A great article on figuring out chords

<p>
  Now, this trick only gets you the Letter of the notes&#8230; not the quality/accidental i.e. sharp, flat or natural. So if you were to want to know a D major chord, do not assume it is D F A, because that is actually D minor. How do you know which notes are sharp or flat etc.
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<p>
  Guess what&#8230; there is another trick&#8230; now please note that this trick is ONLY to find major chords. from that knowledge you can figure out any other chord type.
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<p>
  Here it goes&#8230;
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<p>
  Any chord with C, F, or G as a root are called &#8220;Natural Chords&#8221;. This is simply because whatever the accidental the root has, the third and fifth will have as well.
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<p>
  so C major would be: C E G<br /> F would be: F A C<br /> G would be: G B D<br /> C#: C# E# G#<br /> F#: F# A# C#<br /> G#: G# B# D#<br /> Cb: Cb Eb Gb<br /> Fb: Fb Ab Cb
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<p>
  Note how the accidentals of the third and fifth are the same as the root.
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<p>
  Now, the next group are chords with D, E, or A as the root. Now with these chords, the root and fifth will always have the SAME accidental&#8230; but the third will have an accidental one higher than the root or fifth. What do I mean by this? It is as follows:
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<p>
  D F# A<br /> E G# B<br /> A C# E<br /> Db F Ab<br /> Eb G Bb<br /> Ab C Eb<br /> D# Fx A#<br /> E# Gx B#<br /> A# Cx E#
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<p>
  The only root left is B. The third and fifth are one accidental higher than the root. So&#8230;
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<p>
  B D# F#<br /> Bb D F<br /> B# Dx Fx
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<p>
  (note x = double sharp).
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<p>
  So if you memorize the patterns of R 3 5 as well as your pattern of accidentals, you can now quickly name any major chord based on any interval.
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