ChordWheel › Keys › C major
Chords in the key of C major
C major has no sharps or flats. Its seven chords are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B° . Its relative minor is A minor , which uses the same chords with Am as home.
C major A minor C Am I vi G major E minor G Em V iii D major B minor D Bm A major F♯ minor A F♯m E major C♯ minor E C♯m B major G♯ minor B G♯m F♯ major D♯ minor F♯ D♯m D♭ major B♭ minor D♭ B♭m A♭ major F minor A♭ Fm E♭ major C minor E♭ Cm B♭ major G minor B♭ Gm F major D minor F Dm IV ii C 1 6 5 3 4 2 On the wheel, IV, I and V sit side by side on the outer ring with ii, vi and iii right below them. Tap any key on the wheel to go to its page.
Open C major in the interactive wheel
The seven chords
Number Chord 7th chord I C Cmaj7 ii Dm Dm7 iii Em Em7 IV F Fmaj7 V G G7 vi Am Am7 vii° B° Bm7♭5
I
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8fr root on 6th string
C · E · G ii
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10fr root on 6th string
D · F · A iii
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7fr × root on 5th string
E · G · B IV
root on 6th string
8fr × root on 5th string
F · A · C V
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3fr root on 6th string
G · B · D vi
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5fr root on 6th string
A · C · E 7th chords
Common progressions in C major
C G Am F I V vi IV The pop engine (Let It Be, Someone Like You) C Am F G I vi IV V 50s / doo-wop (Stand By Me) Am F C G vi IV I V The same four from the minor side (Zombie, Africa-style) C F G I IV V Three-chord rock, blues and country Dm G C ii V I The jazz cadence C B♭ F C I ♭VII IV I Rock's borrowed cadence (Hey Jude coda, Sweet Child O' Mine) C F Fm C I IV iv I The bittersweet ending (Creep)
Borrowed from the minor Chords from C minor dropped into C major. Rock lives on ♭VII; IV then iv then I is the bittersweet move (Creep).
Secondary dominants A 7th chord that leads into another chord of the key as if it were home for a moment. Its root is one step clockwise of its target on the wheel.
Colour chords The same slot on the wheel with a different flavour. Sus chords swap the 3rd for the 2nd or 4th and like to resolve back to the plain chord (Csus4 → C). add9 adds the 2nd on top of the full chord. These are the common ones whose notes all stay in the key (here: Csus2, Csus4, Cadd9); the small label is the slot they sit in.
The C major scale
C major: C D E F G A B . The key's seven chords are built from these notes; the borrowed and secondary chords above bring in notes from outside it.
Related keys
F major : one step counterclockwise; B becomes B♭. A smooth key change.G major : one step clockwise; F becomes F♯. A smooth key change.A minor : the relative minor, same notes.C minor : the parallel minor, same home note, where the borrowed chords come from.
Questions What chords are in the key of C major? The seven chords in C major are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B°. As 7th chords: Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, Bm7b5.
How many sharps or flats does C major have? C major has no sharps or flats.
What is the relative minor of C major? A minor. It uses exactly the same notes and chords; only the home chord changes.
What are common chord progressions in C major? I V vi IV: C G Am F; I vi IV V: C Am F G; vi IV I V: Am F C G.