Chord Buttons
If you've ever seen or played a piano or organ, you know that it has both white and black keys. The white keys are on the bottom, and the black keys are on top. You probably know that the white keys represent the notes c, d, e, f, g, a, and b. The black keys are "sharp" notes, and are c-sharp, d-sharp, f-sharp, g-sharp, and a-sharp. These twelve notes, c, c-sharp, d, d-sharp, e, f, f-sharp, g, g-sharp, a, a-sharp, and b make up what is known as the "chromatic" scale. These notes can be played singly, but they can also be combined in various ways to form chords. There are many different types of chords, but they are all distinct combinations of these twelve notes. This explains why there are twelve chord buttons per row on the QChord-each represents a chord based on one of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale.
The three rows of buttons denote three chord types. The buttons on the top row are "major" chords, those in the middle are "minor" chords, and those on the bottom are "7th" chords.
Note that each row of chord buttons starts slightly to the right of the row above it. I mentioned earlier that the buttons were arranged in three rows of twelve buttons each. If you place your finger on the leftmost buttons of the top, middle, and bottom rows, you can also see that another way to view the button arrangement is that of twelve groups of three diagonally oriented buttons, or triplets. Each of the twelve triplets is made up of buttons occupying the same positions in the top, middle, and bottom rows. For example, the first triplet is made up of the first buttons in all three rows; the second triplet consists of the second buttons in all three rows, etc. An example may help to illustrate why understanding this arrangement is important. The top left chord button is a d-flat major chord. The first button in the middle row is a d-flat minor chord, and the first button in the bottom row is a d-flat 7th chord. Therefore, the first triplet corresponds to the base note d-flat, which is also called c-sharp. You can therefore see that you only need memorize the locations of twelve chords. From left to right, the chord buttons are:
D-flat, a-flat, e-flat, b-flat, f, c, g, d, a, e, b, and f-sharp.
To clarify any confusion that may arise, please note that a-flat is the same as g-sharp, e-flat is the same as d-sharp, d-flat is the same as c-sharp, and b-flat is identical to a-sharp. Please consult a music theory text if you require further understanding of this point. For purposes of this discussion, it is enough that you understand that each chord is based on a note of the chromatic scale. You should also memorize the order in which the buttons are arranged, and you should grasp the concept of triplets. You also need to know that major chords are on top, minor chords are in the middle, and 7th chords are on the bottom.
Although the QChord has only 36 buttons, it is able to play 84 different chord combinations. Obviously, to do this, more than one button must be pressed. A major 7th chord is played by pressing the major and 7th, or top and bottom chord buttons of a triplet. Pressing the minor and 7th, or middle and bottom, chord buttons in a triplet plays a minor 7th chord. To play a diminished chord, press the major and minor, or top and middle, chord buttons of a triplet. Press all three buttons of the triplet to play an augmented chord.
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If you've ever seen or played a piano or organ, you know that it has both white and black keys. The white keys are on the bottom, and the black keys are on top. You probably know that the white keys represent the notes c, d, e, f, g, a, and b. The black keys are "sharp" notes, and are c-sharp, d-sharp, f-sharp, g-sharp, and a-sharp. These twelve notes, c, c-sharp, d, d-sharp, e, f, f-sharp, g, g-sharp, a, a-sharp, and b make up what is known as the "chromatic" scale. These notes can be played singly, but they can also be combined in various ways to form chords. There are many different types of chords, but they are all distinct combinations of these twelve notes. This explains why there are twelve chord buttons per row on the QChord-each represents a chord based on one of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale.
The three rows of buttons denote three chord types. The buttons on the top row are "major" chords, those in the middle are "minor" chords, and those on the bottom are "7th" chords.
Note that each row of chord buttons starts slightly to the right of the row above it. I mentioned earlier that the buttons were arranged in three rows of twelve buttons each. If you place your finger on the leftmost buttons of the top, middle, and bottom rows, you can also see that another way to view the button arrangement is that of twelve groups of three diagonally oriented buttons, or triplets. Each of the twelve triplets is made up of buttons occupying the same positions in the top, middle, and bottom rows. For example, the first triplet is made up of the first buttons in all three rows; the second triplet consists of the second buttons in all three rows, etc. An example may help to illustrate why understanding this arrangement is important. The top left chord button is a d-flat major chord. The first button in the middle row is a d-flat minor chord, and the first button in the bottom row is a d-flat 7th chord. Therefore, the first triplet corresponds to the base note d-flat, which is also called c-sharp. You can therefore see that you only need memorize the locations of twelve chords. From left to right, the chord buttons are:
D-flat, a-flat, e-flat, b-flat, f, c, g, d, a, e, b, and f-sharp.
To clarify any confusion that may arise, please note that a-flat is the same as g-sharp, e-flat is the same as d-sharp, d-flat is the same as c-sharp, and b-flat is identical to a-sharp. Please consult a music theory text if you require further understanding of this point. For purposes of this discussion, it is enough that you understand that each chord is based on a note of the chromatic scale. You should also memorize the order in which the buttons are arranged, and you should grasp the concept of triplets. You also need to know that major chords are on top, minor chords are in the middle, and 7th chords are on the bottom.
Although the QChord has only 36 buttons, it is able to play 84 different chord combinations. Obviously, to do this, more than one button must be pressed. A major 7th chord is played by pressing the major and 7th, or top and bottom chord buttons of a triplet. Pressing the minor and 7th, or middle and bottom, chord buttons in a triplet plays a minor 7th chord. To play a diminished chord, press the major and minor, or top and middle, chord buttons of a triplet. Press all three buttons of the triplet to play an augmented chord.
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