In Episode 130 I gave you a list of ten songs that are perfect for playing along with YouTube videos (I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from that episode! Thanks for letting me know it was helpful for you).
It occurred to me while recording that episode that I haven’t really talked about building chords and their inversions on the podcast.
Build by counting piano keys
Many piano kids may be familiar with chords that are grouped by their shape.
Major Chords with all white keys: C, F, G.
Chords with a black key in the middle: D, E, A.
Chords with black keys on the top and bottom and a white key in the middle: Db, Eb, Ab.
But what about chords that don’t fit in those groups?
You can find the notes you need by counting piano keys – all keys, black or white.
For Major chords, start with any piano key. This becomes the ROOT of the chord. Today, let’s use B.
From the ROOT, count up four piano keys (C, C#, D, D#) D# is the fourth piano key up from B. D# is the middle note of the chord. In terms of intervals, it is a third above B so we will call it the THIRD of the chord.
From the ROOT, count up seven piano keys (C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#) F# is the seventh piano key up from B. F# is the top note of the chord. In terms of intervals, it is a fifth above B so we will call it the FIFTH of the chord.
Since we counted up 4 piano keys to get to the D#, we could use a shortcut of only counting three more keys from D# to get to the F#. I counted from B to reinforce the fact that the chord tones get their identity from the ROOT.
For minor chords we still select a ROOT and count up seven piano keys to find the FIFTH. The difference between a Major chord and a minor chord is the sound of the THIRD. The THIRD of the chord determines the type. From the ROOT, count up three piano keys (C, C#, D). D is three piano keys up from B so D is the THIRD or middle note in the B minor chord.
Changing that one note from D# to plain D changes the whole mood of the chord. That sounds like me on certain days, one little thing can make my mood change from happy to sad. The good news is one little thing can change it right back, too!
Build by using the scale
I discussed building scales using the Circle of Fifths in Episode 013: Magic Wand, part 1
Build a Major scale using whole steps and half steps (Whole step is two piano keys, black or white, half step is moving to the next piano key)
W W H W W W H
2 2 1 2 2 2 1
Once you have the correct scale degrees, you can start to build chords or triads by combining every other note of the scale.
For example,
Why inversions?
Inversions allow us to transition quickly between chords, and often using an inversion can add a different nuance to the chord.
Sounds better to our ears. More cohesive and less choppy. The common tones between chords help our ears transition from one sound to the next.
If you think of a choir, the voices don’t want to jump around, they want to find the closest chord tone to help their voice move up or down efficiently.
The snowman visual for inversions on this page is cute.
Invert chords to play melody on the top, build the harmony underneath. When you play a tune by ear, start with the melody, add the bass as a foundation, then fill in harmonic chord tones to add richness to the arrangement.
A fun bonus and a challenge
On March 4, 1963, the Beach Boys released their second album, “Surfin’ USA.” The title song on the album is in the key of Eb Major and uses Eb, Bb, and Ab. The pattern goes like this:
Bb |Bb | Eb | Eb |Bb |Bb | Eb | Eb |
Ab |Ab | Eb | Eb |Bb |Ab | Eb | Eb |
I challenge you to use the tools I’ve shared with you today to figure out which piano keys you need for each of these chords and find the most efficient way you can use those chords and their inversions to play this song.
Once you can play “Surfin’ USA” on your own, try playing along with the Beach Boys on this YouTube video.
Thanks for listening!
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