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4.1 · Chords of the Key

A chord on every step

Take the C major scale and build a triad on every rung. Root, skip, skip, using only scale notes. Seven rungs, seven chords, and every one of them belongs to the key. These are the diatonic chords: the home team of C major.

One scale in, seven chords out

The major scale, then a chord built on each of its steps.

The seven chords of C major

Uppercase numerals are major, lowercase are minor, and ° marks the diminished odd one out. The dashed card is I again, an octave up: like the scale, the ladder of chords closes where it started.

Quiz

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Where do the seven diatonic chords come from?

Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson.Chords from the scale →