Playing triad chords in keys.
Making them sound like songs.
I recently had a lesson with one of my newer students. He told me that after perusing my latest article on…
…he said that it was rather intimidating to see that many chords. I thought about it, and he was absolutely right. As a beginner-intermediate guitar player, I'm sure that seeing dozens and dozens of chords would be a bit overwhelming for anybody trying to expand their chord vocabulary. I think I've come up with a solution.
We must learn, know and understand "keys" in music.
There are twelve keys that guitarists normally use. Each key is a group of seven notes - the first seven letters of the alphabet, to be more precise. Every key must have one form of each of these seven notes. This means that every key will have one version or another of the: A, B, C, D, E, F and G notes. Some will be natural notes (no sharps or flats), and some will be sharped or flatted, depending on the key that they are in.
The key of "C" major is all seven natural notes - no sharps or flats in the key. The next eleven keys will have at least one sharp or one flat, depending on which key is being used. You will not have both sharps and flats in the same key. The key of "G" major is exactly the same as the key of "C" major, except for one note - the F become F# in the key of "G" major. The key of "F" major is also exactly the same as the key of "C" major, except for the B becoming Bb in the key of "F" major. You can learn more about this by studying my article on the "Circle of 5th's".
Chords and Roman Numerals
The key of "C" major has the following triad (three notes) chords available in its key. Each chord also had its own Roman Numeral placement in its key. You will notice that the minor chords now use lower case Roman Numerals.
C major = I
D minor = ii
E minor = iii
F major = IV
G major = V
A minor = vi
B diminished = vii°
[The ° sign means diminished. The diminished triad chord can be thought of as a minor chord with a flatted-fifth in the structure].
If we put these Roman numerals to use and create a common chord progression, it will look like this:
I - V - vi - IV
The chords played in the progression will be:
C - G - Am - F
This progression can move any of the chords around in any order, and it will still sound good. For example:
I - IV - vi - V (C - F - Am - G)
IV - I - V - vi (F - C - G - Am)
I - V - vi - IV (C - G - Am - F)
You can literally use any of the chords in any key to form any chord progression. You just need to know your chords and their corresponding Roman Numerical placements.
If you think of the song "Let it be" from The Beatles, the key is "C" major and the chord progression is "I - V - vi - IV - I - V - IV - I"
Here are some progressions for you to practice. Apply these progressions to a few different keys by using the chords in the Circle of Fifths.
Play each chord in 4/4 time - four strums per chord/measure. Let's just use the first six chords in the key of "C" major: C, Dm, Em, F, G and Am (I, ii, iii, IV, V and vi). After you've practiced those progressions in "C" major, apply them to the key of "G" major: G, Am, Bm, C, D and Em (I, ii, iii, IV, V and vi). Try combining two or three of the progressions together to form a song.
1) I - vi - V - IV
2) I - ii - IV - V
3) IV - I - vi - V
4) vi - IV - I - V
5) I - IV - ii - V
6) vi - iii - ii - V
7) ii - I - V - vi
8) I - V - I - IV
9) vi - I - V - ii
10) I - iii - ii - V
Remember, you can always add "7th's" to any of these chords and they will sound even better than simple triads. Find lots of examples of 7th chords here:
Also, try other keys like the key of "D" major, "A" major, "E" major and "F" major. Build your chord vocabulary and apply these chords to progressions that sound like songs.