Major/Minor Chords I: The White-Key Foundation

The short answer: every chord on the keyboard reduces to the same building block — major or minor triads, and their inversions. Gitori's Major/Minor Chords I course starts with the simplest possible case: triads built entirely on white keys, plus the inversions that let you play them in different hand positions.

Why start with white keys only

White-key-only triads (C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am) remove one variable — accidentals — so the thing actually being taught, chord shape and inversion, is easier to see and feel. Once your hand knows what a triad and its inversions feel like without needing to dodge black keys, adding accidentals in later courses is a much smaller leap.

Root position, first inversion, second inversion

A triad isn't one shape — it's three, depending on which chord tone sits on the bottom:

• Root position: 1-3-5 from the bottom.
• First inversion: 3-5-1 — the 3rd on the bottom, root on top.
• Second inversion: 5-1-3 — the 5th on the bottom.

All three contain the exact same notes; only the order changes. Inversions matter because they let you keep a chord progression's notes close together instead of jumping your hand across the keyboard for every new chord — smooth voice leading starts here.

What the course covers

Every white-key major and minor triad, built in root position first, then all three inversions, drilled until the shapes are automatic. The chord-construction theory underneath (why some triads come out major and others minor) is covered in Basic Chords.

Before you start

No hard prerequisites — this is a solid starting point for keyboard chords. It sets up Major/Minor Chords II, which covers the minor-chord shapes that share the same "all white key" footprint.