{"id":4228,"date":"2021-07-06T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=4228"},"modified":"2023-06-22T14:44:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T21:44:09","slug":"diatonic-chords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/diatonic-chords\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Diatonic Chords?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Diatonic chords sound fancy, don\u2019t they? Not really! Diatonic chords are really quite simple. In short, a diatonic chord is a chord made up of notes from a particular scale or key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not sure what that means? We\u2019ll unpack it in detail \ud83d\ude42&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><p><strong>Table of Contents:<\/strong><\/p><nav><ol><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#degrees-of-the-scale\">Degrees of the Scale<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#building-chords\">Building Chords<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#building-chords-on-degrees-of-the-scale\">Building Chords on Degrees of the Scale<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-number-system\">The Number System<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#how-to-use-diatonic-chords\">How to Use Diatonic Chords<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h2 style=\"font-size:22px\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Learn Piano For Free<\/b><\/h2><p>Inspiring tutorials. Fascinating articles. Exclusive interviews. We create piano content anyone, anywhere can enjoy for free. Don&#8217;t miss out, sign up for more free lessons.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"degrees-of-the-scale\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Degrees of the Scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To understand diatonic chords, we must first understand scales and how they relate to keys.\u00a0<br>A <strong>scale<\/strong> is a sequence of notes organized by pitch. Often, a formula or set of rules determines how the notes are ordered. For example, this is the C major scale. The major scale formula is a pattern of whole and half-steps.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18102500\/C-major-scale-whole-half-steps-1024x365.png\" alt=\"C major scale keyboard diagram with whole and half steps labelled\" width=\"512\" height=\"183\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Many songs use notes that come from the same scale. So, you can think of scales as a \u201cbank\u201d of notes from which to make a song. Songs made of notes plucked from the same scale will naturally sound nice. Of course, musicians don\u2019t <em>always <\/em>stick to notes from the same scale, but it\u2019s safe to say that in most popular songs, this is what happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>key<\/strong> of a song is named after the scale it\u2019s based on. For example, the key of C major gets all of its notes from the C major scale. Similarly, the key of D minor gets all of its notes from the D minor scale.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can learn more about keys and scales in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-use-the-circle-of-fifths\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Circle of Fifths<\/a> lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"building-chords\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Building Chords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chords<\/strong> are groups of notes played together. The first chords you\u2019ll learn are three-note chords called <strong>major triads<\/strong> and <strong>minor triads<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"major-triads\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Major Triads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Major triads sound \u201chappy\u201d and they\u2019re made up of a root, third, and fifth. The <strong>root<\/strong> is the note the chord is named after. Count up four half-steps and you\u2019ll get your third. Count up another three half-steps and you\u2019ll get your fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you know your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/interval-ear-training\/\">intervals<\/a>, you can also think of major triads as having a <strong>major third<\/strong> interval and <strong>perfect fifth<\/strong> interval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:25%\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18104203\/C-major-triad-steps-and-intervals-1.png\" alt=\"C major triad keyboard diagram with notes highlighted in red and labelled, half-steps labelled and intervals labelled.\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:25%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"minor-triads\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Minor Triads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Minor triads sound \u201csad\u201d and they\u2019re also named after the root note. Count up three half-steps from the root to get your third, then four half-steps to get your fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also think of minor triads as having a <strong>minor third<\/strong> interval and a perfect fifth interval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:25%\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18104253\/C-minor-triad-steps-and-intervals.png\" alt=\"C minor triad keyboard diagram with notes highlighted in red and labelled, half-steps labelled and intervals labelled.\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:25%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"diminished-triad\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Diminished Triad<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The crunchy <strong>diminished triad<\/strong> is another good triad to know. The distance between the root and the third is three half-steps, as is the distance between the third and the fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The diminished triad has a minor third interval and a <strong>diminished fifth<\/strong> or <strong>augmented fourth<\/strong> interval, also called the <strong>tritone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:25%\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18105059\/Cdim-triad-steps-and-intervals.png\" alt=\"C diminished triad keyboard diagram with notes highlighted in red and labelled, half-steps labelled and intervals labelled.\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:25%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Root position triads (where the root note is at the bottom) are sometimes nicknamed Snowman Chords because they resemble snowmen on the staff. When you play these triads on the piano, you\u2019ll use fingers 1-3-5, which we like to nickname \u201cthe Claw.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"building-chords-on-degrees-of-the-scale\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Building Chords on Degrees of the Scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that we know how to build scales and how to build triads, let\u2019s put these concepts together and build triads <em>on <\/em>notes in the scales. This is what diatonic chords are!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, let\u2019s take C major. Now build a triad on top of each note in C major. You\u2019ll end up with these Snowman Chords:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"132\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18110446\/C-Major-diatonic-chords-no-labels-1-1024x132.png\" alt=\"Diatonic triads in C major on staff.\" class=\"wp-image-13834\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18110446\/C-Major-diatonic-chords-no-labels-1-1024x132.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18110446\/C-Major-diatonic-chords-no-labels-1-300x39.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18110446\/C-Major-diatonic-chords-no-labels-1-768x99.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18110446\/C-Major-diatonic-chords-no-labels-1-1536x198.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18110446\/C-Major-diatonic-chords-no-labels-1-2048x263.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>These are your C major diatonic chords! \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also find these chords on your piano by playing the triad claw shape on every note of the C major scale. Like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<p><video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Diatonic%20Chords\/claw%20diatonic%20triads%20-%20compressed.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:10%\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As you move through the notes of the C major scale, these triads will be either major, minor, or diminished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, in all major keys, certain diatonic chords will always be major, minor, or diminished. For example, the second-to-last diatonic chord in a major scale will always be a diminished one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll go into more detail about this later, but first, let\u2019s quickly run over how to build diatonic triads based on a key with more sharps and flats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-build-diatonic-chords-in-other-keys\" style=\"font-size:28px\">How to Build Diatonic Chords in Other Keys<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the same procedure as C major: go through each degree of the scale and play the triad shape on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only difference is you need to watch out for what notes to sharp or flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you\u2019re working with F major, which has one flat (B), each time you run into B, flat it. Here are all the diatonic chords of F major:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"123\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111550\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-no-labels-1024x123.png\" alt=\"Diatonic major triads in F major on staff.\" class=\"wp-image-13835\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111550\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-no-labels-1024x123.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111550\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-no-labels-300x36.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111550\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-no-labels-768x92.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111550\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-no-labels-1536x184.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111550\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-no-labels.png 2025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-number-system\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>The Number System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The number system and diatonic chords go hand in hand. In the number system, we assign each note in the scale a number. This is called a <strong>scale degree<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"196\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111817\/C-Major-Diatonic-Scale-Notes-1024x196.png\" alt=\"C major scale in whole notes with numbers and note names for every note.\" class=\"wp-image-13836\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111817\/C-Major-Diatonic-Scale-Notes-1024x196.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111817\/C-Major-Diatonic-Scale-Notes-300x57.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111817\/C-Major-Diatonic-Scale-Notes-768x147.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111817\/C-Major-Diatonic-Scale-Notes-1536x294.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18111817\/C-Major-Diatonic-Scale-Notes-2048x392.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Music theorists also have special names for each degree of the scale. You don\u2019t absolutely need to memorize these, but they do make you sound fancy\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Scale Degree<\/th><th>Name<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1<\/td><td>Tonic<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2<\/td><td>Supertonic<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3<\/td><td>Mediant<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4<\/td><td>Subdominant<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5<\/td><td>Dominant<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6<\/td><td>Submediant<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7<\/td><td>Leading Tone<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now let\u2019s go back to our diatonic chords and this time, we\u2019ll use Roman numerals. The advantage of using Roman numerals is you can represent major chords with uppercase letters and minor and diminished chords with lowercase letters. (The superscript \u201c<sup>o<\/sup>\u201d refers to diminished chords.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"172\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112136\/C-Major-Diatonic-chords-roman-numerals-1024x172.png\" alt=\"C major diatonic chords in C major with roman numerals.\" class=\"wp-image-13837\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112136\/C-Major-Diatonic-chords-roman-numerals-1024x172.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112136\/C-Major-Diatonic-chords-roman-numerals-300x51.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112136\/C-Major-Diatonic-chords-roman-numerals-768x129.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112136\/C-Major-Diatonic-chords-roman-numerals-1536x259.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112136\/C-Major-Diatonic-chords-roman-numerals-2048x345.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In all major keys, chords I, IV, and V are always major; chords ii, iii, vi are always minor; and the vii<sup>o<\/sup> is always a diminished chord. You can test this by doing the math for F major:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112428\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-roman-numerals-1024x154.png\" alt=\"F major diatonic chords in F major with roman numerals.\" class=\"wp-image-13840\" width=\"840\" height=\"126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112428\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-roman-numerals-1024x154.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112428\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-roman-numerals-300x45.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112428\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-roman-numerals-768x115.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112428\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-roman-numerals-1536x231.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/18112428\/F-Major-Diatonic-Chords-roman-numerals.png 2025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-use-the-numbering-system\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Why use the number system?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The number system may look more like math than art, but trust us, there\u2019s a reason we use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Numbers allow musicians to seamlessly transpose a song from one key to another. For example, take this chord progression:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>C \u2013 G \u2013 Am \u2013 F<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a common progression in C major, but how do you play this in, say, G major?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, if we visualize each chord as a diatonic chord built on a scale degree\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>I \u2013 V \u2013 vi \u2013 IV<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026we can substitute G major chords based on these numbers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>G \u2013 D \u2013 Em \u2013 C<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>G is the I chord of G Major. D is the V chord of G Major, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-use-diatonic-chords\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>How to Use Diatonic Chords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So\u2026what\u2019s the point to all this theory? Good question!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diatonic chords help you answer this age old question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\"><em>What chords sound good with this song?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you know all the diatonic chords of a key, you\u2019ll know what chords will sound good in that key! This opens up many possibilities for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/chord-theory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chording<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/song-tutorials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">songwriting<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-improvise-on-piano\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">improvising<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing these chords will also give you a head start in figuring out the chords of a song. Say you\u2019re trying to figure out the chords to a song in D major by ear. By writing or playing out all the diatonic chords in D major, you can narrow down which chords will show up in your song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"next-steps\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Next Steps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve demonstrated how to find diatonic chords in C Major and F Major. Now it\u2019s your turn! See if you can find the diatonic chords in these keys: G major, F major, and B-flat major. Then, find a song you\u2019d like to play in one of these keys and see if you can figure out the chords by ear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More chording resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/all-piano-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Play ALL Piano Chords<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chord Theory 101<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-inversions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chord Inversions, Explained<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h2 style=\"font-size:22px\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Your Go-To Place for All Things Piano<\/b><\/h2><p>Subscribe to <i>The Note<\/i> for exclusive interviews, fascinating articles, and inspiring lessons delivered straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Diatonic chords are chords built on top of each degree of the scale. Understanding diatonic chords will help you improvise and play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507],"tags":[1134,1133],"class_list":["post-4228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chord-theory","tag-easy-chords","tag-survey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4228"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14360,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228\/revisions\/14360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}