The 10 Things That Every Music Producer Really Needs To Know About Chords
Unless you're making minimal techno, you'll inevitably use chords in your music production journey. This means they are used to play multiple notes at once - whether you are programming on a MIDI keyboard or in your DAW.
But what are the different types of chords and how are they formed? We've created a 10-step guide to the basics - just learn these music theories and your singing skills can be put to good use.
1. Create a basic triad
A common or garden-basic chord consisting of three notes is known as a triad. To do this, start with any note in the scale and then add alternate notes from that scale until you have a stack of three notes.
So for C major (CEG) to start a note below C, the next note in the bar (D) can rest on E, then skip the next note (F) over G major or middle notes. Based on a small space.
A major 3 space between the middle and root notes creates a major triplet, while a minor 3rd space is a minor triplet. Therefore, building a triad through the notes of the C major scale and starting with D is a minor chord—Dm (DFA)—since the interval between D and F is three semitones, or a minor third.
2. Less liability
If you take a standard minor triad and drop the 5th half note, you get something called a diminished chord. Since 5 is found, the interval between it and the root of the chord is reduced by 5 and has another name - tritone, so called because it is exactly six semitones or three whole notes. . This gap was considered so unstable and unstable that it was actively feared in the Middle Ages!
Because of this lack of clarity, diminished chords are very tight and in some cases intimidating, but they work well as passing chords to bridge the gap between triad major and minor chords - try Bb - Bo - Cm for example.
3. Augmented reality
In contrast, augmented chords are formed by using the standard major triad and raising the 5th note by a semitone. So to do C+ for example, you start with C major (CEG) 5(G) and go up a semitone to G#, ending with CEG#.
It sets up three equal intervals, each separated by a major third interval (four semitones). Since an octave has 12 notes, the augmented triad is symmetrical, so any of the three notes in the chord can be the root. Like their diminished cousins, augmented triads also make good through chords - try C - C + - F.
4. The 4/3 rule
If you don't know what scale notes you're using, you can use the 4/3 rule to figure out how to make a major or minor triad in any key.
Find your starting note, count four semitones across the keyboard to get to the 3rd note, then three more to get to the 5th note. So four half notes up from C is E, then three to G - voila, you get a C major triad (CEG).
For minor triads, change the formula by 3/4 - three semitones from the root to the 3rd, then four more to the 5th.
5. Suspended animation
A close relative of major and minor triads, delayed chords are ideal for movement. They are made by starting from the 3rd note of a regular triad - the middle note - and moving it up or down one note in the scale.
Moving it up produces a sus4 chord, with a perfect 4th interval between the middle note and the root, while moving a 2nd interval above the root results in a sus2 chord. So playing Csus4 in C major (CEG) is CFG, and Csus2 is CDG.
6. Expandable power
While creating songs with basic triads is perfectly acceptable, expanding chords by adding extra notes can help increase the level of sophistication.
To build, start with a simple triad, but move up and down the notes of the scale. So, for C major, we continue from the 5th note (G), skip the next note of the measure of C major (A) to land on B CMaj7 (CEGB), then add 9 and continue to D .And 11 (F) gives us CMJ11 (CEGBDF).
7. 13th Fortune
The chord extension limit is 13th (go deeper than that and the note jump method means you're back to the root). The fastest way to complete the 13th space above the root is to play the 6th an octave higher - so in C major mode we play CEGB-DFA to get Cmaj13. The pitches are wide enough for anyone's fingers, so chords can easily be "heard" by moving some of the higher notes up an octave.
8. Ruling 7th
Widely used in rock, pop, blues and jazz, the main function of the 7th chord is to return to the tonic chord. It is created by adding flat 7 above the main triad - C7, for example, CEG-Bb.
9. Polychord
A quick and easy way to form complex chords, polychords are formed by joining two regular major or minor triads to form a major chord. For example, we can combine C major triad (CEG) and G major triad (GBD) together to form Cmaj9 (CEGBD). Playing three chords in different tunings (or even in separate octaves) can produce more interesting results. Keep this trick in mind when deciding on the chords for your song - try combining triads in random combinations until you get something that sounds good.
10. Reduce 7th
Diminished seventh adds an extra note to the diminished triad, three semitones above the fifth. Therefore, Co7 functions as C-Eb-GbA.
Interestingly, diminished sevenths have the same four notes separated by three semitone intervals, so they cover all 12 notes of the octave in a symmetrical pattern. Because of this, Co7, Ebo7, Gbo7 and Ao7 basically share the same chord, the same note. The same goes for C# o7, Eo7, Go7 and Bbo7 and Do7, Fo7, Abo7 and Bo7.
The diminished 7th has the same function as the major 7th, which is to restore the tonic.