You may wonder how musicians choose chords that work well together in songs, well that is because each scale contains notes that can make up a variety of chords that sound great together. Let’s have a look at the formula for finding basic chord families.
Let’s stick to the C major scale to figure out what chords we can find in it. All you need to do is use the interval steps as 1 – 3 – 5 formulae for the C major chord, but shift them along each scale degree. Here’s what other chords work well in the key of C major, or A minor:
Let’s stick to the C major scale to figure out what chords we can find in it. All you need to do is use the interval steps as 1 – 3 – 5 formulae for the C major chord, but shift them along each scale degree. Here’s what other chords work well in the key of C major, or A minor:
= D minor chord |
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= E minor chord |
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= F major chord |
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= G major chord |
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= A minor chord |
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= B minor 5b chord The Bmb5 is rarely used or often replaced with a diminished or diminished 7th chord. |
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A simple way to remember this formula is by using the symbol, [^] for all major chords, and a [-] for all minor chord root notes as illustrated below. These chords can be extended to 7ths, major 7ths and minor 7ths using the same chord formulas as earlier.
This is a great formula for avid song writers just starting out and wondering what chords to use to compose songs. This formula can be applied to any key. The next module will provide some examples of songs written with chord progressions using this formula.