Building diatonic chords in major

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Degrees and function

Stacking alternate notes on each degree of a major scale produces its diatonic triads. Their qualities are major, minor, minor, major, major, minor and diminished. This pattern follows from the scale’s intervals.

Write the actual scale before stacking thirds. Using only white keys in every key gives incorrect results. Diatonic chords are a useful starting collection, not a ban on borrowed chords or chromatic harmony. First identify what the scale itself generates, then study departures from it.

Example

In D major: ii = E–G–B; IV = G–B–D; vii° = C-sharp–E–G.

Try it

Which triad forms on degree seven of C major?

Related topics

References

Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom

Subject-expert review pending.