Quick questions on Chords and harmonic progressions in VCE Music

A triad is three notes stacked in thirds. The lowest is the root, then the third and the fifth. The quality depends on the size of those thirds.

Adding a fourth note a third above the fifth creates a seventh chord. The most important is the dominant seventh (V7), a major triad with a minor seventh, which carries a strong pull to the tonic. Other common types are the major seventh (bright, jazzy), the minor seventh (smooth) and the half-diminished seventh built on the leading note.

A cadence is a two-chord progression that punctuates a phrase, like musical punctuation.

Certain progressions appear constantly across styles. The I, IV, V and I, V, vi, IV progressions drive most pop and rock. The ii, V, I is the backbone of jazz. The 12-bar blues uses I, IV and V in a fixed 12-bar pattern.

Train your ear to hear the bass line first, because the bass often carries the root and reveals the progression. Then listen for whether each chord sounds bright (major) or dark (minor), and whether a seventh adds tension. For cadences, focus on the final two chords and whether the phrase sounds finished or suspended.