Chord

Three or more notes played together to create harmony.

A chord is a group of notes — usually three or more — sounded together to create harmony, the vertical dimension of music that sits underneath melody. The most basic chords are triads, built from a root note plus the third and fifth above it; major triads sound bright and resolved, minor triads sound darker or sadder. Chords are the harmonic backbone of nearly all popular music: a song's chord progression (the sequence of chords over time) shapes its emotional movement, and an enormous catalogue of songs is built from just three or four common chords repeated in different orders.

432

Written & reviewed by

432 Academy

The Club432 musician collective

432 Academy is the learning arm of Club432 — a performing-arts collective of working musicians, producers, DJs and engineers. Our guides are written for beginners and reviewed by people who play, record and perform for a living, so the advice is what we'd tell a friend picking up the instrument, not specs copied off a box.

Meet the roster →Get 1-on-1 mentoring →

Want a working musician in your corner?

Reading only gets you so far. Get 1-on-1 coaching and consulting from real 432 musicians — over video, on your instrument, around your goals. We match you with the right mentor and build a plan that actually moves you forward.

Book 1-on-1 coaching →Meet the musicians →