Chord Qualities
Anatomy of a chord
Every chord quality is a unique stack of intervals above the root. Swap the quality to see which semitones change.
Open, resolved, the default "happy" chord.
- R
- root
- M3
- major 3rd · +4 semitones
- P5
- perfect 5th · +7 semitones
The axis is calibrated in semitones — read left to right. A C major triad is C (R), E (M3, four steps right), G (P5, seven steps right). Change the root and the whole stack slides; the shape stays.
What "chord quality" actually means
Chord quality is the flavour of the chord, independent of its root. A C major and an F major both sound major because they share the same interval recipe (R, M3, P5). A C minor sounds different from C major because one interval shifted down by a semitone — and that single semitone is what your ear is learning to catch.
This trainer only asks for the quality. The root note is hidden — the prompt could be a C, F#, or Bb chord, but the answer is always one of maj, min, dim, aug, maj7, min7, 7, sus2, or sus4.
How qualities differ at a glance
| Quality | Recipe | What's distinctive |
|---|---|---|
| maj | R · M3 · P5 | Bright, resolved. The "default." |
| min | R · m3 · P5 | The third drops a semitone. Reflective. |
| dim | R · m3 · TT | Both third and fifth drop. Tense. |
| aug | R · M3 · m6 | Fifth rises a semitone. Floating. |
| maj7 | R · M3 · P5 · M7 | Major with a "lush" top — one semitone below the octave. |
| min7 | R · m3 · P5 · m7 | Minor with a smooth, jazz-funk top. |
| 7 (dom) | R · M3 · P5 · m7 | Major triad with a minor 7th. The bluesy/restless one. |
| sus2 | R · M2 · P5 | The third is replaced by a 2nd. Ambiguous. |
| sus4 | R · P4 · P5 | The third is replaced by a 4th. Wants to resolve down. |
The visual above this section is the same story in picture form — each chord is a different stack of dots on the semitone ladder.
Listening strategy
- First pass: triad or seventh? Sevenths have a distinctly thicker, more dissonant texture than triads. If it sounds "denser than a basic chord", suspect a 7th type.
- Second pass: major or minor third? The third is the brightness/darkness switch. Hum the lowest note (root), then hum the highest of the lowest two pitches you hear — that's roughly the third. If it sounds up a major third, you're in major / dom7 / maj7 territory. If it sounds tighter and darker, you're in minor / min7 / dim territory.
- Third pass: outliers. Augmented and the suspended chords don't have a normal-feeling third at all — they feel "unresolved" in a specific way. Diminished sounds crunchy because the tritone is the most dissonant interval in Western tonality.
Common landings for each quality
Knowing where each quality lives in popular music gives you reference recordings to A/B against:
- maj — almost any major-key pop song. Try the opening of "Let It Be".
- min — minor-key ballads. Adele's "Someone Like You" opens on a minor chord.
- dim — passing chords in jazz and ragtime. The chord before resolution often dims briefly.
- aug — Beatles' "From Me to You" intro; James Bond theme uses augmented stings.
- maj7 — Steely Dan, bossa nova, Mac DeMarco. Lush and floaty.
- min7 — funk, R&B, neo-soul. D'Angelo, Prince's quieter songs.
- 7 (dom) — every blues turnaround, ever. The whole genre is built on dominant 7ths.
- sus2 / sus4 — power-pop, U2 (the Edge loves sus4), Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'".