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Tutorial - Triads

As covered in the Chord Formulas tutorial, once you know the Major scales, there's a simple way to decide what notes should be played for the various chord types without having to commit chord charts to memory. Though a chord chart is featured in a diagrams below, it is merely presented for the sake of reinforcing the chord formula concept.

Pay attention to the scale degree intervals in the chart below and how they apply to each chord diagram, then match it with the chord formulas. Soon it will become clear to you how this works. For more in-depth explanation see the Major Scales tutorial.

As soon as you learn your scales, it will be easy to form chords. Do you notice how the scale degrees displayed in the diagram below correspond with the chart above? Seventh (7th) chords work the same way. Refer to the tutorials on Seventh Chords Phase I and Phase II to learn different 'voicings' for these chords using the Chord Formulas concept.