Chord

Full Description

A chord is three or more notes sounded simultaneously, forming the harmonic backbone of tonal music. While a single note or an interval can suggest harmony, it is the chord that establishes it unambiguously — defining key, function, and emotional colour in a way that neither melody alone nor bare intervals can achieve. The most common chord in Western music is the triad, built by stacking two intervals of a third. A major triad (root, major third, perfect fifth) has a bright, stable quality — C major contains C, E, and G. A minor triad (root, minor third, perfect fifth) sounds darker and more introspective — C minor contains C, E flat, and G. Diminished triads (two minor thirds) are tense and unstable; augmented triads (two major thirds) are ambiguous and unsettled. Beyond triads, seventh chords add a fourth note a third above the fifth. The dominant seventh chord — built on the fifth degree of the scale — is the most harmonically charged chord in tonal music, creating a strong pull toward resolution on the tonic. Jazz harmony extends this logic to ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths, producing chords of rich complexity. Chords function within a key: they are described by Roman numerals indicating their scale degree — I (tonic), IV (subdominant), V (dominant) are the three primary chords and form the basis of countless folk songs, blues, pop, and classical pieces. Understanding chord function is the gateway to understanding how music moves, resolves, and creates narrative.