music theory 101 – basic major scales and chords

Basic major scales: I ii iii IV V vi vii VIII/I

C 0 sharps/0 flats C D E F G A B C
D 2 sharps/0 flats D E F# G A B C# D
E 4 sharps/0 flats E F# G# A B C# D# E
F 0 sharps/1 flat F G A Bb C D E F
G 1 sharp/0 flats G A B C D E F# G
A 3 sharps/0 flats A B C# D E F# G# A
B 5 sharps/0 flats B C# D# E F# G# A# B

Example Key: C If a song is in the key of C it will use only those chords that start on a note in the C
scale. For example, there will not be a D# chord, because there is no D# in the key of
C.

Chords
CAPITAL roman numerals indicate that major chords will be played on those notes. Lower case roman
numerals indicate minor chords.

Example Key: C If a song is in the key of C, all of the C, F and G chords will be major; the rest will be
minor (represented on a lead sheet by a lower-case “m.”)

Common/Complimentary Chords
The most popular chords for any song in a major key will be I, IV and V. Most will incorporate the minor
chords too, the most popular usually being vi.

Why it helps to know that: If you need to identify what key a song is in, scan the chord sheet for major
chords represented by two consecutive letters. Those will be the IV (“fourth)
and V (“fifth”) of the key signature, which will help you identify the I
(“root”) and the key.

For example, if your song has D, Em, G, C, and Am you would identify C and
D as two consecutive, major chords. That makes C the fourth, and D the
fifth. You have determined that the song is in the key of G.

If you are arranging a set list, and you want two or more songs to flow
together nicely, it’s easiest to pick songs that are in the same key. If this is not
possible, however, your next best bet is to pick songs in complimentary keys.

For example, if you have one song in the key of E and can’t find another song
in E that will work well after it, you should check for songs in A next
(because E is the fifth in the key of A). Some of the chords will be the same,
and the change it key signature will not be as disruptive.