Reggae Melodica: Explanation of Diatonic Chords

In this lesson I will outline the basic theory behind stringing together a chord progression.

All the chords in a diatonic progression are derived from the key in which the music is written. All the chords within one key are related to each other as they are all constructed using the same 7 notes.

Each note of a scale is depicted as a roman numeral and referred to as a scale degree. There are 7 scale degrees to each scale/key and therefore there are 7 diatonic chords in each key, as each scale degree forms the root note for each chord.

In order to distinguish between major and minor chords we use UPPER and lower case letters for the roman numerals. For more information on major and minor see the lesson on forming chords and harmonies.

I	ii	iii	IV	V	vi	vii°
Major	minor	minor	Major	Major	minor	minor°

In the above table we have the pattern of Major and Minor chords which occur when building a simple triad chord on each scale degree. Remember this pattern of Major and minor by heart, as it is very important!

Here are the diatonic chords for two keys please refer to the complete table for all the diatonic chords for all the keys.

	I	ii	iii	IV	V	vi	vii°
Key of C	C	Dm	Em	F	G	Am	B°
Key of A	A	Bm	C#m	D	E	F#m	G#°

Play the chords on your instrument or program them into your sequencer and play them through a synth or sampler. Remembering that to make a chord minor you must flatten the third by a semi-tone. It is important at this stage to hear the chords. The more you hear them the more your ear will become trained to them.

Due to diatonic chords being built using notes of the same key the chord progression feels as if it needs to resolve down to the first degree of the key (the note the key is names after) This is why a lot of chord progressions you will notice end on the one.

When a musician is telling you a chord progression they will probably say something like its one four three (I-IV-iii) in the key of A. If you have learnt the diatonic chords for the A major scale you will know this means A Major – D Major and C#minor.

Here are some common chord progressions used in hundreds of tunes.

Chord progressions often follow a pattern for example here are some Circle progressions

vi - ii - V – I

I - IV - vii^o - iii - vi - ii - V – I

I - V – I

The following are helpful in order to determine the key in which the piece is written.

IV–V–I

The five – one progression is known musically as perfect cadence as is very common in all forms of popular music.

All the chord progressions so far have been based around the major scale. Here are some chord progressions based on minor keys. The tonal centre of the key is still the relative major we are now playing in modes (see the lesson on modes for more information)

We start the key from the 6^th scale degree

vi- ii- iii – vi

This is a minor I – IV – V progression

Try playing these progressions in different rhythms you can change the genre of the track by experimenting with different rhythmical patterens.

Since there are a limited amount chord progressions due to there be only 7 diatonic chords per key. A lot of the same chord progressions have been re used countless times. To add variation musicians can change the key. Musicians and sound engineers also apply effects and process the sound in new ways in order to sound different or original.

Here is a list of all the diatonic chords for each scale

	I	ii	iii	IV	V	vi	vii°
Key of C	C	Dm	Em	F	G	Am	Bm°
Key of G	G	Am	Bm	C	D	Em	F#m°
Key of D	D	Em	F#	G	A	Bm	C#m°
Key of A	A	Bm	C#m	D	E	F#m	G#m°
Key of E	E	F#m	G#m	A	B	C#m	D#m°
Key of B	B	C#m	D#m	E	F#	G#m	A#m°
Key of F	F	Gm	Am	Bb	C	Dm	Em°
Key of Bb	Bb	Cm	Dm	Eb	F	Gm	Am°
Key of Eb	Eb	Fm	Gm	Ab	Bb	Cm	Dm°
Key of Ab	Ab	Bbm	Cm	Db	Eb	Fm	Gm°
Key of Db	Db	Ebm	Fm	Gb	Ab	Bbm	Cm°
Key of Gb	Gb	Abm	Bbm	B	Db	Ebm	Fm°
Key of B	B	Dbm	Ebm	E	Fb	Gbm	Bbm°