Originally Posted By: MarioD
I was also taught intervals, scales (major and minor) then how to form chords from a major scale, i.e. a minor scale consists of 1, b3, 5 of a major scale, etc.


The point is that I was not even 5 years old yet and had never sat at a piano to KNOW scales and intervals. As I learned "whole whole half, whole whole whole half" made a scale, then I could start. To tell a kid 2 months short that "Oh a major chord is just 1-3-5", what does that mean? So for me, once I knew half steps, those formulas, all based on half steps, allowed me to learn chords quicker. Same church, different hymnal. 1-3-5 mean nothing to me at that age, but I could count 0, 1/2, 1, 1&1/2, etc. That meant that no matter what key I started at, I could make a major chord with no regard to white and black keys, by knowing 0-2-1&1/2. I didn't have to know that G has 1 sharp and Ab has 4 flats, because remember, I had no idea what a sharp and a flat was yet. Again, same church, different hymnal.