In our previous lesson, we looked at the foundation of chords. In this lesson, we will move a step further, treating the Diminished Chords
Diminished Triad Piano Chord
Chord Type: Diminished triad
Formula: 1+♭3+♭5
Do you see a pattern here? Most chords will use some version of the 1, 3, and 5th tones (later, we’ll add in the 7th tone, which is HUGE in music). Diminished chords take the sad and serious sound of
minor chords even further by flatting yet another tone (the 5th). This gives you a scarysounding chord, but is used in tons of situations.
Notes in C: C + Eb + Gb
Augmented Triad Piano Chord
Chord Type: Augmented triad
Formula: 1+3+♯5
*The augmented chord almost does the opposite of the minor and diminished. We take the regular major triad and raise the 5th tone.
Notes in C: C + E + G#
Diminished means to make smaller.
Augmented means to make larger.
Isn’t that exactly what these chords have done?
Consonance and Dissonance
These are the opposite of each other.
What is consonant is not dissonant and what is dissonant is not consonant.
I know, sounds confusing.
According to wikipedia , “Consonance and dissonance define a level of sweetness / harshness, pleasantness / unpleasantness, acceptability / unacceptability, of the sounds or intervals under consideration.”
In other words, consonant chords and intervals sound good and harmonious to us. Dissonant ones sound less harmonious and have more tension.
Major and minor chords have more consonance than diminished and augmented chords.
If I had to rank them by consonance, it’d be:
Major chords
Minor chords
Diminished chords
Augmented chords
THIS DOESN’T MEAN DISSONANCE IS A BAD THING.
In fact, at one point (hundreds of years ago), dissonant chords and intervals like diminished chords and tritones (another topic) were banned from the church! They were called the “devil’s interval.”
This is not the case today. In fact, most modern musicians aggressively search for ways to add“flavorful dissonance” to their playing. It is dissonance that creates the unpredictability and sound that characterizes much of today’s contemporary gospel, soul, R&B, and similar genres. I call these four chords – major, minor, diminished, augmented – the “FANTASTIC FOUR.”
These are your four foundational chords. With these four chord types, you can learn practically all others (I’ll prove it to you in a second).. In the next lesson we will look at using Intervals to Learn Chords.. stay tuned. Feel free to drop your questions.
