Triads are chords made up of three notes. Triads can be major, minor, augmented, or diminished. The following examples show the structure of each of these chords:

major triads

Major triad: major 3rd, perfect 5th


minor triads

Minor triad: minor 3rd, perfect 5th


diminished triads

Diminished triad: minor 3rd, diminished 5th


augmented triads

Augmented triad: major 3rd, augmented 5th


Major and minor triads are considered to be perfect because they always have a perfect fifth. Diminished or augmented triads are called by the name of the fifth they contain.

See C > Chord for related entries.




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