Learn · Chords
Reading the chords.
Learn · Chords
Notes played together.
A chord.
A chord is several notes sounding together. Most songs move through a handful of them, and a chart that names each chord as it comes is the quickest way to play along.
Download on theApp StoreThree notes together.
Triads
Root, third, fifth.
The simplest chord.
The simplest chord is a triad: a root, the note a third above it and the note a fifth above it. A major triad sounds bright; a minor one, darker.
A chart writes each chord by its root and quality: C is C major, Am is A minor, F♯m is F-sharp minor.
Follow the chart.
Playing along
Read a little ahead.
Hold until it changes.
Chords usually change on the beat, often at the start of a bar or halfway through it. Read a little ahead of the music, and hold each chord until the next one arrives.
Loop a passage while you learn its changes. When the loop feels easy, move on to the next one.
Kept deliberately plain.
In Norah Studio
Major and minor.
Named in sharps.
Norah Studio estimates the chords of each song and writes them on screen as it plays: on the Mac and the iPad above the vocal lane, on the iPhone down the vocal lane and in the Tempo panel. The chart keeps to triads and names every chord in sharps.
The chords are estimates. Check them against what you hear.
Try it yourself.
In Norah Studio
