Lesson 8 of 10
Major Scale Chord Family / Progression
Which chords belong together in each major key — the foundation of writing and improvising in any key.
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What is a Chord Family?
A chord family (or chord progression) is the group of 7 chords built from each note of a major scale. The pattern is always the same:
- 1st chord (I) — Major
- 2nd chord (ii) — minor
- 3rd chord (iii) — minor
- 4th chord (IV) — Major
- 5th chord (V) — Major
- 6th chord (vi) — minor
- 7th chord (vii) — diminished (written "dim" or "°")
This pattern — Major, minor, minor, Major, Major, minor, diminished — is the same for every major key. Only the chord names change.
Chord Families by Key
Below is every major key with the 7 chords that belong to it. Use this as a reference when learning new songs or writing your own.
| Key | I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Major | C | Dm | Em | F | G | Am | Bdim |
| D Major | D | Em | F#m | G | A | Bm | C#dim |
| E Major | E | F#m | G#m | A | B | C#m | D#dim |
| F Major | F | Gm | Am | A# | C | Dm | Edim |
| G Major | G | Am | Bm | C | D | Em | F#dim |
| A Major | A | Bm | C#m | D | E | F#m | G#dim |
| B Major | B | C#m | D#m | E | F# | G#m | A#dim |
| C# Major | C# | D#m | Fm | F# | G# | A#m | Cdim |
| D# Major | D# | Fm | Gm | G# | A# | Cm | Ddim |
| F# Major | F# | G#m | A#m | B | C# | D#m | Fdim |
| G# Major | G# | A#m | Cm | C# | D# | Fm | Gdim |
| A# Major | A# | Cm | Dm | D# | F | Gm | Adim |
How to Use Chord Families
- Identify a song's key by looking at which chords it uses. If a song uses C, F, G, Am — it's in C Major.
- Improvise solos using the matching major scale. C Major songs → use the C Major scale.
- Write songs by picking any 3–4 chords from one family. The most common pop progression is I – V – vi – IV (in C Major: C – G – Am – F).
- Transpose songs to a different key by swapping each chord with the same position in the new key's family.