Yamaha PSR-293, PSR-295 owner manual Chord Basics, Reading Chord Names

Reference Style (Auto-accompaniment) Functions

■Chord Basics

Two or more notes played together constitute a “chord.”

The most basic chord type is the “triad” consisting of three notes: the root, third, and
fifth degrees of the corresponding scale. A C major triad, for example, is made up of
the notes C (the root), E (the third note of the C major scale), and G (the fifth note of
the C major scale).	3rd	3rd
		Root

In the C major triad shown above, the lowest note is the “root” of the chord (this is the chord’s “root position” … using other chord notes for the lowest note results in “inversions”). The root is the central sound of the chord, which supports and anchors the other chord notes.

The distance (interval) between adjacent notes of a triad in root position is either a major or minor third.

Major third – four half steps (semitones) Minor third – three half steps (semitones)

The lowest interval in our root-position triad (between the root and the third) determines whether the triad is a major or minor chord, and we can shift the highest note up or down by a semitone to produce two additional chords, as shown below.

Major chord		Minor chord		Augmented chord		Diminished chord
	CM		Cm		Caug		Cdim

Minor 3rd Major 3rd Major 3rd Minor 3rd Major 3rd Major 3rd Minor 3rd Minor 3rd

The basic characteristics of the chord sound remain intact even if we change the order of the notes to create different inversions. Successive chords in a chord progression can be smoothly connected, for example, by choosing the appropri- ate inversions (or chord “voicings”).

●Reading Chord Names

Chord names tell you just about everything you need to know about a chord (other than the inversion/voicing). The chord name tells you what the root of the chord is, whether it is a major, minor, or diminished chord, whether it requires a major or flatted seventh, what alterations or tensions it uses … all at a glance.

Cm

Root note Chord type

●Some Chord Types (These are just some of the “Standard” chord types recognized by the DGX-205/203 and PSR-295/ 293.)

Suspended 4th

7th

Minor 7th

Major 7th

Csus4

C7

Cm7

CM7

Perfect 5th

Perfect 4th

Flatted 7th

Major chord

Flatted 7th

Minor chord

Major 7th

Major chord

Minor/major 7th

7th, flatted 5th

Minor 7th, flatted 5th

7th, suspended 4th

CmM7

(b5)

(b5)

C7sus4

C7

Cm7

Major 7th

Minor chord

Flatted 5th

7th chord

Flatted 5th

Minor 7th chord

Flatted 7th

Suspended 4th

chord

56 DGX-205/203, PSR-295/293 Owner’s Manual