Topmusicanswers
- How are chords related to keys?
- Can you use chords outside of key?
- Do chords have to be in key?
- Are all chords the same key?
How are chords related to keys?
Figuring out the chords in a key is simply a matter of stacking 3rds on each of the seven notes of the Major scale, to produce seven chords. Let's take the C Major scale for example. If we stack thirds on top of C, we get the notes C, E and G. This is basically what we did before, when producing the C Major triad.
Can you use chords outside of key?
Your chord progression can safely venture out of its scale by adding a non-diatonic chord, which is a chord that contains one or more notes from outside that scale, as long as that non-diatonic chord still contains at least one note from that scale.
Do chords have to be in key?
Chords can be "in key", but have a note or two from a different scale - such as secondary chords or borrowed chords, which don't necessarily disrupt the overall sense of a key. Chords all harmonized from the same scale have a sense of "family group" about them, and tend to sound OK in any order.
Are all chords the same key?
In your average chord progression, most of the time all of the notes will stay in the scale that correlates with the key of your song. If the song is in G major, your chords will contain notes that are found in that scale- G major, C major, D major, E minor, A minor, B minor.
