Every major key comes with a family of seven chords. To find them, build a triad on each note of the scale using only notes from that scale: take a note, skip one, take one, skip one, take one.
In C major (C D E F G A B) that gives:
| Degree | Notes | Chord |
|---|---|---|
| I | C E G | C major |
| ii | D F A | D minor |
| iii | E G B | E minor |
| IV | F A C | F major |
| V | G B D | G major |
| vi | A C E | A minor |
| vii | B D F | B diminished |
The pattern major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished is the same in every major key. Learn it once and you know the chords of all twelve keys. Roman numerals are uppercase for major, lowercase for minor.
The exercises
The first three use root-position triads on the top three strings, climbing the scale from fret 3 to fret 17; the last one plays the same chords on the A, D and G strings. The shape changes with the chord quality: listen for the bright major chords, the darker minors and the tense diminished chord on B.
The common mistake is playing an F# or a Bb by habit. Every note is from C major: no sharps, no flats. Pick each chord slowly first and name it aloud, then strum the scale up and down.