A major chord on piano

The notes and their roles

A major contains A, C♯ and E. From the root, the semitone offsets are 0, 4, 7. The degree formula 1, 3, 5 describes each member relative to the root, not its order in a particular voicing.

Read this shape accurately

C-sharp supplies the major third above A. Compare the compact A–C-sharp–E shape with C-sharp–E–A to hear the third become the bass without changing the chord quality.

Change only the third

Hold A and E steady. Lower C♯ by one semitone to C and the quality changes to minor. The root and perfect fifth do not change. This isolates the interval that distinguishes the two triads.

Choose a bass note

The root-position octave example is A4 · C♯5 · E5. Inversions put a different member in the bass while retaining A as the root. The table gives pitch-class order; move the leading notes up an octave as needed to keep each example ascending.

A short listening check

Play A major together, then as separate notes. Name the major third before looking at the display. Repeat in first inversion and check that C♯ is the bass while A remains the root.

1. Choose the displayed root and quality in the chord explorer.
2. Compare root position with one inversion at the same tempo.
3. Save both examples in a named practice collection, or export a reference with note names.