Written by Victoria Ledsham

for Prof. Mary Gossage

Willie Nelson described country music as “three chords and the truth”, while Lou Reed stated that if music “has more than three chords, it’s jazz.” Two completely different musical genres can be distinguished by a single chord. However, this contrast is only a glimpse into the power of the device. A chord is a musical term that refers to a group of two or more notes sounding together. Chords are typically triads, which are formed of a root note, a third and a fifth. In a major chord, four semitones separate the root from the third, and in a minor chord there are only three. There are augmented chords, diminished chords, and chords in root position or chords that have been inversed. On a theory exam, chords search for their identity or “beg” for their missing member. They are constructed with precision, and a mathematical addition of semitones determines their validity or their character. Chords are three circles stacked atop one another neatly in a fence of five lines on a partition; they are three ivory keys, finger length apart, or roman numerals looming above a lyric line. Chords are silent notations waiting for the breath of life, when they bloom into expressive harmony and are taken to new lengths by those who play them.

Indeed, chords are expressive devices that are responsible for the emotions conveyed by music. These carefully constructed groupings have limitless potential and power to make goose bumps rise, tears well up, or faces glow. The perfect chord gives meaning to the piercing song of a trumpet playing in solo, it unites ten perfectly-tuned violins sounding together, or provides the booming strength of a sixty-member orchestra. Chords spill out of instruments and bounce off walls, spreading their warmth into an entire auditorium.  These groupings give character to a piece, and their progression builds its beauty. When carefully arranged in the major mode, they give off joy and happiness, yet the simple subtraction of a semitone changes the mood to sorrow and melancholy when entering the minor mode. In the dominant seventh form, the story of a lonesome fourth note striving to achieve the perfection of the octave is told. Even when dissonant, chords can express chaos or confusion. Whether it be anger, love, joy, peace, sadness, mourning, or melancholy, the expression of a mood through music relies on the foundation of chords.

Furthermore, a chord does not merely reside on paper or resound through instruments; a chord exists through the musicians themselves. Whether playing side by side or meters away, the players bring chords to life. Perfect harmony is achieved as two people play as one, blending dynamics and different tone colours. Minds connect and the players share common energy, which empowers them to know precisely when to place their pauses and how long to extend their notes. The harmony achieved produces the illusion of sound emanating from a single player, even while realizing a layering of numerous sound textures. The effect is multiplied as more musicians are involved, and a twenty-five-member brass band sounding simultaneously can blow away an audience. When musicians play in harmony, their power knows no boundaries, enabling them to reach blustering dynamic levels that can suddenly fall to the sound of a whisper. The connection that grows between them is the living embodiment of a chord.

Certainly, a chord is not simply a rope or a string that is pulled, plucked on a guitar, or struck in a piano. It occupies a fundamental role in music, and its definition is not limited by the rules of musical theory books or the teachings of a professor. A chord is an emotion: a wrinkling of the eyes and a crooked grin, a blush to the cheek and a wave of heat to the face, or a jolt to the gut and a pain to the chest. A chord lives and breathes between a flute and a clarinet, a cello and two violins, or fifteen trumpets and four trombones. It exists between the players who let their fingers fly over metal valves, bounce hickory sticks off drumheads, or caress taut strings with a bow, and pour their heart into their music by linking their hearts to the art they practice.