Here is a quick guide to chords in the key of C major.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
| Major | Minor | Minor | Major | Major | Minor | Dim |
| I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | viiº |
| C | Dm | Em | F | G | Am | Bº |
The notes of an C major scale are:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
| C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
Major Scale Formula
The scale notes above follow the 'major' scale formula of 'steps':
WHOLE – WHOLE – HALF – WHOLE – WHOLE – WHOLE – HALF
Or 'tones':
TONE – TONE – SEMITONE – TONE – TONE – TONE – SEMITONE
Or even frets:
Two Frets – Two Frets – One Fret – Two Frets – Two Frets – Two Frets – One Fret
Which gives us the following interval relationships from the tonic (1st note):
- Unison
- Major 2nd
- Major 3rd
- Perfect 4th
- Perfect 5th
- Major 6th
- Major 7th
- Octave
All the chords in the key of C major are made up of notes from the C major scale.
The notes of each chord in C major
| Chord Name | 1st | 3rd | 5th |
| C major | C | E | G |
| D minor | D | F | A |
| E minor | E | G | B |
| F major | F | A | C |
| G major | G | B | D |
| A minor | A | C | E |
| B diminished | B | D | F |
The relative minor scale of C major is A minor, which comes from the 6th note of the C major scale.
