Major and Minor Triads

Lesson

What a triad is

A triad is three notes stacked in thirds. Pick a root note, skip a key, play the next note, skip another key, play the next. C major triad: C – E – G.

Major vs minor

The difference is the middle note. Lower the third by a half step and the chord becomes minor.

• C major: C – E – G (bright, resolved)
• C minor: C – E♭ – G (dark, brooding)

Standard right-hand fingering

For most root-position triads, use fingers 1–3–5 (thumb, middle, pinky). Press all three at once. Aim for a single, clean strike — not three separate notes.

Try several roots

Walk through C, F, G, A, D, E — building the same shape from each. The hand stays in the same approximate posture; only the starting key changes. This is how piano players learn chords: shapes first, then the key they live in.