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The C Major scale & all C chords

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Pop-up keyboard On this page: Flats, sharps, and key signatures Circle of fifths Scale degrees Tonic, subdominant and dominant chords Chord progressions

Flats, sharps and key signatures Flat (b) means that the key is lowered by a half tone, e.g. Gb is the black key just below G. Sharp (#) means that the key is raised by a half tone, e.g. F# is the black key just above F. Fig. 13. Scale of F      Scale of G Key signature Gb and F# happens to be the same black key, but in the context of a scale, it makes a difference whether it is a raised F or a lowered G. In Fig. 13, the b sign is at the B note position. This means that in this piece of music, Bb should be played whenever the B note appears (indicating scale of F, see below). The # sign is at the F note position, meaning that whenever the F note appears, F# should be played (scale of G). See Fig. 30 for note positions on the ledgers. The numbers indicate the time signature = beats to a measure. The C Major and A minor scales have no flats or sharps (accidentals), i.e. no black keys, but all the other major and minor scales do. All sheet music has a key signature (Fig. 13.) at the beginning, showing the flats or sharps to be used in the piece. This key signature shows which scale the piece is composed in. The circle of fifths shows the key signatures for each of the 12 existing major and minor scales. By learning this, you will know which scale a music piece is composed in when you see a key signature, it will be easier for you to play, transform, and to improvise harmonising chords.

 

Circle of fifths Know it by heart, and it will help you in understanding, performing, and improvising music. The C Major scale and the A minor scale are both on top of the circle, they are exactly the same scales except that CM starts with C while Am starts with A. None of them have accidentals (flats or sharps). The same seven white keys are played but starting from two different positions (the root key). Fig. 14.     How to read it: If you go to the 5th key in the the C Major scale, you will reach G (clockwise on the circle). The G Major scale has one # which is F# (shown on the right). Now you can play the G Major scale. Play seven successive white keys starting with G, except play F# instead of F. The E minor scale is exactly the same 7 keys, except it starts on E instead of G. Now go to the 5th key in the G Major scale and you will reach D. The D Major scale has two sharps, F# and C# (shown on the right). Now you can play the D Major scale. The B minor scale is exactly the same, except that it starts on B instead of D. Again, go to the 5th key in the D Major scale and you will reach A. The A Major scale has three sharps, F#, C# and G#. Now you can play the A Major scale. The F# minor scale is exactly the same, except that it starts on F# instead of A. Continue like this, going to the 5th key in the scale you just played, through all the 12 keys in the octave until you are back in C. The key signatures in Fig. 13 shows a flat B in the first example, which according to the circle of 5th indicates F Major (or D minor) scale, a sharpened F in the second example indicates G Major (or E minor) scale. You can also play chords instead of scales around the circle. Here are examples of chord progressions played around the circle starting from C: Play triads around the circle clockwise (interval of 5): Play 7ths around the circle counterclockwise (interval of 4):

 

Scale degrees Each tone or key in a scale can be identified by a name (C, D, E etc.) or a numbered scale degree. Roman numbers are used for scale degrees, i.e. I-II-III-IV-V-VI-VII correspond to each of the 7 tones in a scale. For example, for the scale of C Major, the numbers correspond to the keys C-D-E-F-G-A-B, where I=C, II=D etc. For the scale of F (F Major) the numbers correspond to F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E, etc. If you play a chord (triad) starting from position I, IV or V, only using the keys belonging to the scale of I, it will be a Major chord. If you play the chord starting from any of the other positions (still only using the keys belonging to the scale of I) it will be a minor chord. Lower case, ii, iii, vi, and vii (or IIm, IIIm, VIm and VIIo), is used for minor chords. However, vii is a diminished chord. IMPORTANT: For any scale: I, IV and V are the principal chords, ii, iii and vi are the relative minors, and vii is diminished. This is illustrated in the following figure. Color code:  Major = principal  minor = relative minor  diminished  Fig. 15. Scale degrees I II III IV V VI VII Scale degree names Tonic Supertonic Mediant Subdominant Dominant Submediant Leading tone Chords I ii iii IV V vi vii° Sound Major minor minor Major Major minor diminished E    X    A    M    P    L    E : Scale degree chords using C scale keys: CEG (= C) DFA (= Dm) EGB (= Em) FAC (= F) GBD (= G) ACE (= Am) BDF (= B°) C I Dm ii Em iii F IV G V Am vi B° vii C I Play:

 

Tonic, subdominant and dominant chords The principal chords, I (tonic), IV (subdominant) and V (dominant), and the relative minors, are the most important chords for chord progression and song formation. To build harmony and suspense, often the following slight variations are used. See and listen to the example in Fig. 16. Fig. 16. Principal chords Relative minors Play the chords: Inversions:     When the tonic is in C then the subdominant and dominant chords are F and G Major. In Fig. 16, I and IV are triads and the dominant (V) is a 7th chord. For the relative minors, VIm and IIm are triads and the mediant (IIIm) is here replaced by the III7 chord. Note that all are next to each other in the circle of 5ths. Note also that a V7 = vii° if the first, of the 4 keys, is skipped. Go to the example of harmonising a song with the I, IV, and V7 chord.

 

Chord progressions often used in song formation. Fig. 17.     The scale degree chords are shown on the inside of the circle as roman numbers. The tonic chord (I) could be in any of the 12 keys in the octave (or circle of 5th). Outside is shown the example where the tonic chord is in C. Red = principal chords, blue = relative minors, and green = diminished, a chord that builds suspense. Hear the chord progression, starting and ending in C, clockwise: Play chords with the left hand: Play chords with the right hand: Fig. 16, and 17 are from Roedy Black's complete keyboard poster site.

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