Triad Chord Theory Worksheet

Music Theory Triad Chord Theory & Practice
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Have you memorized the triad formulas? Then let's practice it! :) We’ll work out the notes that belong to the following chords.


View the full lesson at Triad Chord Theory Worksheet | JustinGuitar

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All of the answers made sense to me, but I’m confused about G# min and A# min.

The key of G# and A# don’t exist (I think?), and I tried to apply the T T S T T T S formula just to try to answer the question.

G# Maj would be G# C D#, so min would make it G# B D# (does G Maj not exist because you have the C where it should be a B something?)

A# Maj would be A# D F (again, doesn’t exist because it should be under A C E with sharps or flats?), so A# min would be A# Cb E#?

If anyone can clarify this for me that would be fantastic. I am guessing that the Maj of those 2 don’t exist, but the Min of them do because it drops it back to the letters it should contain, ACE and DFA?

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My understanding is that in both cases it exists but it’s just the way you write down the notes so for G#maj not G# C D but D# but G# B# D#. They are the same but because you want GBD that’s how it is being written down. Same analogy for A# triad.

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@adi_mrok I’m not sure cause the only sharp keys we have are F# and C#. I suppose G# maj would have to be written G# B# D# and A# maj would have to be A# C## E#, just to keep the GBD and ACE intact.

@Jozsef posted this fantastic video below on another discussion, there are 30 keys in total (the 15 we have written down already for major scale x2 for the same ones in minor scale).

I think I’m right about my conclusion, that G# and A# maj keys don’t exist, but the min versions do because it allows it to fall back into GBD and ACE when you flatten the 3rd scale degree. I’m not certain though, just waiting for someone who really knows this stuff to confirm or deny so I can get to the truth of the matter :rofl:

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I still think it does exist, it’s just that you are falling out of the usual convention of GBD when talking about major but if you play a scale with root at G# you can still play it, it’s just that instead of C you call the note B# but tonally speaking they are the same. See below:

Edit. Its just like Ab scale so it’s better off to call it Ab scale and not G# to limit amount of b’s or #'s

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@adi_mrok Ahhh right, I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me, that a G# major would actually be in our list as Ab major. As well as how an A# major would be the same as a Bb major. So the 30 keys thing is true, we are just using enharmonic equivalents to describe the same things.

Thanks for participating in this discussion, it makes sense now :+1:

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They do.
But they are not used in practice as Ab and Bb would be the most commonly used equivalents.

You have applied T T S T T T A correctly for G# and A# major chords but neglected to apply another constraint which is that enharmonic equivalent note naming must be used to ensure that each of the seven letters is used once only in a scale. And, the major chord triad is a 1, 3, 5.
C is not the third letter in the G# scale.
G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, F##
D is not the third letter in the A# scale.
A#, B#, C##, D#, E#, F##, G##

Cheers :smiley:
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide & Moderator

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Every time I watch this I love it. Thanks for posting again,

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Just wondering if I missed it but was there an answer sheet posted for the Triad Chord Theory Worksheet?

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Here is a link that I found very useful a few weeks back when trying to quickly figure out the Root, 3rd and 5th notes. I think you will find it well worth the few minutes to watch it. It has really helped me so far.

The Circle of Thirds & Fifths

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Hi Richard,

The G Sharp Major Scale and the triad analysis question for G# min chord really challenged me. I think I understand it now. Two questions if I understand correctly;

  1. In some of the online sources I looked at the F## is reported as being F. Is this a mistake or is there some type of convention for reporting F## as F?

  2. Should F double sharp be written as F##, with F with the x symbol or are both correct?

Thanks Richard

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Hi @bmitchel

  1. Have you made an accidental typo too? F instead of G?
    F## is enharmonically equivalent to the note G. But within the G# major scale the rules do not allow that 7th scale degree to be called G because it would mean using the same alphabetic letter twice and omitting another entirely
    This is not correct:
    G#, A#, B#, C#, D#, E#, G

G used twice, no letter F at all.

  1. writing the symbol x instead of ## is an accepted convention. They are equally valid. This is typically seen on standard notation sheet music with the x sitting in fron of the note (just as an accidental for sharp and flat do). On sheet music it resembles a bold ‘cross’ more than a letter x.
    See pic for a sharp then a double sharp.

Screenshot_20220220-212741_Chrome
Screenshot_20220220-212741_Chrome797×588 34 KB

Cheers
Richard_close2u

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Hi Richard,

Thanks for your speedy response. Actually no, one of the google sources had the final note as F and not F##. This has been a good reminder that google sources aren’t always correct.

Ben

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Good grief I thought my head was going to explode with all these sharps and x’s whilst quite clearly seeing a C when I played through the scale… Just got it before I had a meltdown :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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Hey great lesson as always! But I have a BURNING question. You see, I don’t know the major scale notes of sharp scales like A# or D#. I triple checked the Mr. Cato’s formula and the comments there but I didn’t come across any answers that made sense. I’m 100% sure that FCGDAEB “trick” (although absolutely amazing!) doesn’t cover sharp major scales besides the exceptions of F# and C#. (Justin talks about these in the lesson)

But again, what about other sharp major scales? Like E# major, G# major or D# major for example? Is there a formula or any way to know what the notes of those scales are?

If somebody could help me out with this I’d REALLY appreciate it! As I’m almost 100% confident with all the theory I learned in this amazing course so far. But I couldn’t get my head wrapped around this one.

Thanks a lot!

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Welcome to the Forum Esat. great user name :slightly_smiling_face:
Keys like A# and D# are usually written as Bb and Eb. E# is F

The formula is the same as any major scale WWHWWWH
But your better off learning these keys a flats that’s how they are written in most music.

The Flat key in the Circle of 5th are Bb(A#) Eb(D#) Ab(G#) Db(C#) Gb(F#)
To write out the key of E# you get 4 double sharps.
C# is sometimes used because its easy to remember. Same as C but every note is Sharp

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Please don’t double post @PilgrimageOfSelf
Since 2 people reacted already, I’m leaving it but please refrain from spamming different threads with the same question. It doesn’t help. au contraire

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Hello @PilgrimageOfSelf and welcome to the Community.

Those scales exist in theory but their more digestible enharmonic equivalents are used in practice.

There is a quick method. For any sharp scale, compare with the natural scale of the same letter name. Every note is raised by a semitone but the letter names must be maintained. This is achieved by adding a sharp - natural notes become sharp, sharps become double sharps.

Example 1 - A# major and A major

A major scale = A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#

A# major = A#, B#, C##, D#, E#, F##, G##

Example 2 - D major and D# major

D major scale - D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#

D# major scale - D#, E#, F##, G#, A,# B#, C##

Hope that helps.
Cheers :smiley:
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide

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BOOM! That fixes my problem completely! What a simple yet effective rule :slight_smile: Who knew it had such a simple fix haha. Thanks a lot Richard!

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There were a few that I found tricky. I found putting my fingers on the fret board normally gave me the answer.

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