21 Introduction to Triads

When two or more notes are played simultaneously, it creates harmony. One of the most common applications of harmony is using chords. While there are many different types of chords, triads are the most commonly used chords in contemporary music.

A triad is a three-note chord built on a scale’s first-, third-, and fifth-scale degrees. Similar to intervals, there are various qualities of triads.

The Major triad is built on the first, third, and fifth notes of a major scale. The image below shows the first five notes of F major scale. The numbers indicate the first (F), third (A), and fifth (C) scale degrees. We can take those three notes to create a F major triad.