2. Building a Chord on Each Scale Degree
A basic chord (a triad) is three notes stacked in thirds — skip a letter name, land, skip again, land. Starting from C: skip D, land on E; skip F, land on G. So the “1 chord” in C is C–E–G.
Do the same “skip one, land” move starting on each of the 7 scale-degree notes, staying only inside the 7 notes of the key (no sharps/flats added):
| Degree | Root | Triad | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | C major | C – E – G |
| 2 | D | D minor | D – F – A |
| 3 | E | E minor | E – G – B |
| 4 | F | F major | F – A – C |
| 5 | G | G major | G – B – D |
| 6 | A | A minor | A – C – E |
| 7 | B | B diminished | B – D – F |
Because you’re forced to stay inside the key’s 7 notes, the gap between the stacked notes isn’t always the same size — sometimes it’s a bigger gap (major 3rd) and sometimes smaller (minor 3rd). That’s what automatically produces the mix of major, minor, and diminished chords — it’s not arbitrary, and it’s not something you choose.
The quality pattern is always the same, in every major key:
major – minor – minor – major – major – minor – diminished
Try it: play each of the 7 triads above, root position, one per hand-shape, ascending up the keyboard.