Chords in Every Key
The seven chords of every major and minor key in one chart, in circle-of-fifths order, with each key's signature and relative key. Open a key for its 7th chords, piano diagram and progressions.
A key is the set of seven chords built on the notes of one scale. C major, for example, is C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B°. The chart lists all seven for each of the 30 keys musicians actually write in, sorted by how many sharps or flats they carry.
- Common keys
- 30
- Theoretical keys
- 12
- Chords per key
- 7
- Signatures
- 0–7 ♯/♭
Diatonic chord chart: major keys
Every major key follows the same pattern: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. Only the letters change.
| Key | Signature | I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Major | 0 | C | Dm | Em | F | G | Am | B° | A Natural Minor |
| G Major | 1♯ | G | Am | Bm | C | D | Em | F♯° | E Natural Minor |
| D Major | 2♯ | D | Em | F♯m | G | A | Bm | C♯° | B Natural Minor |
| A Major | 3♯ | A | Bm | C♯m | D | E | F♯m | G♯° | F♯ Natural Minor |
| E Major | 4♯ | E | F♯m | G♯m | A | B | C♯m | D♯° | C♯ Natural Minor |
| B Major | 5♯ | B | C♯m | D♯m | E | F♯ | G♯m | A♯° | G♯ Natural Minor |
| F♯ Major | 6♯ | F♯ | G♯m | A♯m | B | C♯ | D♯m | E♯° | D♯ Natural Minor |
| C♯ Major | 7♯ | C♯ | D♯m | E♯m | F♯ | G♯ | A♯m | B♯° | A♯ Natural Minor |
| F Major | 1♭ | F | Gm | Am | B♭ | C | Dm | E° | D Natural Minor |
| B♭ Major | 2♭ | B♭ | Cm | Dm | E♭ | F | Gm | A° | G Natural Minor |
| E♭ Major | 3♭ | E♭ | Fm | Gm | A♭ | B♭ | Cm | D° | C Natural Minor |
| A♭ Major | 4♭ | A♭ | B♭m | Cm | D♭ | E♭ | Fm | G° | F Natural Minor |
| D♭ Major | 5♭ | D♭ | E♭m | Fm | G♭ | A♭ | B♭m | C° | B♭ Natural Minor |
| G♭ Major | 6♭ | G♭ | A♭m | B♭m | C♭ | D♭ | E♭m | F° | E♭ Natural Minor |
| C♭ Major | 7♭ | C♭ | D♭m | E♭m | F♭ | G♭ | A♭m | B♭° | A♭ Natural Minor |
Diatonic chord chart: minor keys
Natural minor keys shift that pattern: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major. Each shares its notes with the major key a minor third up.
| Key | Signature | i | ii° | III | iv | v | VI | VII | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Natural Minor | 0 | Am | B° | C | Dm | Em | F | G | C Major |
| E Natural Minor | 1♯ | Em | F♯° | G | Am | Bm | C | D | G Major |
| B Natural Minor | 2♯ | Bm | C♯° | D | Em | F♯m | G | A | D Major |
| F♯ Natural Minor | 3♯ | F♯m | G♯° | A | Bm | C♯m | D | E | A Major |
| C♯ Natural Minor | 4♯ | C♯m | D♯° | E | F♯m | G♯m | A | B | E Major |
| G♯ Natural Minor | 5♯ | G♯m | A♯° | B | C♯m | D♯m | E | F♯ | B Major |
| D♯ Natural Minor | 6♯ | D♯m | E♯° | F♯ | G♯m | A♯m | B | C♯ | F♯ Major |
| A♯ Natural Minor | 7♯ | A♯m | B♯° | C♯ | D♯m | E♯m | F♯ | G♯ | C♯ Major |
| D Natural Minor | 1♭ | Dm | E° | F | Gm | Am | B♭ | C | F Major |
| G Natural Minor | 2♭ | Gm | A° | B♭ | Cm | Dm | E♭ | F | B♭ Major |
| C Natural Minor | 3♭ | Cm | D° | E♭ | Fm | Gm | A♭ | B♭ | E♭ Major |
| F Natural Minor | 4♭ | Fm | G° | A♭ | B♭m | Cm | D♭ | E♭ | A♭ Major |
| B♭ Natural Minor | 5♭ | B♭m | C° | D♭ | E♭m | Fm | G♭ | A♭ | D♭ Major |
| E♭ Natural Minor | 6♭ | E♭m | F° | G♭ | A♭m | B♭m | C♭ | D♭ | G♭ Major |
| A♭ Natural Minor | 7♭ | A♭m | B♭° | C♭ | D♭m | E♭m | F♭ | G♭ | C♭ Major |
Theoretical keys
These keys need eight or more sharps or flats, so their signatures only work with double sharps or double flats. Music written in them is almost always renotated in the enharmonic key, shown beside each one.
- G♯ Majorwritten as A♭ Major8♯
- E♯ Natural Minorwritten as F Natural Minor8♯
- D♯ Majorwritten as E♭ Major9♯
- B♯ Natural Minorwritten as C Natural Minor9♯
- A♯ Majorwritten as B♭ Major10♯
- E♯ Majorwritten as F Major11♯
- B♯ Majorwritten as C Major12♯
- F♭ Majorwritten as E Major8♭
- D♭ Natural Minorwritten as C♯ Natural Minor8♭
- G♭ Natural Minorwritten as F♯ Natural Minor9♭
- C♭ Natural Minorwritten as B Natural Minor10♭
- F♭ Natural Minorwritten as E Natural Minor11♭
Questions people ask
- What are diatonic chords?
- Diatonic chords use only the notes of one key's scale. Build a triad on each of the seven scale degrees and you get the seven chords of that key: in C major that's C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B°.
- How many keys are there in music?
- 30 are in common use, 15 major and 15 minor. Three keys in each mode have two spellings, like C♯ major and D♭ major. The other 12 are theoretical spellings that need double sharps or double flats.
- Which keys have no sharps or flats?
- Only C major and its relative, A minor. Every other key adds sharps (moving clockwise round the circle of fifths) or flats (moving the other way), up to seven.
- Is the chord pattern the same in every key?
- Yes. Every major key runs I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii° and every natural minor key runs i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI, VII. Learn the pattern once and you can work out the chords of any key.