Major and Minor Chords

The other day I had an old music teacher come over to my house and explain the difference between major and minor chords. It felt very enlightening, so I thought I might explain it here, just in case it helps somebody else! (sidenote: everything is on the piano, not guitar or bass or some other instrument)

So on the c major scale, there are eight keys in a row, starting on c and ending on the c an octave higher. It is very important to know the note numbers on the scale, meaning that c is 1, d is 2, e is 3, and so on and so forth all of the way up to 8 at the higher c. So, if you take your hand and play the first, third, and fifth of a scale, that is called a chord. So on the c major scale, C E and G are the chords of c major. Now, if you were to play any note with those three fingers as such, you would be playing in c major. Now, if you move your thumb over to the 6th note in the scale (A) and keep your hand in the same position as in the C major scale. That is A minor in the key of C major! You can do that for any note in any scale, but there is an exception when you get to B. But, that will be explained in a different blog.

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