The Common Tone · Chapter 1.9
The four triads on C
Choose a chord to hear it. Left and Right arrows move and hear adjacent chords. Enter or Space hears the selected chord. On small screens, scroll horizontally to compare all four.
Loading chords…
Optional: seeing the two thirds
In root position, you can also look at the two steps: root to third, then third to fifth.
- Diminished: minor third + minor third.
- Minor: minor third + major third.
- Major: major third + minor third.
- Augmented: major third + major third.
This is a secondary view. The chord’s third and fifth are still named by their intervals from the root.
Notes and intervals in text
| Triad | Notes | Third from root | Fifth from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| C diminished | C–E♭–G♭ | Minor third (m3) | Diminished fifth (d5) |
| C minor | C–E♭–G | Minor third (m3) | Perfect fifth (P5) |
| C major | C–E–G | Major third (M3) | Perfect fifth (P5) |
| C augmented | C–E–G♯ | Major third (M3) | Augmented fifth (A5) |
Hear and explore
Click a chord to hear it. Left and Right move and hear adjacent chords; Enter or Space plays the selected chord. Hear selected chord replays your selection; Stop ends playback.
Piano: Splendid Grand · sample credits.