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Aural Skills - Chords

Learn various types of chords by ear.

Setup

Chords
Use these checkboxes to select which chords should be used in the quiz.

Inversions
Use these checkboxes to select which inversions should be used in the quiz. The user does not need to specify which inversion a chord is in when answering a question. It is recommended that multiple inversions are turned on, because it teaches the user to recognize the quality of a chord better.

Playback
Use these checkboxes and radio buttons to control how the chords are played, harmonically or melodically. You can choose which ways you can replay the question, as well as which way it is played initially.

Keep each question in one key and inversion
Usually, the question changes keys and inversions each play, even between plays of the same question. You can turn this off and keep playback in the same key and inversion until a new question is chosen by checking this box. However, this is not recommended unless you find the quiz very difficult, as changing keys and inversions between plays helps teach the user to recognize the quality of a chord better.


Learning the Chords

Chords
The recommended method of recognizing chords aurally is to simply listen to each type of chord and learn what it sounds like. However, one can also learn what each chord sounds like based on the intervals it contains. This is recommended only for beginners. The following is a list of the intervals in each chord, stacked from the bottom. For example, a C major chord contains a C, E, and G. Therefore, its interval list would be as follows: Major 3rd, Minor 3rd. This list also includes Solfege, assuming that the root is Do. (Note: most of the time the root is NOT Do!) Every chord contains a root, a third, and a fifth (the first three notes), and some contain a seventh and ninth (the fourth and fifth notes).

Chord Quality

How to Form It

Solfege (if the root is Do)

Major

Major 3rd, Minor 3rd

Do Mi Sol

Minor

Minor 3rd, Major 3rd

Do Me Sol

Augmented

Major 3rd, Major 3rd

Do Mi Si

Diminished

Minor 3rd, Minor 3rd

Do Me Se

Major 7

Major chord plus a Major 7th above the root

Do Mi Sol Ti

Minor 7

Minor chord plus a Minor 7th above the root

Do Me Sol Te

Dominant 7

Major chord plus a Minor 7th above the root

Do Mi Sol Te

Minor Major 7

Minor chord plus a Major 7th above the root

Do Me Sol Ti

Diminished 7

Diminished chord plus a Diminished 7th above the root

Do Me Se [Ti double flat]

Half Diminished 7

Diminished Chord plus a Minor 7th above the root

Do Me Se Te

Major 9

Major chord plus a Major 7th and Major 9th above the root

Do Mi Sol Ti Re

Minor 9

Minor chord plus a Minor 7th and Major 9th above the root

Do Me Sol Te Re

Dominant 9

Major chord plus a Minor 7th and Major 9th above the root

Do Mi Sol Te Re

Flat 9

Major chord plus a Minor 7th and Minor 9th above the root

Do Mi Sol Te Ra

Sharp 9

Major chord plus a Minor 7th an Augmented 9th above the root

Do Mi Sol Te Ri

More Information
Note where the name of the Diminished Chord comes from: the interval between the root and the fifth is a Diminished 5th. Likewise, the interval between the root and the fifth of an Augmented Chord is an Augmented 5th. In a 7th chord, the first quality describes the quality of the first three notes, and the second quality describes the quality of the 7th. Hence, a Major 7th Chord is also called a Major Major 7th Chord (and the same for the Minor 7th Chord—it is also known as a Minor Minor 7th Chord). The Half Diminished 7th chord is named so because the first three notes are a Diminished Chord, but the 7th is not Diminished—it is Minor. Therefore, it is also known as a Diminished Minor 7th Chord. Most of the 9th chords are self-explanatory, except Minor 9, which contains a Major 9th (its other parts are minor). The full names of the Flat 9 and Sharp 9 chords are Dominant Flat 9 and Dominant Sharp 9, which explains why there is a Dominant 7th chord within them. A possibly useful fact to note is that the Sharp 9 chord is the chord played by the brass at the beginning of the song "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Inversions
The lowest note of a chord is known as the bass. If the bass is not the root of the chord, then the chord is in an inversion. For example, take a C major chord: C, E, and G. If the notes were in another order, for example E, G and C, then the chord would be inverted, because the root, C, would not be the bass. Be careful not to confuse the bass with the root.

Note in the Bass

Inversion

Root

Root Position (not inverted)

Third

First Inversion

Fifth

Second Inversion

Seventh

Third Inversion

Ninth

Fourth Inversion


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