In any song or piece of music, there are chords within the structure of diatonic harmony that are used more than any other chords within the song.
The Primary chords are the most used chords in a song. They are constructed upon the first, fourth and fifth tones in a Major or minor key of music. This produces the one, four and five chords as the primary chords. In Major keys, the primary chords are Major. In minor keys, they are minor.
Primary chords are a fundamental aspect to harmony. Any given song (or piece of music) contains a series of chords. Even though harmony may seem random for the beginning piano player, there's actually a logical aspect to the chords you hear in a song.
It all starts with something called tonality
Tonality is a sequence of notes (aka tones) in a key of music in which each tone has a specific function within the key.
Even though there are 12 notes in music...
...any given key of music has 7 notes such as the key of C Major.
Without the emphasis of a key of music, any given tone in music is simply random because there is no tonal center to reference it.
In other words, a C is simply a random note without any reference as to what key it is being played in.But if it's in the context of the key of C Major, it serves as the tonal center of that key. It's actually referred to as the tonic in the key of C Major. The tonic is the note that all other tones gravitate to in the key. Think of it as home base. No matter what the tones are in a song, it always wants to resolve to the tonic in the end.
In fact, each one of the 7 tones in a Major key of music has a specific name and function.
Note Names of the Diatonic Scale
Diatonic Scale Degree | Name |
---|---|
1st | Tonic |
2nd | Supertonic |
3rd | Mediant |
4th | SubDominant |
5th | Dominant |
6th | Submediant |
7th | Leading Tone |
In another article, I talked about the power of the number system and how each tone gets it's name. You can read about them here.
Each degree of the scale (or note) in a Major key has a corresponding chord
Since there are 7 notes in a Major key of music, there are 7 chords associated with them. This is also known as diatonic harmony. They are a combination of Major and minor triads with one of them being a diminished triad.
1 Chord C Major
2 Chord D minor3 Chord E minor4 Chord F Major5 Chord G Major6 Chord A minor7 Chord B diminished (the degree symbol denotes it as a diminished chord)
You can see in the following table at a glance what chords fall into Major, minor and diminished categories. These are referred to as chord qualities.
Diatonic Harmony in Major Keys
Diatonic Scale Degree | Chord Quality |
---|---|
1st | Major Triad |
2nd | minor Triad |
3rd | minor Triad |
4th | Major Triad |
5th | Major Triad |
6th | minor Triad |
7th | diminished Triad |
Now that we have all 7 chords in a Major key represented, what are the primary chords in all 12 Major keys?
Note: Upper case roman numerals are used to denote the one, four and five chords respectively. I will also progress around the circle of 5ths in counter clockwise order. If you're not familiar with the Circle of 5ths, here is an article on the Circle of 5ths that will help you understand it visually.
The Primary chords in all 12 Major keys
Key of C Major
I C Major Triad
IV F Major Triad
V Major Triad
Key of F Major
I F Major Triad
IV B Flat Major Triad
V C Major Triad
Key of B Flat Major
I B Flat Major Triad
IV E flat Major Triad
V F Major Triad
Key of E Flat Major
I E flat Major Triad
IV A flat Major Triad
V B flat Major Triad
Key of A Flat Major
I A flat Major Triad
IV D flat Major Triad
V E flat Major Triad
Key of D Flat Major
I D flat Major Triad
IV G flat Major Triad
V A flat Major Triad
Key of G Flat Major
I G flat Major Triad
IV C flat Major Triad
V D flat Major Triad
Key of B Major
I B Major Triad
IV E Major Triad
V F sharp Major Triad
Key of E Major
I E Major Triad
IV A Major Triad
V B Major Triad
Key of A Major
I A Major Triad
IV D Major Triad
V E Major Triad
Key of D Major
I D Major Triad
IV G Major Triad
V A Major Triad
Key of G Major
I G Major TriadIV C Major Triad
V D Major Triad
Primary chords in all 12 minor keys
The key of A minor is the relative minor key of C Major. This essentially means that they share the same exact tones but are in a different number sequence.In the case of the A minor key, A is the tonic. This makes A the tonal center (or tonic) of the key.The 7 notes in a minor key of music have 7 corresponding chords associated with them. They are a combination of Major and minor triads with one of them being a diminished triad.
i A minor Triadii B diminished Triad
III C Major Triad
iv D minor Triad
v E minor Triad
VI F Major Triad
VII G Major Triad
The following table shows what chords fall into Major, minor and diminished categories in a minor key. These are chord qualities in minor keys.
Diatonic Harmony in minor Keys
Diatonic Scale Degree | Chord Quality |
---|---|
1st | minor Triad |
2nd | diminished Triad |
3rd | Major Triad |
4th | minor Triad |
5th | minor Triad |
6th | Major Triad |
7th | Major Triad |
Just as with Major keys of music, minor keys have their primary chords as well and are constructed upon the first, fourth and fifth tones.
The Primary Chords in Natural Minor keys
Note: Lower case roman numerals are used to denote the one, four and five chords respectively.
Key of A Minor
i A minor Triad
iv D minor Triad
v E minor Triad
Key of D Minor
i D minor Triad
iv G minor Triad
v A minor Triad
Key of G Minor
i G minor Triad
iv C minor Triad
v D minor Triad
Key of C Minor
i C minor Triad
iv F minor Triad
v G minor Triad
Key of F Minor
i F minor Triad
iv B flat minor Triad
v C minor Triad
Key of B flat Minor
i B flat minor Triad
iv E flat minor Triad
v F minor Triad
Key of E flat Minor
i E flat minor Triad
iv A flat minor Triad
v B flat minor Triad
Key of A flat Minor
i A flat minor Triad
iv D flat minor Triad
v E flat minor Triad
Key of D flat Minor
i D flat minor Triad
iv G flat minor Triad
v A flat minor Triad
Key of G flat Minor
i G flat minor Triad
iv C flat minor Triad
v D flat minor Triad
Key of B Minor
i B minor Triad
iv E minor Triad
v F Sharp minor Triad
Key of E Minor
i E minor Triad
iv A minor Triad
v B minor Triad
If you're not as familiar with the primary chords as you should be, take the time to learn and get them under your hands. You'll find that it's not difficult and gets much easier as you progress through them. And I'll add that learning them will reward you as you progress to higher levels of your music journey.
Until next time, Go Play.
Greg Lee
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