Possible chords in a given scale

[neoncortex]

Since I've been getting into music production I've studied the very basics of music theory like scales and chords. I figure that to make appealing popular music you don't need to know much more than that. I'm also kind of learning how to play the keyboard by improvising melodies and stuff. Basically I'll just pick a scale and try to play something. It's just difficult to use chords since it takes me some time to think what chords you can play in a given root note in that scale. For example you can't play a C major chord on the C blues scale. I think it would be nice to have a chord checklist for beginners where you can see all the possible chords in any scale. Like a list that shows you all the chords you can play on the first note of the major scale, then the second note and so on. I haven't found a list like this on the internet. I figure as you get better at playing you develop a king of sixth sense for chords but at this stage I would appreciate a raw list I could kind of memorize. Anybody feel what I'm saying?

[Nystul]

I would suggest to start simple by limiting your options instead of trying to accumulate all of the possibilities. One idea would be to take some cliche 4 chord progression (like C, Am, F, G) and try to improvise melodies over it. Another idea would be to write out a simple, 8 bar melody in C major using only notes from the scale, and try to pick a chord for each measure using a few basic chords (C, F, G would be the most fundamental set of chords and covers every note in the scale at least once).

The music develops over time. It shouldn't be one random beautiful stack of notes followed by the next. There may be times when the notes clash and you have dissonance, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. It just means that what happens *next* becomes very important decision. Sometimes 2 or more chords may sound fine for one particular measure, but only one of them really sets up to go to the chord you want in the next measure.

[Nanakai]

Think of it this way - you can play any major scale over any major chord and any minor scale over any minor chord. You could practice that idea all year.

If you must have a list of things, get this: http://www.amazon.com/The-Guitar-Grimoi ... 033&sr=8-1

The book has a chord chart for every scale, and it's of some use, but it's better to just play scales against chords. If you're not playing, or at least hearing, music, you're not learning it. Period. So, you can turn to any random chapter - page 64 is the Harmonic Minor, for instance - and play a C harmonic minor over a Cm chord. Then move on to D harmonic minor over Dm. Or, play a ii-V-i (Dm-G-Cm) and the harmonic minor.

[risome]

Harmonizer is a great app for ipad/iphone Gives you chords /bass and melody notes for a given key .there is a free and pro version great little tool

[tapper mike]

I disagree with simplification as a means of understanding harmony it actually creates more blockage then clears it. People have a tendency to believe that what they first learn is universal and anything that they experience thereafter as being "bad" or "wrong" or "incorrect" When infact what is occuring is musical expession.

If you really want to study music study it in context. Learn songs, You'll more quickly find exceptions to the rules and be able adapt to them.

[D.Josef]

Classical harmony 101 in a sentence: The most important chords you can play in a key are those built from the scale notes.

So, like Gmaj is G A B C D E F# G, so you'll have
GBD - G
ACE - Am
BDF# - Bm
CEG - C
DF#A - D
EGB - Em
F#AC - F#o

This goes for major and minor scales. You can create "full-featured" music using just these chords.
There are a crapload of rules on how to use them, and some other chords too that you can use, and other approaches (eg. instead of playing in a key and finding chords for it, each chord creates a new key), but this is a starting point and I think it answers your question.
Just know that this is not the only way it can be done. It's like learning how to float before learning to swim.

(And the blues is an entirely different beast. This won't work with the blues.)

[DocAtlas]

For example you can't play a C major chord on the C blues scale.

Actually, that is exactly what you would probably play under the blues scale, either a major triad (C, E, G) or a dominant 7th (C,E,G,Bb). A lot of the blues sound comes from the dissonance between the flatted scale degrees and the non-flatted chord tones.

To figure out which chords can be derived from a given scale (you don't mention whether or not you read music, or I could point you to some charts that would make things clearer), simply play the first note of the scale with your thumb (I'm assuming using your right hand), the third note of the scale with your middle finger, and the fifth note of the scale with your pinky. Assuming you're doing this in C major, then you can simply move your hand up one note at a time to figure out the other chords. You can also expand this to four note chords, to see what kind of different 7th chords you can get. The chords you get from a major scale follow the pattern:

1st: Major
2nd: Minor
3rd: Minor
4th: Major
5th: Major
6th: Minor
7th: Diminished

When actually playing, though, you DON'T have to use the same exact scale that the chord is from. A simple rule of thumb is if you like the sound, it's right.
Hope this helps a little.

[phazedown]

delete-me

[neoncortex]

Thanks for the interesting and informative replies. It seems to me that the way to go is to play just the most common three finger chords and besides that, trust my ears for what sounds good. I probably won't be delving deeper into theory any time soon.

[alphadelphi]

(And the blues is an entirely different beast. This won't work with the blues.)

Nice short explanation! Could you try to define blues theory 101 in a such easy way?

[tapper mike]

To distill blues to a theory removes all the intrinsic qualities that make the blues what it is. One misses the salient points by focusing on a single theory as there are multiple specific theories to specific situations.

[luafc11]

This might come in useful. Very simple but effective.

http://www.chordwheel.com/

[D.Josef]

Nice short explanation! Could you try to define blues theory 101 in a such easy way?

Sure!

Blues 101 in a sentence: Just listen to a lot of blues!

[BadCat Media Grp]

Well all you need to know is the major scale and what chord quality is present on each note. (at least to start)

just remember this

major minor minor major major minor diminished.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1, 4 and 5 are your tonal pillars the rest are your different colors.

experiment with what sounds best to you and once its second nature move on to new pastures. Minor scales, seventh chords, sub dominant minor chords. There is a rich pallete of chords to choose from that can really be something special.

all the best

[Dewdman42]

don't forget secondary dominants which introduce many notes outside the key, yet still remaining in key.

Modes and modal interchange also open a few more chord options in a given key.