creating a triad in the key of the music

[kk01]

Hello guyz,

It's kinna challenging for me also considering the fact that I just started music theory and it is creating a triad in the key of the music. You see locating all the major and minor triads on any not is not a problem for me but find the appropriate triad in a particular key is a headache for me.

Lets say for example, if the song in my head is in the key of C, if I was going to create a triad on the scale of C...say D it should be a D minor and not a D major and if I was to create a triad on F it should be an F major right.

Now, I  know that for only the C scale but for other scale everything happens to be a major i.e using 4 semitones from the root to find the third and 3 semi tones up again to find the fifth. Then to find the minor triad it's simply the reverse...but everything sounds like either or major triad or a minor triad using this technique and I know there is something I am doing wrong.

Can someone please help...

Regards,
'KK'

PS: I hope the message makes sense

[ionian_tinnear]

Your question is a little confusing as stated.

The same rules apply to any key, just like C, of course.  All the triads should sound like major or minor, except one.  In C, this exception is the triad starting on B, play B - D- F, which is half-diminished.  I'm assuming you mean major keys here.

Using the roman numerals for the triad position, the pattern in a major key is (using C major as the key):

I - C Major
ii - D minor
iii - E minor
IV - F Major
V - G Major
vi - A minor
vii - B half diminished

[nystul]

Everything is interconnected and related to one another, and there are different ways of internalizing the information.  To me, before worrying about the harmonies you should have a good understanding of the scales themselves.  When you know the key signature for C major has no sharps or flats, it is self evident what each chord will be for a diatonic harmony in C major.  They simply contain the notes that are present in the scale.

Of course each major scale is has the same pattern of intervals relative to the tonic.  And so, it stands to reason that the chords for each major scale will also follow one relative pattern.  And it is good to know this so you can think of music in abstract terms instead of applying the ideas for a piece only to one specific key.

I never learned the nature of scales and chords by counting semitones, but for some people that works just fine.  I guess in my case the first step was memorizing the order of sharps and flats, and then learning the scales, and going from there.  For example, in my mind because of the order in which I learned things, the reason DFA is a D minor chord is because it is the 135 of the D minor scale.  And that is something that is completely 100% automatic for me.  If you were to ask me how many semitones separate the D from the F, I would actually have to stop and think about it for a second to give you an answer!

[keypeg]

I think I went from the scale itself.  For example, D major starts on D, and the there is F# and C# in the key signature, so I know that those two notes are sharped.  A triad in root position skips every second note, and there is a fifth from the top to bottom note.  So to get familiar with it I would play and listen.  So in D major I'd form the 1st triad on the bottom:

DF#A (because we know F is sharped).  We can hear it's major.  D to F# is a major 3.  major.
EGB   We hear it's minor.  The triad from E to G is a minor third.
F#AC  We hear it's minor. 
GBD    We hear it's major.
AC#E   Because C is sharped in the key of D major.  A to C# is a major 3.
BDF   We hear it's minor.
C#EG   It's a diminished chord because C# to E is a minor third, and C# to G is a tritone (C# to G# is a Perfect 5.

We could do this with any other major key.  We will always have the same pattern: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, viio.  You can work it out this way.  You have to know your key signatures first like Nystul suggested.

[kk01]

I really appreciate all your input but trust me, I am still confused..

okay, to make matters a little bit simpler for us all to understand...I will create situation with a little test...

1. What are the triads that you can derive from the E major scale...

2. What are the triads that you can derive from the E minor scale....

Please, I will be glad if you can please help me out...

Kind regards,
'KK'

[keypeg]

I really appreciate all your input but trust me, I am still confused..

okay, to make matters a little bit simpler for us all to understand...I will create situation with a little test...

1. What are the triads that you can derive from the E major scale...

The E major scale has 4 sharps: F# C# G# D#.  So the notes in the scale are:
E,F#,G#,A,B,C#,D#,E 
To form the triads you would take each note and skip one note as follows:
EG#B major
F#AC# minor
G#BD# minor
AC#E major
BD#F# major (seventh chord = BD#F#A = V7)
C#EG# minor
D#F#A diminished

2. What are the triads that you can derive from the E minor scale....

This one is a bit trickier because you can have several forms of the minor scale: natural, harmonic, melodic.   The minor scale has the key signature of the relative major, and the root note is a minor third below the root of the major.  So E minor has one sharp like G major, and E is a minor third below G. 
The natural minor scale goes:
E,F#,G,A,B,C,D,E
We usually consider the harmonic minor scale, which sharps the 7th note:
E,F#,G,A,B,C,D#,E
If you do the same thing as you did with the major scale, then the harmonic minor gives you
EGB minor
F#AC diminished
GBD# augmented
ACE minor
BD#F# major  (seventh chord = BD#F#A = V7)
CEG major
D#F#A diminished

[kk01]

Thank you very much for your reply Keypeg...I will put this into practice imediately...

Thank you once more...

Regards,
'KK'

[keypeg]

Thank you very much for your reply Keypeg...I will put this into practice imediately...

Thank you once more...

Regards,
'KK'

Let us know and what you find.