The lesson shows you how to construct chords from each degree of the major scale so you can create your own chord progressions and understand why certain chords have particular qualities.
Chords In The Major Key
As bass players, we tend to think of playing just one note at a time and can easily forget to pay attention to the movement and quality of the chords. Knowing what chords are in each key and what notes are available to you in those chords will really improve your playing. Let’s start with the C major scale:
We know that chords are built from stacking thirds and the combination of 3rds we use determines the type of chord. A C major is a major 3rd and then a minor 3rd. A C minor is a minor 3rd and then a major 3rd.
If we take the C major scale and skip every other note so we are left with the 3rds then we get this:
C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C E G = C major
Because we can see that the notes we are left with are the root, 3rd and 5th, we know we have a C major chord. We can use the same scale and formula to work out the next chord.
C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
D F A = D minor
Here, we get D, F and A. D to F is a minor third so we know that this chord must be a D minor. Similarly, if we do this from E then we get an E minor chord.
C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
E G B = E minor
If we apply this process to each scale degree then we end up with a sequence of chords. We refer to these chords by number and they are often written as roman numerals.
Chords of the Major Key
Chord I – Major
Chord II – Minor
Chord III – Minor
Chord IV – Major
Chord V – Major
Chord VI – Minor
Chord VII – Diminished
In the key of C:
Chord I – C Major
Chord II – D Minor
Chord III – E Minor
Chord IV – F Major
Chord V – G Major
Chord VI – A Minor
Chord VII – B Diminished
Steps To Memorising Major Key Chords
- Chords I, IV and V are major
- Chords II, III and VI are minor
- Chord VII is diminished
Major Key Chords Exercise
Starting each chord on the A string, play through the following exercise to get your fingers around each chord in the key of C major.
Now let’s take some simple chord progressions in C:
This opens up a whole load of possibilities for writing music as now you can refer to the different notes in each chord and know that they will always work.
The Study Of Harmony
There is more to creating chord progressions than just picking random chords from within a key and placing them together. We call this subject the study of harmony. Now we know the basic triads within the major key, we can extend the chords to include 7ths. We do this by adding an extra 3rd to the end of the triad. Let’s take the C major scale again and take every other note to get C E G B – a C major 7 chord.
C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C E G B = C major 7
Let’s try from D…
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
D F A C = D minor 7
Just like with the triads, we can build a 7th chord off every scale degree.
Major Key 7th Chords:
Chord I – Major 7
Chord II – Minor 7
Chord III – Minor 7
Chord IV – Major 7
Chord V – 7
Chord VI – Minor 7
Chord VII – minor 7b5
In the key of C:
Chord I – C Major 7
Chord II – D Minor 7
Chord III – E Minor 7
Chord IV – F Major 7
Chord V – G7
Chord VI – A Minor 7
Chord VII – B minor 7b5
As before, try playing every 7th chord arpeggio in C starting on the A string.
Steps To Memorising Major Key 7th Chords
- Chords I and IV are major 7
- Chords II, III and VI are minor 7
- Chord V is dominant
- Chord VII is diminished
Now let’s play through the chord progressions we practised earlier but with the 7ths added.
Thank you so much for all these lessons buddy, they are really great!! :)
Mark,
I want to say thanks for all the work you do as well as ask a question. At the end when you are doing your bass line the notes that are fills are from the seven chords and triads that we went over in the lesson right?
Thanks
Hi there. Yes, the final example uses notes from the 7th chords and triads.
Hi Mark
Am I correct in assuming with all these chord constructions that basically the number of semi tone spaces from the root note in the scale is key to understanding all of this ? From what i can make out a Major 2nd is two semi tones from the root , The first third from the root is four semi tones if it is a major third and if its minor it is three semi tones , the perfect 4th is five semi tones and the perfect 5th seven semi tones , Major seventh is eleven semi tones . So if I consider consider the C major scale starting and the 2nd degree D and work the chords by stacking thirds I get D F A C if add the 7th . If i then count the semi tones to each note from the root I get D to F (Three semi tones) so its minor , If it was major it would need to be 4 semi tones . D to A (Seven semi tones ) this makes it a perfect fifth , if it was eight it would be Augmented or six it would be diminished . D to C ( eleven semitones ) making it a major seventh , if it where ten semitones it would be a minor and twelve you are back at the octave . Am i understanding this correctly ? My other question is if you consider the C Major scale starting with C 8th fret on teh E string , how do you go about constructing a chord by stacking 3rds when you get to the 7th degree B and have run out of strings ?
Cheers
Grant
Hi Mark
I am trying to figure out how you make a F major chord by barring the 13th Fret and I see your fingers on the A note of the G string and the F note on the D string . Your lesson showed that an F major chord is made up of notes F A C so I am confused to how this works ? Would a F major chord not be A on the 14th fret of the G string , F on the 15th fret of the D string and C 15th fret on the A string ? I see you do the same for the G major chord . Can you explain ? Thanks Mark .
Wow… Boom… lightbulb just went on. I feel like a lot of the holes in the Swiss cheese of my musical theory knowledge base just got filled. I am going to go back to the chord construction lesson again and re go over the eight seventh chord types. Holy moly… Why did this take so long to stick in my head.
Thank you so much Mark for your progressive music theory approach. I have been able to read chords from guitarist, and have been playing lines based on ear ok, but this will really open up my playing and give me a lot more confidence to be able to experiment and play a lot more interesting lines without being afraid of going out of key or loosing the groove.
Thanks again!!
Great video but I have one question. Do we disregard the octave when we skip degrees?
Never mind I got it know I am just really tired and i am not paying much attention to what I am doing
When we get to the octave do I count the octave and the tonic as one?
hey man thank you so much for this lesson . much love from Jordan <3
To someone new who has no idea what music is, I cannot really say this was helpful. It seems like you’re jumping all over the place not really explaining where and how numbers come into play with the corresponding notes/ grids. Your grids with the notes seem clustered and confusing. I appreciate you taking the time to “teach” us something within the music world but for future reference may I recommend assuming no one has any idea what you’re talking about and build from there.
Waaauw thank you so much!!! This is so good! you are the best teacher! Unbelievable