Peeps - can you help? I'm doing my second assignment on my OU course and something has got me stuck. Not asking anyone to do my homework for me BUT

I've got to produce a triad in the key of B Minor, but am flumoxed by the fact that it contains C# and F# so my triad sounds odd and has odd spacing. Have I got it right: C# = D????

Triad = B, D and F#?

Any pointers gratefully received.

Hiya,

B minor has 2 sharps in the key sig, F sharp and C sharp. The Triad (tonic triad I think is what you are after - ie the one in which the bottom note of the triad is the keynote of the scale, B)..... would be B, D and F sharp, yes. I don't know what you mean by the C sharp = D thing, as C sharp would be the black note on the keyboard and D the white note on the keyboard, ie not the same note. (C double sharp would be the same note on the keyboard as D). The Triad is made up of the keynote (B), a 3rd (D) and a 5th (F sharp), there isn't a C sharp in the triad as C sharp would be the 2nd note in the scale. (the scale of b minor contains both c sharp and D). Hope that helps and doesn't confuse matters.


ps for triads it's worth remembering that the notes 'sit' on top of each other, so they will either be all on the lines of the stave, or all in the gaps on the stave. If you used a C sharp instead of D in there then yes the spacing would be odd - you'd have two notes squashed together (line and space directly above it) and one note further away as it were.

Many thanks, Fledgling! Sorry, I was being a bit thick Of course, C# isn't D, I was getting myself into a right state.

Yes, you are right, I'm doing the tonic triad (I'm guessing there must be other types of triads ..... but that's probably further on in the course). I've got to do first and second inversions then make a chord, but the sounds were pretty horrid.

Shall now go and approach the piano calmly ....

If you are doing a tonic triad in B minor - that is B D F# - for the first inversion chord put the D at the bottom and for the second inversion chord put the F# at the bottom.
You probably knew that anyway

Ahh, I see.... I've yet to learn about inversions, but that makes sense. Sounds like it really makes reading chords quicker as you learn these things. Your course sounds really interesting Peaches