Chords

[Bubbles]

One thing I've noticed is how hard it is (for me at least) to hear chords. I can tell a chord from a plain note, obviously, but how can you figure out all the notes within a chord? Is there a way to split them up or does everyone just hear them so much or take classes so they know what they sound like? I dont know much vocab when it comes to music, so please dont be too confusing

[Mashi]

If you're referring to hearing the actual notes (as in, recognising that a triad contains, say, C, E, and G in it without any hint whatsoever), you would either need to have absolute pitch or use roundabout methods (such as someone informing you of what a C (or any other note) sounds like in the short term and then utilising relative pitch, or finding a base note from a song or piece you know (certain people are capable of reciting songs very near the original pitch) and then using relative pitch... again!).

If you mean determining the notes from the quality of a chord (such as if you're told that you have a C Chord, but not what type), you could either just feel it or utilise intervals.  A C Major Chord, for example, would contain a Major Third and Major Fifth; so based on that, you could determine that the notes in it are C, E, and G.  And a minor chord contains a minor third and minor fifth, so based on that, you could determine that the notes in it are A, C, and E.  And then use similar methods for all other chords.

Of course, there are many more chords then simply Major and minor, so you may have to develop your own method of recognising them.  The only thing I can suggest though is to practise, unfortunately, hahaha; this is the website I use for my Music Theory class.

Good luck, Bubbles7689!!!

[TheZeldaPianist275]

I have this problem too... .thanks Mashi.

[MaestroUGC]

Correction: Minor Chord - Root, minor third, Perfect fifth - A, C, E; C, Eb, G
Diminished - Root, minor third, diminished fifth - A, C, Eb; C, Eb, Gb

It all amounts to practice really. I would suggest practicing various chords and structures to get better at recognizing them.

[Mashi]

Whoops!
Thanks for catching that, MaestroUGC!  I haven't reviewed intervals in a while, so I had forgotten that Unisons, Fourths, Fifths, and Octaves were all Perfect.

Yeah, the Major Fifth and minor fifth in my post should both be Perfect Fifths.

[Bubbles]

Thanks

I should really brush up on all of this "perfect" and "thirds" stuff

[JDMEK5]

If you're a guitarist, you need to be able to determine a chord from any given notes.
Such as: C, Eb, Ab, Bb, F. (in respective order from lowest to highest)
That chord is an Ebsus9/C (Never actually seen it used though, as an Fm7 could serve as a suitable replacement)

I should really brush up on all of this "perfect" and "thirds" stuff

Such chords are the basis of all harmony. You must know that stuff flat.