+ Triads, Tetrachords and The Major Scale

+ Triads A triad is a chord with three notes built in thirds. Every triad contains a: Root, Third, and Fifth We have listened to and discussed four types of triads in class Major, Minor, Augmented and diminished triads. Let’s review how these triads are built:

+ Major Triad This triad contains a Root, third, and fifth all from the Major Scale. As far as intervals are concerned it has a Major third with a perfect fifth above the root. You can also think of it as a M3 with a m3 above. The distance between the root and the third here is 4 half steps. Between the third and the fifth there are 3 half steps.

+ Major Triad

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+ Minor Triad A minor triad is exactly like a major triad except the third of the chord is lowered by 1 half step.

+ Minor Triad Here it is on the staff:

+ Minor Triad You can think of the minor triad as containing a m3 and a P5 or a m3 and a M3 on top. The distance between the Root and the third is 3 half steps and there are 4 half steps between the third and the fifth.

+ Minor Triad

+ Augmented Triads An Augmented triad is exactly like a Major triad except the fifth is raised (augmented) by a half step. The distance between the root and third is a major third or 4 half steps. There are also 4 half steps between the 3 rd and the fifth. You can also think of it as a M3 with another M3 on top. Or a M3 with an augmented fifth on top.

+ Augmented Triads

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+ Diminished Triads Finally the diminished triad is like a minor triad but the fifth is also lowered by a half step. The distance between the root and the third is a m3 or 3 half steps. The distance between the third and the fifth is also a m3 (three half steps) The diminished triad can also be thought of as having a m3 with a diminished fifth on top.

+ Diminished Triads

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+ Tetrachords Tetra- word means: Four Pattern is: W W H So we can start on any note and build a tetrachord (WWH) C D E F G A B C D E F# G F G A Bb etc… See unit 7 (pg. 43)

+ Major Scale Construction To build a Major Scale we can combine two tetrachords joined by a whole step in the middle: (unit 7 pg. 43) The resulting pattern is: WWHWWWH

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+ Major Scale Construction This pattern (WWHWWWH) can be used to built a Major Scale on any starting note: For example: Let’s start on G and F:

+ Major Scale Construction

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+ Major Scale Practice Now practice writing some on your own: Use these as your starting notes: C F Bb Eb G D A Each example should look similar this: