Jon Brantingham Staff asked 8 years ago
I am working through the Triads Exercise 2 and am confused completing the line with Db as the root note. Root triad is Db-F-A. Is that an Augmented Db chord? If so, how is that written? With Db as the third, the chord would be B-Db-F. Right? Have no idea what to label it. What don’t I get here?
Jon Brantingham Staff answered 8 years ago
All of the chords in the exercise are purely diatonic so there should be no augmented chords. In each case, the starting note, is effectively the key signature that you are working in for that line. I probably should update the description so it is clearer. In the case of Db:
- With Db as the root, the triad is Db major – Db, F, Ab.
- With Db as the 3rd, the triad is Bb minor – Bb, Db, F.
- With Db as the 5th, the triad is Gb major – Gb, Bb, Db.
Now theoretically, you could get fancy and say that for instance:
- Could be Db, Fb, Ab (Db minor triad)
- Could be Bbb, Db, Fb (Bbb major triad = A major)
- Could be Gb, Bbb, Db (Gb minor = F# minor)
If you did that it would be fine, because the point is really to give you a brain workout thinking about the relationship of one note to different triads. But the double flats can get a little confusing.