Chords in every key
Pick a key to see its seven chords with Roman numerals, its scale and signature, and the progressions that sound good in it.
Major keys
- C major0C Dm Em F G Am—
- G major1♯G Am Bm C D EmF♯
- D major2♯D Em F♯m G A BmF♯ C♯
- A major3♯A Bm C♯m D E F♯mF♯ C♯ G♯
- E major4♯E F♯m G♯m A B C♯mF♯ C♯ G♯ D♯
- B major5♯B C♯m D♯m E F♯ G♯mF♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯
- F sharp major6♯F♯ G♯m A♯m B C♯ D♯mF♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯
- D flat major5♭D♭ E♭m Fm G♭ A♭ B♭mB♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭
- A flat major4♭A♭ B♭m Cm D♭ E♭ FmB♭ E♭ A♭ D♭
- E flat major3♭E♭ Fm Gm A♭ B♭ CmB♭ E♭ A♭
- B flat major2♭B♭ Cm Dm E♭ F GmB♭ E♭
- F major1♭F Gm Am B♭ C DmB♭
Minor keys
- A minor0Am C Dm Em F G—
- E minor1♯Em G Am Bm C DF♯
- B minor2♯Bm D Em F♯m G AF♯ C♯
- F sharp minor3♯F♯m A Bm C♯m D EF♯ C♯ G♯
- C sharp minor4♯C♯m E F♯m G♯m A BF♯ C♯ G♯ D♯
- G sharp minor5♯G♯m B C♯m D♯m E F♯F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯
- E flat minor6♭E♭m G♭ A♭m B♭m C♭ D♭B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭
- B flat minor5♭B♭m D♭ E♭m Fm G♭ A♭B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭
- F minor4♭Fm A♭ B♭m Cm D♭ E♭B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭
- C minor3♭Cm E♭ Fm Gm A♭ B♭B♭ E♭ A♭
- G minor2♭Gm B♭ Cm Dm E♭ FB♭ E♭
- D minor1♭Dm F Gm Am B♭ CB♭
What is a key?
A key is the home a piece of music returns to: one note that feels like the resting place, and the scale of seven notes built on it. The chords that use only those seven notes are the chords of the key, and they are the ones that sound natural together. Knowing them lets you guess the next chord, transpose to suit a singer and write your own progressions.
How to find the key of a piece
Look at the first and the last chord: most pieces start and end on the home chord. Then compare the other chords with the lists on the key pages; the key whose chords match best is the one you are in. The key signature at the start of written music narrows it to two choices, a major key and its relative minor.
Relative major and minor
Every major key shares its notes and its signature with a minor key, its relative minor, which starts on the sixth note of the major scale. C major and A minor both use the white keys only. That is why one signature always stands for two keys, and why music slips so easily between the two.
Why the keys are in this order
The keys above follow the circle of fifths: each one starts a fifth above the last and gains one sharp, or loses one flat. Keys next to each other share six of their seven notes, which is why moving between them sounds smooth.