Julie Swihart

Major Key Chords

Let’s find all the piano chords that belong to the key of C major. Once you know the chords that belong to a particular key, you can use those chords to create chord progressions and play creatively in that key!

How to Find the Chords for C Major

To find the chords that belong to the key of C major, we’ll first build a C major scale (learn how to build a C major scale here).

Here are the notes of the C major scale:

C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

Now we’ll start building a chord off each note of the scale, using the notes of the scale to build the chord.

Starting on C, we’ll count “1 – 3 – 5”, counting up through the notes of the C major scale. This will give us our first chord in the key of C major: C – E – G

To find our next chord, we’ll start on D and count “1 – 3 – 5”, counting up through the notes of the C major scale. This gives us our second chord: D – F – A

Next, we’ll start on E and count “1 – 3 – 5”, counting up through the notes of the C major scale. This will give us our third chord: E – G – B

We can continue following this pattern, building a “1-3-5” chord (also called a triad) off each note of the C major scale, using the notes of the scale to build the chords.

Chords for Major Keys Printable

This 20-page PDF will help you learn the chords for every major key! Use these chords to build chord progressions and play creatively.

Get the Printable

Chords for the Key of C Major

Here are the chords for the key of C major:

C – E – G = C major chord

D – F – A = D minor chord

E – G – B = E minor chord

F – A – C = F major chord

G – B – D = G major chord

A – C – E = A minor chord

B – D – F = B diminished chord

Other Major Key Chords

You can find chords for the other major keys below:

G Major Chords
D Major Chords
A Major Chords
E Major Chords
B Major Chords
F Sharp Major Chords
C Sharp Major Chords
F Major Chords
B Flat Major Chords
E Flat Major Chords
A Flat Major Chords
D Flat Major Chords
G Flat Major Chords
C Flat Major Chords

How Do We Label the Chords?

You may be wondering how we can tell if a chord is major, minor or diminished. Good question! It all depends on the intervals (learn about piano intervals here).

There are four types of “1-3-5” chords, or triads:
Major
Minor
Augmented
Diminished

A major chord is built using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale.

A minor chord is a major chord with the middle note lowered 1/2 step.

An augmented chord is a major chord with the upper note raised 1/2 step.

A diminished chord is a minor chord with the upper note lowered 1/2 step.

When we build a triad off each note of a major scale, using the notes of the scale to build the chord, we’ll always come up with these chords in this order:

Major
Minor
Minor
Major
Major
Minor
Diminished

We can use this pattern to find the chords for any major key!

Primary Chords for C Major

Each major key has three “primary” chords. Primary chords are the chords used most often in that key, and they’re built off the first, fourth and fifth notes of the scale.

For the key of C major, the three primary chords are:

C major
F major
G major

These three chords will be the foundation of most chord progressions in the key of C major. You can learn more about chord progressions here.

Conclusion

Now you know how to find the chords for the key of C major, and you can use those chords to build chord progressions in the key of C!

Enjoy the music!