Major & Minor Triads

What is a major triad?

A major triad is a three-note chord composed of a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. 

What is a minor triad?

A minor triad is a three-note chord composed of a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. 

How is a minor triad different from a major triad?

The difference between a major and minor triad is determined by the third interval. Being able to identify major and minor thirds is essential to spotting the difference between major and minor triads. Minor triads have a minor third which means there are 3 half steps between the root and third. Major triads have a major third which means there are 4 half steps between the root and third. Our video on How to Recognize Minor 3rds and Major 3rds can help you better identify the two different types of thirds. 

How do you identify major and minor triads​?

Pentascales are a great way to identify major and minor triads. If you know your major and minor pentascales, you’ll know your major and minor triads! To find a major triad, build a major pentascale. Then play the first, third, and fifth note of the pentascale and you have a major chord! The same applies to minor pentascales. Build a minor pentascale and then play the first, third, and fifth note of the pentascale to find the minor chord. 

If you’re not sure how to build a major or minor pentascale, check out our article What is a Pentascale? Our free All Major and Minor Triads reference guide is another great resource for identifying major and minor triads. 

What is the best way to practice all major and minor triads?

Follow along in our Major and Minor triads video with Mr. Hoffman to review the different types of major and minor triads. Then, challenge yourself to a game. Close your eyes and play one random key. Then build a major triad off of that key (with your eyes open!) Do the same for a minor triad. Another great way to practice major and minor triads is with a twelve sided die. Roll the twelve sided die and build a major and minor chord on the corresponding note. Middle C is 1, C# is 2, D is 3, D# is 4 and so forth all the way to B which is 12. For example, if the die lands on 10, practice building an A major and A minor chord. Each day you practice, roll the die and challenge yourself to build a different major and minor chord. 

For more practice, print off our free Major Triads Sandwiches worksheet!

What are other types of triads in music?

There are four kinds of triads in music: major triads, minor triads, diminished triads, and augmented triads. A diminished chord is composed of two minor chords and has a tense sound. Augmented chords are composed of two major thirds and have an unresolved sound.

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman. Today we are going to be learning a finger power exercise that will help us review all 12 major and minor triads. In case you forgot, a triad is just another name for a three-note chord. 'Tri-' as a prefix means three. Think triangle, or tricycle, or adenosine triphosphate, which your body would definitely be using to ride a tricycle. So remember, a triad is a group of three notes in a chord. Let's come to the piano and get ready to play some triads. How do you figure out a major triad? I basically want you to become a triad master, where any note that I name: A-flat major, E-flat major, D-major, you know how to play that triad. Let's talk about figuring it out. In C major it's easy, right? All white keys: C E G One way to figure out a triad is just by remembering the pentascale. If I say give me a C major triad, you can use the C major pentascale, and then just skip instead of stepping through the pentascale, and that builds the triad. For example, if you remember A-flat major, play the A-flat major pentascale, and then just take DO MI SO every other note skipping, and that builds the major triad. We often call the three notes, or pitches of a triad, the root because it's the lowest note of the triad like the roots of a tree. The third because it's the interval of a third above the root, and the fifth because it's a fifth above the root. When you combine the root, third, and fifth that builds a triad. So we could spell the A-flat major triad: A-flat, C, E-flat. Let's try spelling some other major triads. ...