How to Build Any Major Chord in Less Than 10 Minutes

If you have hopes, dreams, and aspirations of becoming a professional musician, one would assume that becoming a master of music theory would be one of the first orders of business.  However, there are an astounding number of aspiring music professionals that simply choose not to study the science of music theory in depth for a variety of reasons.  The primary excuse I have heard over the years from other musicians is that they simply don’t have time.  Well, no more!  Read this article, and you’ll be building major chords in less than 10 minutes. 

All major chords contain 3 notes; no more and no less.  The lowest note is called the root, the middle note is called the third, and the highest note is called the fifth.  While the notes will change depending on which note you start on, the distance between the notes will never change.  In order to build any major chord, just pick a note to start on and measure the distance of the other two notes using the following formula... 

(Root)  ---- 4 half steps up-->  (Third)  ---- 3 half steps up ----> (Fifth)

Let’s say I pick the root note to be F.  I would start on the note F, and count up 4 half steps:  One (F#), two (G), three (G#), and four (A).  I landed on A, which make that the middle note in the chord (more commonly called the third).  Next, I would start on the third (which I had figured out to be A) and count up 3 half steps:  One (A#), two (B), and three (C).  I landed on C, which makes that the highest note in the chord (more commonly called the fifth.)

The three notes I ended up with are F, A, and C.  I would call this an F major chord because all major chords are named after the root note they start on.  Play the notes F, A, and C at the same time, and you will sound an F major chord.

No matter which note you decide to start on, the formula will never change.  So start building more major chords starting on different notes!