Use of Chords

Chords are a very important part of our musical language. Composers use chords to harmonize melodies and establish the key of a piece.

Here you can see how Beethoven's Ode to Joy melody can be harmonized in a very simple way. Some chords are in inversion (what is an inversion?). See the links below for more information about inversion and other related topics.

See our reference for more information about:

• Triads
• Triads in Major Scales
• Triads in Minor Scales
• Triads Chord Symbols in Jazz
• Inversions
• Seventh Chords
• Origin of the Names
• Seventh Chords in Major Scales
• Seventh Chords in Minor Scales
• 7th-chord Symbols in Jazz

Practice triad construction and identification with our online exercises