Primary chords are the most-used chords in any key, and they are all major chords. The I chord is the most-used, followed by the IV and the V chord. In this video we explore the primary chords in all 12 keys:

The key of G major has one sharp in the key signature - F# - and the primary chords are G, C, and D. A very easy key to learn.

The key of F major is based on the major scale of F and has only one flat in the key signature — Bb. The primary chords are F, Bb, and C (or C7).

The key of Eb has 3 flats — Eb, Ab, and Bb. The primary chords are also Eb, Ab, and Bb, making it easy to remember. The secondary chords are Fm, Gm, and Cm, with a distant D dim. Watch this short video on the key of Eb:

An arpeggio is simply a chord broken up into it’s individual notes. Simple arpeggios are root, 3rd, 5th, but there are many other types as well…Alberti bass, open-voiced arps, hand-over arps, 2-1 breakups, 3-1 breakups, straddles, rapid-fire runs, etc. Watch this short video to see several varieties:

In addition to naming intervals by their distance apart, such as a 3rd, 6th, etc, intervals can be major, minor, perfect, augmented and diminished. Watch this short video:

An interval is the distance between any two notes, such as the distance between B and C. Intervals are named simply by the distance between the two notes, so B and C above it is called a 2nd. B and the D above it would be a 3rd, B and the E above it would be a 4th, and so on.

3rds and 6ths are called “consonant intervals”, while 2nds and 7ths are “dissonant intervals.” If you play them, you will understand why. Intervals of 4ths and 5ths are usually considered harmonic intervals too — technically they are called “perfect intervals” because each note of the interval is in each other’s scale. For example, the distance between F and C above it is a perfect 5th — notice that F is in the scale of C, and C is in the scale of F. Perfect 5ths inverted become perfect 4ths, and perfect 4ths inverted become perfect 5ths.

An interval of a 3rd inverted becomes a 6th, while a 6th inverted becomes a 3rd. Try playing these intervals on your piano, and it will become clear to you.
More about major, minor, and perfect intervals in the next post.