Yesterday I purchased the five study packages from
Scott's Bass Lessons and learned some new things. One of the most important is that the chords in each major key always follow the same pattern. Knowing this, you can figure out the chords in any major key you play.
You take the seven notes of the major scale and play a major chord for the 1st, a minor chord for the 2nd and 3rd, a major chord for both the 4th and the fifth, a minor chord for the sixth, and a diminished chord for the 7th.
See the chart below. The major scale for the Key of C is C, D, E, F, G, A, B. SO, the chords for the key of C are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B diminished. The chart shows all chords in each major key. The chart can be a useful reference when playing jazz or blues chord progressions. For example, if someone tells you that the progression is a ii-V-I progression in Bb, you would know the chords referred to are Cm, F and Bb.
To better understand how chords relate to scales, see
this discussion at musictheorysite.com.
