A triad is the most basic type of chord and consists of three notes stacked in thirds. There are four types of triads: major, minor, diminished, and augmented. Each type has a specific interval pattern between the root, third, and fifth notes. Major triads have a major third from the root to the third and a minor third from the third to the fifth. Minor triads have a minor third from the root to the third and a major third from the third to the fifth. Diminished triads have two minor thirds. Augmented triads have two major thirds. Triads are considered the basic building blocks of music.

1. CHORDS: the building
blocks of music
Music 10

2. What is a chord?
 Any grouping of notes that sound as being
played simultaneously
 Notes in a chord can be selected according to
rules or a pattern or at random
 In western music, the construction of chords
follows a set of rules so that they can
progress from one in to another in a way that
sounds familiar and pleasing to the ear

3. The Triad
 A triad is one of the most basic types of
chord
 It consists of three notes that are stacked
in thirds
 The triad is considered to be the building
block of functional harmony. Without it,
our music would sound very different!

4. The Parts of the Triad
 The notes in the triad, when arranged
from lowest to highest, are called:
 The fifth (5)
 The third (3)
 The root (1)

5. Types of triads
 There are 4 types of triads:
 Major
 Minor
 Diminished
 Augmented

6. Major Triad
 In a major triad, there are 3 intervals that occur:
 A M3 from the root to the third
 A m3 from the third to the fifth
 A P5 from the root to the fifth

7. Minor Triad
 In a minor triad, 3 intervals occur:
 A m3 from the root to the third
 A M3 from the third to the fifth
 A P5 from the root to the fifth

8. Diminished Triad
 Diminished triads have three intervals:
 A m3 from root to third
 A m3 from third to fifth
 A d5 from root to fifth

9. Augmented Triad
 Augmented triads have three intervals:
 A M3 from root to third
 A M3 from third to fifth
 An aug5 from root to fifth

10. Seventh Chord
 A seventh chord is merely a triad (scale
degrees 1, 3 and 5) with scale degree 7
added on top.

11. Cluster Chords/Tone Clusters
 A cluster chord is made up of at least
three notes, arranged chromatically