If you recall from the interval chapter, when two notes are played together they can be described by both name (third, fifth, octave, etc.), and by type (major, minor, perfect, etc.).
When three notes are played at the same time, the resulting harmony is called a triad. Triads are built by stacking thirds on top of each other:
Just like intervals with two notes, triads can be classified according to the following categories: major, minor, augmented, and diminished.
There is a simple formula to remembering how these triads are built:
Triads are named according to their root – the note off of which the triad is built – and their type. For example, this is a G major triad:
Triads can appear in a few different forms, but in this chapter we will focus on triads that are in root position. Root position triads are easy to recognize visually, because they look like snowmen sitting on the staff. Notice that all three notes are either on lines or on spaces.
