C major the chords in the key
- Scale
- C D E F G A B
- Key signature
- no sharps or flats
- Relative minor
- A minor
The seven chords
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Cmaj7 | C E G B | |
| ii7 | Dm7 | D F A C | |
| iii7 | Em7 | E G B D | |
| IVmaj7 | Fmaj7 | F A C E | |
| V7 | G7 | G B D F | |
| vi7 | Am7 | A C E G | |
| viiø7 | Bm7b5 | B D F A |
Common progressions in C major
- I–V–vi–IV the four-chord pop loop
- I–IV–V three-chord rock, folk and country
- ii–V–I the jazz cadence, in sevenths
- vi–IV–I–V the same four chords starting on the minor one
- 12-bar blues one chord per bar; every chord a dominant 7, which the major scale alone does not give
On guitar
Capo 5. With a capo on fret 5, play the open shapes G for C, C for F, D for G, Em for Am: they sound as the I, IV, V and vi (C, F, G and Am).
How the chords of C major work
C major uses the notes C D E F G A B, no sharps or flats. Stack every other note of that scale on each degree and you get the seven chords above: three major (C, F and G: I, IV and V), three minor (Dm, Em and Am: ii, iii and vi) and one diminished (Bdim, vii°). Most songs in C lean on C, F and G, with Am as the fourth chord.
The V7, G7 (G B D F), is the chord that sounds like it wants to come home: its B rises a semitone to C and its F falls a semitone to E. A song that ends G7 to C is almost certainly in C major.
Am is also the home chord of A minor, the relative minor: it uses exactly the same seven notes and the same seven chords. So a chord list from this page can be in either key; it is usually in the one whose home chord it starts or ends on.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative minor, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.