Scale Tone Chords
In any given key certain chords are more common than others. For example, in the key of C the chords C, F and G7 are usually present, and quite often the chords Am, Dm and Em occur. The reason for this is that each key has its own set of chords, which are constructed from notes of its major scale. These chords are referred to as scale tone chords.
Chords are constructed by combining notes which are a third apart. For example, consider the formula for a major chord:
Using the C major scale written next, scale tone chords can be constructed by placing 2 third intervals above each note. This is illustrated on the treble staff and in the table as shown.
These are all C scale tone chords because they contain only notes of the C major scale (i.e., not sharps or flats). The method used for constructing scale tone chords in the key of C may be applied to any major scale.
The following progression is in the key of C major, and uses the most common chords found in this key. Notice that it uses only the white keys (i.e., no sharps or flats) because all these chords are based upon the C major scale which contains no sharps or flats.
