The steps below will detail the major triad chord quality in the key of Ab.

Without this 3rd note, suspended chords tend to have an open and ambiguous sound. Musically, this is interesting, since it is usually the 3rd note of the scale that defines the overall character of the chord as being major (typically described as 'happy') or minor ('sad'). removed completely, and replaced by either the 2nd note of the major scale - a suspended 2nd, or more commonly by the 4th note of the major scale - a suspended 4th. Unlike all of the above qualities, Suspended triad chords do not use the 3rd note of the major scale (at all) to build the chord. Suspended triad chords - using the 2nd or 4th scale notesĪ suspended chord is known in music theory as an altered chord because it takes one of the above chord qualities and modifies it in some way. It is these variations of the 3rd and 5th notes that give each one a distinctive sound for any given key (eg. Triad chord qualities using the 1st, 3rd and 5th scale notesĪll of these triad qualities are based on the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale piano diagram above.ĭepending on the chord quality, the 3rd and 5th scale note names of the major scale above might need to be adjusted up or down by one half-note / semitone / piano key. Triad chords exist in four different chord qualities, which are major, minor, augmented, and diminished.Įach chord quality name is the name of the entire chord as a whole, not its individual notes (which will be covered later).

The music theory term triad chord means that 3 or more notes played together, or overlapping. This step defines a triad chord, names the triad chord qualities and identifies the notes that vary between them.

A flat major scale bass clef