Introduction
So far, we have learned that playing a sequence of notes can create a melody, and that's the heart of a song. When a melody has tonal gravity, it sounds familiar and natural. However, it could have different moods and feelings. The scales with tonal gravities can be identified and titled to a scale, whether diatonic or harmonic, etc.
Harmony
Combining at least two notes or more at the same time creates harmony. In music, harmonies bring colour and feel to the composition. You can make dark or sad harmonies or play happy and cheerful sounds by creating various harmonies considering the musical intervals.
Interval
The term Interval in music theory may have a different definition to what we know. For example, when you use a treadmill and change your speed sequence between high and low, it's called intervals. But in music, it is slightly different. The distance between two notes is called intervals.
Knowing the distance between two notes on a scale has many benefits.
Characterising melodies
Harmonising sounds
Shaping chords
Chord progression
Creating a mood or expression
To explain the interval, we will use the C chromatic scale, which includes twelve notes, as an example.
As shown in the table below, all the intervals (distances) are between the root note and one of the twelve notes in that scale.
Semitone distance | Interval Name | Alternate Name |
1 semitone | Minor  2nd  (b2) | |
2 semitones | Major 3rd | |
3 semitones | Minor  3rd  (b3) | Augmented 2nd (#2) |
4 semitones | Major  3rd | |
5 semitones | Perfect  4th  (p.4) | |
6 semitones | Augmented  4th  (#4) | Diminished 5th (b5) |
7 semitones | Perfect  5th  (p.5) | |
8 semitones | Minor  6th  (b6) | Augmented 5th (#5) |
9 semitones | Major  6th | Diminished 7th (bb7) |
10 semitones | Minor  7th  (b7) | |
11 semitones | Major  7th | |
12 semitones | Octave  (p.8) |
Playing any of the intervals above, which include the root note and then one of the semitones, will create a unique sound. This interval can be played as two notes after each other in any order or played simultaneously as a harmony. You can explore this by playing any of the intervals on your instrument and seeing the unique feel of each group.
Chords
Most of the contemporary music we hear on the radio or our music player is formed by groups of chords. Chords are a category of harmony when we play at least two or three notes simultaneously.
Power chords consist of two notes on the scale, including the root note and the fifth (p5). For example, the C power chord includes the notes C and G played simultaneously. The chord could be played in any order, but the alternatives adjust the form of harmony.
Power chords sound strong as they are titled and prominent, mainly when performed in a default-sounding format.
(Root + 5th)
Triad chords are the most common chords from which the music industry's creativity comes. The structure of the triad chord consists of the Tonic, the third and the fifth. The added note gives the chord colour and harmony.
(Root+ 3rd + 5th)
Triad chords have a variety of forms. Let's take a look at a few common ones.
Major Chords are bright types of triad chords that lift the harmony toward a happier sound. The important thing in the instruction on major chords is that the 3rd note of the chord has to be the major third of its chromatic chord, obviously from the main Tonic!
Minor chords have a similar structure to major chords, but they sound darker and sadder. The minor chords' third note must be the scale's minor third.
For practice, I recommend you identify five random triad chords, play them on the piano and compare the sound between the harmony.
Now we understand that changing one note between a simple triad chord can switch a bright harmony to a sadder one, and vice versa. Soon, we will talk about chord progression, where mixing and matching the chosen chords and their sounding determine the fundamentals of the song's harmony.
Alternative version chods are simply the same notes of the chord placed differently compared to the default format. Commonly, there are two alternatives to the original triad chord. Changing the sound in the chord, as explained before, will affect the chord progression harmony. Let's have a look at the main three versions.
Root - 3rd - 5th
First Inversion: (3rd, 5th, Root)
Second Inversion: (5fth, Root, 5fth)
To complete your practice, try to alter 3 of the chords you already found into different inversions and see if you can feel the difference.
This blog is designed to primarily help you understand the basic elements of music theory, especially when you play the piano. If you have any questions challenge others to reply by posting yours in the comment section. If not I will reply to them soon!
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