Types Of Music Chords

There are different types of music chords which depend on the type of tone the chord is intended for. For those who don’t know, a chord is made when two or more tones are played together. All music chords are not the same and there are about 6 different types of music chords, each of them having their own role to play in the music world. The root tone is the most vital tone and it is where the chord derives its name. However, all 12 unique tones can be used to build different chords.

The following are the different types of music chords

The C major chords

The major chords are the most popular of all types of music chords. The C, E, and G are the tones in the major chords.

The C minor chord

The minor chord and the major chord share two common tones, but they have different middle tones. Minor chords are usually classified as “sad” sound.

C Dominant-7 chord

Chords can also be made of more than three tones. Sometimes minor and major tones can be extended with extra tones, but the extension may not alter the type of chord: it remains either minor or major. But the inclusion of a Bb to the C major might alter its characters and functions. This is what is then referred to as dominant-7 chord.

The diminished chord

These types of music chords resembles the C minor chord, the only different being the inclusion o Gb rather than a G. When creating a diminished chord, you have to lower the first 2 tones of the major chord or the highest tone of the major chord.

The augmented chord

Apart from lowering tones, it is equally possible to increase them. These types of music chords are created when the G tone is raised to the G# tone which creates and augmented chord. Both the dorminant-7 chord and the augmented chord perform the same functions, and one can effectively replace the other. But most times they are combined together to create a single chord.

The suspended chord

A suspended chord is derived when a C major chord is used in playing the F rather than the E. These types of music chords can produce tension that is usually resolved when a major chord is played.

Also known as the “sus chord”, the suspended chord can also be gotten when the second or fourth chord replaces the third chord. When this happens, it creates two main types of chords: the sus4 and the sus2. Another kind of suspended chord also exists where the second chord and the third chord is present.

Borrowed chord

These types of music chords are removed from a home key and taken to a different key. The most common area where a borrowed chord is present is when the minor key or parallel major key is used. Very good examples of these types of music chords can be seen in the works of Schubert. Though a borrowed chord describes a chord that is take from other chords different from the home key, the term is used differently when describing formal music.