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Chords of Keys: C Major/A Minor Example
The "chords of a key" are based on the notes of the scale for the key. For example, the key of C major/A minor has 7 chords, each built on a different note of the C major scale. Three are major chords, three are minor chords, and one is a diminished chord (see Table 39 above).
Why “C Major/A Minor” in the title of Table 39? Because in harmony, the major and relative minor keys are so intimately related that they share the same “harmonic scale,” sometimes called the scale of harmonic degrees, as you’ll see shortly.
You’ll note that, of the seven triads in Table 39 above:
- Three are major chords (major triads)
- Three are minor chords (minor triads)
- One is a diminished chord (diminished triad)
For example, the notes that make up the chord with root C consist of an interval of a major third (C – E) on the bottom and a minor third on top (E – G). So it’s the C major chord (C, E, G).
The notes that make up the chord with root D consist of a an interval of a minor third (D – F) on the bottom and a major third on top (F – A). So it’s the D minor chord (D, F, A). And so on.
Now it’s becoming clearer how chords add a “third dimension,” a sense of depth and color to music.