What are Chords in Music?

A chord in music happens when two or more notes are played at the same time. When the notes sound good together, they make a chord. Chords are what make the harmony in a piece of music.

Even if you don’t know much about music, you’ve definitely heard chords before. If you’ve ever listened to your favorite song, there were chords in it. The guitar or piano was probably playing several notes at once – and those are chords! Pretty simple, right?

So in the most basic way, a chord is just a bunch of notes played together at the same time to make a specific sound. The notes are usually related to each other in a particular way based on something called “pitch”. The pitch has to do with how high or low a note sounds.

Keys and Chords

Another important thing about chords is that they’re usually based on a musical “key”. A key is like a family of notes that sound good together and have a certain mood. If you’ve heard musicians say something like “this song is in the key of C major”, that’s what they’re talking about.

Each key has a set of chords that naturally sound good in that key. These chords are built on the different notes of the key’s scale. So in the key of C major, the chords are often C, F, and G. Songs in a certain key will mainly use chords from that key’s chord family.

Types of Chords

Basic Triads

The most basic and common type of chord is called a “triad”. And like the name suggests, triads have three notes in them. They’re made up of a root note, and then two other notes that are based on the scale of the key.

If we talk about a C major triad, the notes would be:

C (the root note)
E (the third note of the C major scale)
G (the fifth note of the scale)

If you played a piano and pressed those three notes at the same time, you’d be playing a C major chord! Major chords have a bright, happy sound to them.

There are also minor chords, which have a slightly sadder or more serious sound. They use the same root, but the middle note is lowered slightly. So a C minor triad uses:

C
E-flat (E lowered by a half-step)
G

Seventh Chords

You can get fancier chords by adding extra notes besides the basic triad. A common one is called a “seventh chord”, where you add one more note that’s the seventh of the scale. So a C major seventh would be:

Seventh chords have a complex, jazzy kind of sound compared to plain triads. There are also minor seventh chords, and a bunch of other variations too!

Chord Symbols

When you see a chord written in music, it’s usually written as a symbol above the melody notes. Like a C major would just be a “C”, and a C minor would be “Cm”.

An F7 means an F seventh chord. And a Gm7 is a G minor seventh. There are lots of different chord symbol shorthands like this.

Chords in Songs

Chord Progressions

In most songs, the chords change throughout the piece to create interest and movement. The pattern that the chords follow is called a “chord progression”. Certain progressions are used a lot in popular music and have a really familiar sound.

One of the most common ones is a I-V-vi-IV progression (that’s one, five, six, four). In the key of C major, that translates to the chords:

Heaps of popular songs use that exact progression! With different melodies and rhythms on top of course. Next time you’re listening to the radio, see if you can notice when the chords change. The song might even be using that common I-V-vi-IV pattern.

Mood and Emotion

The specific chords and progressions in a song have a big impact on the mood it creates. Songwriters choose their chords carefully to get the right vibe.

Songs that use mostly major chords tend to have an upbeat, positive mood. While minor chords and progressions can sound more sad, thoughtful, or moody. Of course it’s not always that simple though! You can definitely mix major and minor chords in creative ways too.

The rhythm and style of the chords makes a difference as well. Fast, energetic chords will sound very different from slow, stretched out ones – even if they’re using the same notes! So chords are one of the main tools that musicians have to create different emotions in their songs.

Chords in Different Genres

Most types of popular music use chords in some way. But the specific flavors and progressions can be quite different across genres.

Folk and country music tends to use pretty straightforward major and minor chords. Nothing too complicated. The focus is more on telling stories with the lyrics and melodies.

On the other hand, genres like jazz, R&B, and neo-soul use more complex, extended chords with lots of added notes. Jazz is especially famous for having tons of intricate, colorful chords that can sound both dissonant and beautiful at the same time.

Rock and pop music is usually somewhere in the middle. It depends on the song of course, but most pop songs use a mix of simple triads and some extended chords. Catchy, hooky chord progressions are really common, like the I-V-vi-IV we talked about before.

And in electronic dance music (EDM), the chords are often very simple and repetitive. The focus is usually more on the beats, basslines, and musical textures instead of complex harmonic movements.

Learning Chords

Beginner Tips

If you’re just starting to learn an instrument like guitar or piano, learning your first chords can seem hard. It takes time for your fingers to get used to stretching and pushing down in the right places! But stick with it. The more you practice, the easier it will start to feel.

When you’re ready to try some chords, start with basic major and minor triads. Look up the fingerings for chords like C, G, D, F, Am, Em, and Dm. See if you can switch between them smoothly. Practicing changes between chords is just as important as the chords themselves!