Skip to content

C major

C major has no sharps or flats. Its scale is C D E F G A B, its chords are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim, and its relative minor is A minor.

Make a beat in C majorWrite a melody in this key

Opens the free editor with a pop beat on C G Am F. No account needed to start.

The C major scale

Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half: the half steps come between E and F, and between B and C.

C D E F G A B C

CDEFGABC

On the piano, C major uses only the white keys.

The notes of C major by scale degree
DegreeNoteName
1CTonic
2DSupertonic
3EMediant
4FSubdominant
5GDominant
6ASubmediant
7BLeading tone

Chords in C major

One chord on each note of the scale, built from the scale’s own notes. The Roman numeral says which note it starts on: capitals are major, small letters minor.

IC
iiDm
iiiEm
IVF
VG
viAm
vii°Bdim

Which chords sound happy or sad

Bright

C F G

I, IV, V. The major chords. C feels like home; G pulls back to it.

Softer, sadder

Dm Em Am

ii, iii, vi. The minor chords. Am is the sad turn in many pop songs.

Tense

Bdim

vii°. Diminished: tense and unstable, it wants to move on, usually to C.

A progression in C major

The pop progression · I–V–vi–IV
C
G
Am
F
Hear it as

More progressions in C major

Key signature and related keys

Key signature

No sharps or flats

C major and A minor are the only keys with none: every note is a white key.

Relative minor

A minor

The same seven notes and key signature, starting on A.

Parallel minor

C minor

The same home note, with 3 flats. Borrowing a chord from it makes a part sound darker.

Next to it on the circle of fifths

Keys next to each other share six of their seven notes. See them all on the circle of fifths.

C major in beats

The editor’s starter beats for these styles are written in C major. Each opens the free editor with its own drums, bass and chords at its usual tempo, no account needed.

Bossa nova · 130 BPMChiptune · 140 BPMLatin jazz · 160 BPMPlugg · 150 BPMPluggnb · 130 BPMSalsa · 180 BPMSoul · 112 BPMTropical house · 108 BPM

Questions about C major

Does C major have any sharps or flats?

No. C major uses only the white keys: C D E F G A B. A minor, its relative minor, has none either, and they are the only two keys without any.

What is the relative minor of C major?

A minor. It uses the same seven notes and the same key signature as C major, but starts on A, the sixth note of the scale. The two share every chord, which is why songs move between them so easily.

What chords are in C major?

C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim: one built on each note of the scale (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°). C, F and G are the three major chords most songs in C major lean on, and Am (vi) gives a sadder turn.

What is the most common chord progression in C major?

I–V–vi–IV: C, G, Am and F. It is behind hundreds of hit songs, and it is the one the beat on this page plays.

Every key

Major keys
C majorG majorD majorA majorE majorB majorF♯ majorD♭ majorA♭ majorE♭ majorB♭ majorF major
Minor keys
A minorE minorB minorF♯ minorC♯ minorG♯ minorD♯ minorB♭ minorF minorC minorG minorD minor

Build a song in C major

Start with the beat, then add chords, a melody and your voice in the editor, part by part.

Make a beat in C majorAll music keys

Keep going