Block Chords and Broken Chords

Block chords occur when all of the notes of a chord are played simultaneously in one solid “block”. The following shows examples of block chords.

Block Chords

Broken chords occur when the notes of a chord are not played simultaneously. There are many types of patterns possible for broken chords. The following example shows a set of block chords, and then the same set of chords as broken chords. Both examples have the exact same chords with exactly the same notes, but with the first example as block chords, and the second example as broken chords.

Block Chords

Broken Chords

Chord Tones and Non-chord Tones

Chord tones are notes of a specific chord. For example, the notes of a C-Major chord are C, E, and G. The following example shows a section of music using only chord tones.

Chord tones

Any notes in a section of music that do not fit into the chord tones of the prevailing harmony are non-chord tones. The following example shows a melody over a chord progression with the non-chord tones circled.

An example with non-chord tones

Chord Voicings

A chord voicing is the vertical spacing of the notes of any given chord. For example, in a C-Major chord, the notes are C, E, and G. These notes can be arranged in many different ways. The following example shows a C-Major chord in different chord voicings.

Various chord voicings

If the notes are close together, with no spaces between chord tones, then the chord is in a close voicing. If the notes have spaces between the chord tones, then the chord is in an open voicing.

 

Slash Chords

Slash chords are a type of chord symbol that indicate what type of chord is to be played along with what the lowest note of the chord voicing should be. For example, the chord symbol G/B indicates that a G-Major chord with the note B in the lowest voice, or bassline, should be played.

Slash chords can be used to indicate chord inversions, basslines, or pedal tones (A pedal tone is a held note during a series of chord changes).

Slash chords indicating chord inversions

Slash chords indicating a bassline

Slash chords indicating pedal tones

Major and Minor Chords

Major Chords

A major chord is a chord containing a chord root, a note a major-third above the root, and a note a perfect-fifth above the root. The following shows a few major chords starting on different notes.

Major chords starting on different notes

Along with minor chords, major chords are the most commonly used chords in music. There are three major chords possible in any major scale, or its related modes. The following shows the three major chords in the C-Major scale, and the three major chords in the A-natural-minor scale.

The major chords in the key of C-Major

The major chords in the key of A-minor

 

Minor Chords

A minor chord is a chord containing a chord root, a note a minor-third above the root, and a note a perfect-fifth above the root. The following shows a few minor chords starting on different notes.

Minor chords starting on different notes

Along with major chords, minor chords are the most commonly used chords in music. There are three minor chords possible in any major scale, or its related modes. The following shows the three minor chords in the C-Major scale, and the three minor chords in the A-natural-minor scale.

The minor chords in the key of C-Major

The minor chords in the key of A-minor