In music, major means: Describing a scale, key, chord or interval built with a major third. Music in a major key is often described as bright or happy.
In Turkish: majör, büyük
How it is used
Comes after the note name: 'C major', 'a D major chord', 'in A major'. On chord charts, a capital letter alone (G) means a major chord. It also names intervals: major second, major third, major seventh.
Example sentences
The piece moves from D minor to D major in the final section.
Play a G major chord, then change to E minor.
Common collocations
major key
major scale
major chord
major third
relative major
Related terms
minorDescribing a scale, key, chord or interval built with a minor third. Music in a minor key is often described as dark, serious or sad.
scaleA set of notes played in order of pitch, going up or down, that follows a fixed pattern of steps. Scales are the building blocks of melodies and chords.
keyThe group of notes and chords that a piece is mainly built on, centred on one home note. A song in the key of G major keeps returning to G as its point of rest.
triadA three-note chord built from a root note plus the notes a third and a fifth above it. The four types are major, minor, diminished and augmented.
intervalThe distance in pitch between two notes, named by counting letter names and checking the number of semitones, such as a major third or a perfect fifth.
