guitarchords

Scale degree map

Every chord in a key has a job: it feels like home, it moves away, or it builds tension that wants to resolve. Tap a chord to hear it and see where it wants to go.

  • HomeI iii viStable. Phrases end here.
  • Awayii IVMoves off home without urgency.
  • TensionV vii°Pulls hard back toward I.

The seven chords of C major

tap to hear
Cmajor
common
strongest
where I goes · thicker = stronger pullchords that lead into I

Home chord · Tonic

C major

Home — feels stable, resolved, home

All C voicings

The gravitational center. Everything resolves here.

Where it wants to go

Heard in

  • Arcade Fire — "Wake Up"
  • LCD Soundsystem — "All My Friends"

Play C major on guitar

Start with the plain chord, then colour it.
EADGBe32112345
  • CRoot
  • E3
  • G5

Colour it

dashed = needs a note from outside C major
Base
Colour
Richness
Suspension
CClean, simple, openIn C major

Go further in C major

How phrases end: the moves that create (or deny) resolution.

  • VGIC
    Authentic (V→I)The strongest resolution. Tension → release. The sound of arriving home.
  • IVFIC
    Plagal (IV→I)The "Amen" cadence. Gentler than V→I. Settling rather than snapping.
  • VGviAm
    Deceptive (V→vi)You expect home, you get the relative minor instead. The sound of a twist ending.
  • ICVG
    Half (→V)Ends ON the tension, not after it. The musical cliffhanger. Phrase feels unfinished.