augmented 7 chord = tetrad

12. Eresmas says:
    October 25th, 2008 (comment#12)

    Is there anything like a half-dim7 chord e.g B + D + F + A which would then be a tetrad? Or is it just called half-dim?

13. MS says:
    October 25th, 2008 (comment#13)

    Diminished 7 chord!

14. Jermaine says:
    October 25th, 2008 (comment#14)

    @eresmas: not sure if i understand your question. Any 4-note combination is a tetrad so a half-diminished chord would fall under that category as well!

15. Eresmas says:
    October 27th, 2008 (comment#15)

    I actually wanted to know if the combination should specifically be called half-dim7 or you can just call it half dim and people will understand.

16. Jermaine says:
    October 27th, 2008 (comment#16)

    @Eresmas: Since half diminished is a 7th chord, I guess in an “I just wanna play” fashion, you could leave off the 7 and people should know what you mean (since half diminished triad doesn’t exist). But for clarity’s sake, adding 7 will make things easier on everyone.

    Note: It is also called “minor 7 flat 5″ too

17. Eresmas says:
    October 28th, 2008 (comment#17)

    Thanks for the clarification man.

Leave a Comment or Reply...