Chords in the Key of C Major

What are the chords in C major?

Take the C major scale — C D E F G A B — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• C — I, major, built on C
• Dm — ii, minor, built on D
• Em — iii, minor, built on E
• F — IV, major, built on F
• G — V, major, built on G
• Am — vi, minor, built on A
• Bdim — vii°, diminished, built on B

The pattern of qualities is the same in every major key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

C, F and G — the I, IV and V — carry most songs in C major. Add Am (the vi, the relative minor) and you have the four chords behind a large share of popular music.

• Pop Anthem — 1–5–6m–4 — C – G – Am – F. Heard in Let It Be (verse), Don't Stop Believin'.
• Rock / Country / Blues Backbone — 1–4–5 — C – F – G. Heard in Wild Thing, Twist and Shout.
• 50s / Doo-Wop — 1–6m–4–5 — C – Am – F – G. Heard in Stand By Me, Earth Angel.
• Rhythm Changes Turnaround — 1–6m–2m–5 — C – Am – Dm – G. Heard in I Got Rhythm, Heart and Soul (original).

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of C major: Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, Bm7♭5. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The V as a dominant seventh (G7) is the one that pulls hardest back to C.

C major and A minor share every chord

A minor uses the same seven notes as C major, so it has the same seven chords — the relative minor. What changes is which chord is home: C in C major, Am in A minor. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of A minor, with their own numerals
• The C major scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of C major

1. Play C – F – G – C slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of C major fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.