Chords are essential components of music composition. From major or minor chords, to triads, 7th chords or diminished versions – chords form the building blocks for every musical composition.
If the melody fits with the chords of C Major, it’s likely in C major. Melodies tend to resolve to their tonic note in terms of key.
I – IV – V – VI – VII – VIII – IX – X – XI – XII – XIII – XIV – XV – XVI – XVII – XVIII – XIX
When it comes to chord building, starting with the major scale is an effective starting point. Knowing which chords are major in each key can assist with writing songs in other keys or transposing to new keys as well as understanding chord progressions and developing your ear as a musician.
To understand what constitutes a major chord, it is crucial to remember that its basis lies in the intervals between notes. On a major scale there are intervals that serve as its building blocks: perfect fifth (between C and E) and an octave ( between G and A). These building blocks form chords; they serve as units which create tonality in music pieces.
I, IV and V chords in a major key are all major chords because they contain intervals related to the tonic note of the scale; specifically the V chord contains its leading tone (ie the relative minor of tonic note) giving a strong upward pull; other major chords include an octave with tonic as well as its minor third for dominant chord.
By using these building blocks to form chords in any key, chords in any key can be constructed; though some will exhibit different qualities than others. A major chord consists of three or more notes stacked together with an interval in between; most common chords include triads, five note chords and seventh chords (which can include seventh-chords); triads consist of any three consecutive notes separated by a third interval while adding an extra major third creates the maj-7 chord and gives it its name).
Diminished chords are another form of chord, made up of any number of notes with flats or sharps to produce non-diatonic tones that give the chord an unnerved sound, often used for creating tension or an ominous feel in songs.
As your understanding of chords and major scale increases, you will become aware that each major key has its own tonality – C major can feel bright and optimistic while A minor feels dark and disquieting. Knowing tonality when writing music will allow you to use chords and melodies which reflect its intended mood.
Does every key feature major and minor chords? Yes, nearly all keys do; this depends on how you define “key”. Certainly every major key features major chords while natural minor keys usually contain major and minor ones as well. Furthermore, you may modulate away from one key by adding or subtracting sharps/flats (known as chromaticism) which allows one to alter its key signature without altering pitch.
An effective method of recognizing chords in any key is examining their relationship to the tonic chord of its scale; in major keys this would include chords I, IV, V; while minor keys use chords iio, viio as tonic chords.