Hi all,

This is the last post in a series of 6 posts dedicated to 3 notes chords. Please follow these links to get a quick access to the previous posts
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Today, we'll do 2 things : we'll learn how to name chords, and we'll make a recap of all the chords we learnt.

Naming chords

The name depends on the root, the quality (major, minor, augmented, diminished or suspended), and the inversion.

Triads in root position

  • Major triad: root only, e.g. C, F♯
  • Minor triad: root + "m", e.g. Dm, A♭m
  • Augmented triad: root + "+", e.g. E♭+, B+
  • Diminished triad: root + "°", e.g. F°, G♭°
  • Sus4 chord: root + "sus4", e.g. Bsus4

Triads in first and second inversion

Write the root + suffix, then a slash, then the bass note. For example: E♭/G, Dm/F, A+/E♯.

Recap

Here is the recap of every single triad we could build out of the 5 kinds of chords (major, minor, augmented, diminished, sus).

Now we know: what a triad is, the 5 common triads, how to spell a triad, how to recognise the sound, and how to name a triad.

See you soon,
Sebastien