Major Key Diatonic Chords

Diatonic chords

Diatonic chords are the chords that occur naturally in a key (derived by harmonizing the scale). Diatonic basically means derived from the tonic.

Tonal and modal intervals

In most of the chord diagrams we've seen so far, notes have been labeled with their interval from the root of the chord. That's useful for understanding chord shapes in isolation.

But to understand how chords fit together in harmony, we also need to understand those notes based on their interval from the tonic of the key. The sound and feeling of each chord is partly due to the intervals of its notes from the tonic.

For example, the I chord and the V chord are both major triads, with intervals 1 3 5 from the root of the chord. But while the intervals from the tonic in the I chord are also 1 3 5, the intervals from the tonic in the V chord are 5 7 2. The diagrams below help illustrate this.

In the Fretboard Foundation materials, the intervals from the tonic are called tonal intervals. When referring to the intervals of diatonic chords, the intervals from the root of the chord are called modal intervals. This is because modes and diatonic chords are closely related.

Diatonic chords with tonal intervals

This diagram shows the major scale all over the fretboard, and shows how the diatonic chords' tonal intervals are derived from the scale. It helps us to see how all the chords relate to the key and to each other. Press play to see and hear all the chords in sequence. To explore other keys, change the key in the diagram settings.

Diatonic chord diagrams

Here's a closer look at each of the diatonic chords showing their tonal intervals.

Notice which intervals they have in common, and how they differ.