Chapter 7 | Major Keys: Finding Home
A key gives the music a centre of gravity.
Play G–C–D–G. Let the final G ring. It will often feel like an arrival. That sense of home is central to understanding a key.
The tonic is the centre
In G major, G is the tonic: the home note, with the G major chord acting as the home chord.
The G major scale supplies the basic seven-note collection:
G · A · B · C · D · E · F♯
But a key is more than a collection of notes. It also describes how those notes relate to a centre.
A major key combines a tonal centre with the relationships of the major scale. It is more than a list of allowed notes.
A song in G major can include notes or chords outside the G major scale. Those sounds may create colour or tension while G still feels like the centre.
For now, we’ll begin with material drawn entirely from the scale.
One scale, a family of chords
We can build a triad on each of the scale’s seven notes. The result is a diatonic chord family: chords made using only the notes of that scale.
Here is the family for G major:
| Scale degree | Chord | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | Major |
| 2 | Am | Minor |
| 3 | Bm | Minor |
| 4 | C | Major |
| 5 | D | Major |
| 6 | Em | Minor |
| 7 | F♯dim | Diminished |
This major key contains minor chords too. A key’s name describes its tonal centre and overall organisation; it does not make every chord major.
You’ll learn how these chords are built in Lesson 8. Today, play a few of them and listen to how they relate.
Make a small piece of music
Use the chord family as a starting point for your choices.
Start with a steady pulse
Choose G, C, D and Em from the G major family. Play one chord per bar, with four steady beats in each bar.
Begin with this practice sequence:
| G | Em | C | D |
Repeat, then finish on G.
A bar is a small group of beats; here it holds four. Give every chord the same amount of time at first. Later, change the rhythm or let one chord last longer.
Change one decision
Swap the middle chords to make:
| G | C | Em | D |
Play both versions at the same tempo. Which one feels more settled? Which one makes you want to keep going?
There is no single correct response. Listen to what changes when the order changes.
Add a melody
Record the chords, ask your teacher to play them, or alternate between strumming a chord and playing a short melody.
Choose notes from G major. Begin with these three notes on the high E string—the thinnest string:
| Note | G | A | B |
|---|---|---|---|
| High E string fret | 3 | 5 | 7 |
A scale gives you a palette. It does not make every note equally settled over every chord.
Try ending a phrase on G, B or D when the G chord returns. Those are its chord tones: the notes that make up the chord.
Write a phrase you can sing back. Leave a gap before answering it. Rhythm and space make a few notes into an idea.
How many major keys?
There are 12 possible tonic pitches on the guitar. Some keys have more than one spelling, such as F♯ major and G♭ major.
Those two keys share the same tonic pitch on the guitar, although their notes are spelled differently.
You do not need to memorise every chord family today. Begin with one family and learn to hear how its chords move away from home and return.
Check your understanding
Think about the centre of the music as well as the notes it uses. Write your answers before opening the answer section.
- What do we mean by the tonic?
- In D major, which note and chord are home? Which scale supplies the basic note collection?
- Must every chord in a major key be major?
- How many diatonic triads can we build from a major scale?
- Can a song use a note outside its major scale and remain in the same key?
- Using the G major family, write a four-bar progression. End it with a return to G after the fourth bar.
- Try a short melody over your progression. Which note feels most like a resting place when G returns?
- How many possible major tonic pitches are there?
Check your answers
- The tonic is the tonal centre: the home note, with the tonic chord heard as the home chord.
- D is the home note and D major is the home chord. The D major scale supplies the basic collection: D, E, F♯, G, A, B and C♯.
- No. A major key’s diatonic family includes major, minor and diminished triads.
- Seven: one built on each scale degree.
- Yes. A note or chord outside the basic scale can add colour without changing the tonal centre. A sustained change of centre is a different matter.
- Many answers work. One example is G–Bm–C–D, followed by G. All four chords belong to the G major family.
- G is a strong choice because it is the tonic and the G chord’s root. B and D can also feel settled over that chord. Your phrase’s rhythm and direction affect the result.
- Twelve by tonic pitch. Different spellings can refer to the same tonic pitch on the guitar.
What to remember
A key helps organise the music around a centre. The chord family is a useful foundation, not a fence.
Learn to recognise the home note and chord. Explore the other chords in the family, then listen to what happens when you return.
Next: build the chord family yourself.