Chords in a Key: Major and Minor
The chords in a key come from its scale: on each note you stack thirds using only the notes of that scale. In a major key the pattern is always major, minor, minor, major, major, minor and diminished, so the chords in C major are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B°. Knowing the chords of a key is the shortcut to playing songs by ear and building your own progressions.
How to use it
- Choose the Key (C, G, D, Am...) and the Mode: major, natural minor, harmonic minor or melodic minor.
- Choose the instrument: guitar, cavaquinho, ukulele or piano. Each chord comes with a diagram; the purple dot marks the root of the chord.
- Tap a chord to hear it. The ↻ button shows another position of the same chord on the neck.
- With 7ths turns the chords into seventh chords: in C, C7M (Cmaj7), Dm7, Em7, F7M (Fmaj7), G7, Am7 and Bm7(♭5).
- Play scale plays the scale of the key; Play all 7 chords plays the whole set, from I up to vii and back to I.
- Below the chords are tables with all 12 major and minor keys. Tap the first chord in a row to open that key.
Help and explanations
Choose the key and the mode and the tool builds the seven chords as triads and seventh chords, with Roman numeral, function, chord symbol, full name and a diagram on your instrument. Tap a chord to hear it. To open a key directly, use the address with ?tom=, such as /en/chords-in-a-key/?tom=G or ?tom=Am.
Degrees and functions: tonic, subdominant and dominant
Each chord is named by its scale degree in Roman numerals: uppercase for major chords (I, IV, V), lowercase for minor chords (ii, iii, vi) and with ° for the diminished chord (vii°). The degrees fall into three functions. The tonic chords (I, iii, vi) feel at rest; the subdominant chords (ii, IV) move away from rest; the dominant chords (V, vii°) create the tension that pulls back to the tonic.
That is why the most common progression in popular music is I–IV–V–I (C, F, G, C), and the ii–V–I (Dm7, G7, Cmaj7) is the backbone of jazz, bossa nova and samba. Chords with the same function can stand in for each other: instead of C, try Am.
Minor keys: natural, harmonic and melodic
Natural minor uses the same chords as its relative major, starting from the vi: A minor uses Am, B°, C, Dm, Em, F and G. Because the minor v (Em) pulls only weakly back to the tonic, songs in minor keys almost always use the major V from the harmonic minor scale (seventh degree raised a half step): E or E7 in A minor.
In harmonic minor the chords are Am, B°, C+, Dm, E, F and G♯°; in melodic minor, Am, Bm, C+, D, E, F♯° and G♯°. In practice, songs in minor keys mix all three.
How the chord symbols are written here
The tool uses the chord symbols found in Brazilian songbooks. The major seventh is written 7M (C7M is the same as Cmaj7 or CΔ7), the minor seventh m7 (Dm7) and the dominant seventh 7 (G7). Half-diminished appears as m7(♭5), as in Bm7(♭5), which you may know as Bm7♭5 or Bø. The diminished triad is B° (Bdim) and the augmented triad is C5+ (Caug or C+).
Tips
- To work out a song by ear, find the key from the chord the song ends on and try the chords of that key.
- To change the key of a song, swap each chord for the one with the same degree in the new key: the IV in C (F) becomes the IV in G (C). The circle of fifths shows this as you turn the wheel.
- On guitar, the easiest keys to start with are G, C, D, A and E, which need almost no barre chords. On ukulele, start with C and G.
- If the original key doesn't suit your voice, move to a nearby key and use the chords with the same degrees there.
Frequently asked questions
What are the chords in a key?
They are the seven chords built from the notes of a scale, one on each degree. In a major key the pattern is always major, minor, minor, major, major, minor and diminished.
What are the chords in the key of C?
As triads: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B°. As seventh chords: Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7 and Bm7♭5 (written C7M, F7M and Bm7(♭5) in the tool).
What are the chords in the key of G?
G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em and F♯°. As seventh chords: Gmaj7, Am7, Bm7, Cmaj7, D7, Em7 and F♯m7♭5. The G major scale has one sharp, F♯.
What are the chords in A minor?
In natural minor: Am, B°, C, Dm, Em, F and G, the same chords as C major. In practice, the dominant is usually E or E7, borrowed from harmonic minor.
How do I find the chords in any key?
Write out the scale of the key and apply the pattern. Major: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°. Natural minor: i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI, VII. The tables on this page list all 12 keys.
What is the difference between a triad and a seventh chord?
A triad has three notes (root, third and fifth), like C. A seventh chord adds the seventh, like Cmaj7 or G7, and sounds fuller; it is common in jazz, soul, bossa nova and samba.
What are tonic, subdominant and dominant?
They are the functions of the chords in a key. The tonic is home (I, iii, vi), the subdominant prepares (ii, IV) and the dominant creates the tension that pulls back to the tonic (V, vii°).