Chord Basics - Yamaha Portatone PSR-295 Owner's Manual

Reference Style (Auto-accompaniment) Functions

■ Chord Basics

Two or more notes played together constitute a "chord."
The most basic chord type is the "triad" consisting of three notes: the root, third, and
fifth degrees of the corresponding scale. A C major triad, for example, is made up of
the notes C (the root), E (the third note of the C major scale), and G (the fifth note of
the C major scale).
In the C major triad shown above, the lowest note is the "root" of the chord (this is the chord's "root position" ... using
other chord notes for the lowest note results in "inversions"). The root is the central sound of the chord, which supports
and anchors the other chord notes.
The distance (interval) between adjacent notes of a triad in root position is either a major or minor third.
Major third – four half steps (semitones)
The lowest interval in our root-position triad (between the root and the third) determines whether the triad is a major or
minor chord, and we can shift the highest note up or down by a semitone to produce two additional chords, as shown
below.
Major chord
C
Minor 3rd
The basic characteristics of the chord sound remain intact even if we change the order of the notes to create different
inversions. Successive chords in a chord progression can be smoothly connected, for example, by choosing the appropri-
ate inversions (or chord "voicings").
● Reading Chord Names
Chord names tell you just about everything you need to know about a chord (other
than the inversion/voicing). The chord name tells you what the root of the chord is,
whether it is a major, minor, or diminished chord, whether it requires a major or
flatted seventh, what alterations or tensions it uses ... all at a glance.
● Some Chord Types
293.)
th
Suspended 4
C
sus4
th
Perfect 4
Perfect 5
th
Minor/major 7
C
mM7
th
Minor chord
Major 7
56
DGX-205/203, PSR-295/293 Owner's Manual
Minor chord
C
M m
Major 3rd Major 3rd
(These are just some of the "Standard" chord types recognized by the DGX-205/203 and PSR-295/
th
7
C
7
th th
Flatted 7 Major chord
th th
7 , flatted 5
( b5 )
C
7
th
th
7
Flatted 5
Minor third – three half steps (semitones)
Augmented chord
C
aug
Minor 3rd Major 3rd Major 3rd
th
Minor 7
C
m7
th
Flatted 7 Minor chord
th
Minor 7 , flatted 5
( b5 )
C
m7
chord th
Flatted 5
Minor 7
3rd
Root
Diminished chord
C
dim
Minor 3rd Minor 3rd
C
m
Root note Chord type
th
Major 7
C
M7
th
Major 7
th th
7 , suspended 4
C
7sus4
th
Flatted 7 Suspended 4
th
chord
chord
3rd
Major chord
th
th