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Reference Style (Auto-accompaniment) Functions
64 DGX-505/305 Owner’s Manual
■ Chord Basics
Two or more notes played together constitute a “chord.”
The most basic chord type is the “triad” consisting of three notes: the root, third, and
fifth degrees of the corresponding scale. A C major triad, for example, is made up of
the notes C (the root), E (the third note of the C major scale), and G (the fifth note of
the C major scale).
In the C major triad shown above, the lowest note is the “root” of the chord (this is the chord’s “root position” … using
other chord notes for the lowest note results in “inversions”). The root is the central sound of the chord, which supports
and anchors the other chord notes.
The distance (interval) between adjacent notes of a triad in root position is either a major or minor third.
The lowest interval in our root-position triad (between the root and the third) determines whether the triad is a major or
minor chord, and we can shift the highest note up or down by a semitone to produce two additional chords, as shown
below.
The basic characteristics of the chord sound remain intact even if we change the order of the notes to create different
inversions. Successive chords in a chord progression can be smoothly connected, for example, be choosing the appropri-
ate inversions (or chord “voicings”).
● Reading Chord Names
Chord names tell you just about everything you need to know about a chord (other
than the inversion/voicing). The chord name tells you what the root of the chord is,
whether it is a major, minor, or diminished chord, whether it requires a major or
flatted seventh, what alterations or tensions it uses … all at a glance.
● Some Chord Types (These are just some of the “Fingered”chord types recognized by the DGX-505/305.)
3rd
3rd
Root
Major third – four half steps (semitones) Minor third – three half steps (semitones)
CM Cm Caug Cdim
Major chord Minor chord Augmented chord Diminished chord
Minor 3rd Major 3rd Major 3rd Minor 3rd Major 3rd Major 3rd Minor 3rd Minor 3rd
Cm
Root note Chord type
Csus4 C7 Cm7 CM7
C7
(
b5
)
Cm7
(
b5
)
C7sus4
CmM7
Perfect 5
th
Perfect 4
th
Flatted 7
th
Major chord
Flatted 7
th
Minor chord
Major 7
th
Major chord
Major 7
th
Minor chord
Flatted 5
th
7
th
chord
Flatted 5
th
Minor 7
th
chord
Flatted 7
th
Suspended 4
th
chord
Suspended 4
th
7
th
Minor 7
th
Major 7
th
7
th
, suspended 4
th
Minor 7
th
, flatted 5
th
7
th
, flatted 5
th
Minor/major 7
th