Three notes cords

This page lists the 3-Note chords used by the Chordle game.

Triads

You can find background information about triads on the first page of our guide to chords:
Chord theory 1, triads

Triads are simply three note chords formed by stacking thirds. This means:

• start with the root note
• add an interval of a third to get the second note
• add another interval of a third to get the third note

The interval used is either a minor third (3 semitones) or a major third (4 semitones).

In terms of chord factors, all triads contain the chord factors 1-3-5.

The suspended 4th chord

The suspended 4th chord is not a triad, because it cannot be built by stacking thirds.

Wheras all triads contain some variation of root, third and fifth (or 1-3-5),
the suspended 4th contains root, fourth and fifth (or 1-4-5).

The suspended 4th is very often followed by the major triad, by moving the 4th down one semitone to the 3rd. The name suspended 4th is based on the idea that the 4th is held in suspension, waiting to fall down to the 3rd.

In terms of chord factors, the suspended 4th chord contains the chord factors 1-4-5.

Shell Voicings

A shell voicing is a way to play a chord with some notes missing.

The most simple shell voicings have two notes, which would be:

• the root and the 3rd
• the root and the 7th

These are harmonies that a piano player might play with the left hand. They are not used in the Chordle game.

A shell voicing with three notes is a 7th chord, without the fifth.

A seventh chord contains the chord factors 1-3-5-7.
A shell voicing contains the chord factors 1-3-7.

Note:
Of all notes in a chord, the 5th sounds most like the root. For this reason, it adds little additional colour to a chord and is generally considered to be the least important note in a chord. It is very common to leave out the 5th.

In the Chordle game, there are three shell voicings, based on the Dominant Seventh, Minor Seventh and Major Seventh chords.

Note:
Shell voicings are often referred to as shell chords.

Shell voicing is a more accurate term, because they are not strictly new chords.

For example, the notes C-E-B♭ should be considered a voicing of the C7 chord, which contains the notes C-E-G-B♭.