How to use it
- Choose a key. Pick any of the 12 major or 12 minor keys. The key signature, the scale and the relative key appear at the top.
- Read the chords. Each row is one of the 7 chords of the key with its Roman numeral, Nashville number and function (tonic, predominant, dominant).
- Switch to 7th chords. Press 7th chords to see Cmaj7, Dm7, G7 and so on: the sound of jazz, soul and many ballads.
- Play and move. Press a chord or a progression to hear it, or Transpose to open it in the chord transposer and move it to any key.
Chords and scales: how the chords of a key are built
The chords of a key come from its scale. Start on any note of the scale, skip one, take the next, skip one and take the next: in C major that gives C–E–G (C), D–F–A (Dm), E–G–B (Em) and so on. Because every note of these chords is in the scale, the same scale can be used for melodies and solos over all of them.
Every major key follows the same pattern of whole and half steps (W W H W W W H), so every major key has the same pattern of chords: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. In C major:
| Step | I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chord | C | Dm | Em | F | G | Am | B° |
| 7th chord | Cmaj7 | Dm7 | Em7 | Fmaj7 | G7 | Am7 | Bm7♭5 |
Minor keys start from the 6th step of their relative major, so the pattern starts in a different place: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major. A minor has the same chords as C major:
| Step | i | ii° | III | iv | v | VI | VII | V |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chord | Am | B° | C | Dm | Em | F | G | E |
The last column is the major V chord that minor keys often use instead of the minor v. It comes from the harmonic minor scale, which raises the 7th note of the minor scale (G♯ instead of G in A minor).
Chords in every key
Open a key for its scale and chords with guitar diagrams, the easiest capo for it, progressions and its neighbouring keys.
| Major key | Chords |
|---|---|
| C major | C Dm Em F G Am B° |
| D♭ major | D♭ E♭m Fm G♭ A♭ B♭m C° |
| D major | D Em F♯m G A Bm C♯° |
| E♭ major | E♭ Fm Gm A♭ B♭ Cm D° |
| E major | E F♯m G♯m A B C♯m D♯° |
| F major | F Gm Am B♭ C Dm E° |
| F♯ major | F♯ G♯m A♯m B C♯ D♯m E♯° |
| G major | G Am Bm C D Em F♯° |
| A♭ major | A♭ B♭m Cm D♭ E♭ Fm G° |
| A major | A Bm C♯m D E F♯m G♯° |
| B♭ major | B♭ Cm Dm E♭ F Gm A° |
| B major | B C♯m D♯m E F♯ G♯m A♯° |
| Minor key | Chords | V |
|---|---|---|
| Cm (C minor) | Cm D° E♭ Fm Gm A♭ B♭ | G |
| C♯m (C♯ minor) | C♯m D♯° E F♯m G♯m A B | G♯ |
| Dm (D minor) | Dm E° F Gm Am B♭ C | A |
| D♯m (D♯ minor) | D♯m E♯° F♯ G♯m A♯m B C♯ | A♯ |
| Em (E minor) | Em F♯° G Am Bm C D | B |
| Fm (F minor) | Fm G° A♭ B♭m Cm D♭ E♭ | C |
| F♯m (F♯ minor) | F♯m G♯° A Bm C♯m D E | C♯ |
| Gm (G minor) | Gm A° B♭ Cm Dm E♭ F | D |
| G♯m (G♯ minor) | G♯m A♯° B C♯m D♯m E F♯ | D♯ |
| Am (A minor) | Am B° C Dm Em F G | E |
| B♭m (B♭ minor) | B♭m C° D♭ E♭m Fm G♭ A♭ | F |
| Bm (B minor) | Bm C♯° D Em F♯m G A | F♯ |
Tips
Write a song with the chords of one key
Pick a key that suits your voice, then use I, IV, V and vi for most of the song. Add ii or iii for variety, and save the diminished chord for a passing moment.
Find the key of a song
If you have the chords but not the key, the key finder compares them with every key and tells you the most likely one.
Guitar-friendly keys
C, G, D, A and E major (and A, E and D minor) have the most open chords on guitar. For other keys, each key page shows the easiest capo position.