Download Tonal Harmony Chapter 3 Introduction to Triads and Seventh

Chapter Three
Introduction to Triads and Seventh Chords
Triads
 Tertian: built of 3rds chords
 Triad: fundamental tertian,
o Three-note chord
o Consisting of a 5th divided into two superimposed 3rds
o 4 possible ways
 Augmented: +5(M3+M3),
 Major: P5(M3+m3),
 Minor: P5(m3+M3)
 Diminished: °5(m3+m3)
o Root, third, fifth
Seventh Chords
 Four-note chord
 Extend a tertian triad by adding another 3rd on top of the 5th of the triad
 Interval between the root and the added note is some kind of 7th (major, minor, diminished)
o Major seventh (M7) : major triad + major 7th
o Major-minor seventh (Mn7) : major triad + minor 7th
o Minor seventh (mm7) : minor triad + minor 7th
o Half-diminished 7th (ᶲ7): diminished triad + minor 7th
o Diminished seventh (°7): diminished triad + diminished 7th
Inversion Chords
Triad
 Root position
 Any part of a chord might appear as the lowest tone
 Root position, first inversion ( 63 or just 6), second inversion ( 64 )
Seventh Chord
 Root position
 Root position (7), first inversion ( 65 ) , second inversion ( 43 ), third inversion ( 42 )
Inversion Symbols and Figure Bass
 Analyzing music using numbers derived from the Baroque (1600-1750) system called figured
bass or thoroughbass
 Keyboard player in an ensemble read from a part consisting only of a bass line and some
symbols indicating the chord to be played above each bass note
 The symbols consisted basically of numbers representing intervals above the bass
 Notes could actually be played in any octave above the bass
 Baroque keyboardist reading the figured bass followed the key signature
 Root position triad might be major, minor or diminished

Accidental next to an arabic numeral in the figured bass could be used to raise or lower a
note (e.g. 7b, #)

Horizontal line mean to keep the same note of chord (e.g. 53 −6 means to use the same bass
note for a root position triad followed by one in first inversion)
Bass-position symbols (e.g. I 6 or V65 )

Lead-Sheet Symbols
 Sometimes called pop symbols
 Developed for use in jazz and 20th and 21st centuries popular music
 Facilitated the notation process and served to provide sufficient information to allow the
performer to improvise within certain bounds
 Lead-sheet symbols appear along with a melody
 Indicate the chords that are to be constructed below
 C6 means a C triad with an added M6 above the root
 Slash chord notation: C/G mean C major triad over a Gin the bass (second inversion)
 Frequently differ from one edition to the next
 F#m7(b 5)/C means F# minor seventh chord over a C in the bass line with a lower fifth of the
chord (C#-C♮)