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4. Tackling major and minor triads

1 So far, we’ve only been playing single notes, so let’s try some chords. We’ll start with a C major triad – a chord made up of three notes from the C major scale, namely the root (C), major third (E) and fifth (G). This can be played from our basic starting position shown in the previous tutorial – thumb on middle C, middle finger on E and pinky on G.

2 Once you’ve got the hang of pressing down these three keys without your other two fingers getting involved, move the whole thing up so your thumb is on D and play D, F, and A. That’s D major, right? Wrong! Hear how it sounds sadder somehow? That’s because you’re actually playing a D minor triad, made up of D (root), F (minor third) and A (fifth).

3 It sounds different due to the minor third interval between the D and the F. The quality of the third – major or minor – determines whether the triad is a major or minor chord. Here, the minor third between D and F produces that sad, minor sound. To make it a major third, move the third finger a semitone up to F#. Try it now to play D, F#, A – that’s D major!

4 So, major triads consist of root, major third and fifth, while minor triads are made up of root, minor third and fifth. Try it with an F chord – F major is built from F, A and C, while F minor is made up of F, Ab and C. The only change is that third going from major ( A) to minor ( Ab).

5 There are three ways to play each triad, depending on which note you put your thumb on. Go back to our C major triad for a second. As played in step 1, with our thumb on C, middle finger on E and pinky on G, we’re in root position – so-called because our thumb is on the root.

6 To get the first inversion of C major, we move the thumb to the next chord tone up: E. The G is now covered by the index finger, and the pinky moves to the next C note up – E, G, C. Move up again, with the thumb on G, middle finger on C and pinky on E, to get the second inversion – G, C, E.