Chords in Every Key
All 24 major and minor keys, with the chords that belong to each. Open a key for its numerals, Nashville numbers, common progressions, chord diagrams and the easiest capo position on guitar.
Major keys
The six chords listed are the ones a song in that key will draw on almost exclusively.
| Key | Chords in the key | Key signature | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| C Major | C · Dm · Em · F · G · Am | no sharps or flats | Am |
| G Major | G · Am · Bm · C · D · Em | 1 sharp | Em |
| D Major | D · Em · F♯m · G · A · Bm | 2 sharps | Bm |
| A Major | A · Bm · C♯m · D · E · F♯m | 3 sharps | F♯m |
| E Major | E · F♯m · G♯m · A · B · C♯m | 4 sharps | C♯m |
| B Major | B · C♯m · D♯m · E · F♯ · G♯m | 5 sharps | G♯m |
| F♯ Major | F♯ · G♯m · A♯m · B · C♯ · D♯m | 6 sharps | D♯m |
| D♭ Major | D♭ · E♭m · Fm · G♭ · A♭ · B♭m | 5 flats | B♭m |
| A♭ Major | A♭ · B♭m · Cm · D♭ · E♭ · Fm | 4 flats | Fm |
| E♭ Major | E♭ · Fm · Gm · A♭ · B♭ · Cm | 3 flats | Cm |
| B♭ Major | B♭ · Cm · Dm · E♭ · F · Gm | 2 flats | Gm |
| F Major | F · Gm · Am · B♭ · C · Dm | 1 flat | Dm |
Minor keys
Each minor key shares its notes with a major key — its relative — so the two chord sets look identical, reordered around a different home chord.
| Key | Chords in the key | Key signature | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Minor | Am · C · Dm · Em · F · G | no sharps or flats | C |
| E Minor | Em · G · Am · Bm · C · D | 1 sharp | G |
| B Minor | Bm · D · Em · F♯m · G · A | 2 sharps | D |
| F♯ Minor | F♯m · A · Bm · C♯m · D · E | 3 sharps | A |
| C♯ Minor | C♯m · E · F♯m · G♯m · A · B | 4 sharps | E |
| G♯ Minor | G♯m · B · C♯m · D♯m · E · F♯ | 5 sharps | B |
| E♭ Minor | E♭m · G♭ · A♭m · B♭m · B · D♭ | 6 flats | G♭ |
| B♭ Minor | B♭m · D♭ · E♭m · Fm · G♭ · A♭ | 5 flats | D♭ |
| F Minor | Fm · A♭ · B♭m · Cm · D♭ · E♭ | 4 flats | A♭ |
| C Minor | Cm · E♭ · Fm · Gm · A♭ · B♭ | 3 flats | E♭ |
| G Minor | Gm · B♭ · Cm · Dm · E♭ · F | 2 flats | B♭ |
| D Minor | Dm · F · Gm · Am · B♭ · C | 1 flat | F |
Frequently asked questions
- What does the key of a song mean?
- The key names the note the music treats as home, plus whether it leans major or minor. That choice fixes which sharps and flats are in play, and therefore which handful of chords sound settled together — the six you see listed for each key below.
- How do I work out what key a song is in?
- Look at the chords it uses and find the key whose chord set contains all of them. The song usually starts or ends on the home chord too. If a chart lists chords you cannot place, it may have borrowed one from the parallel key.
- Which keys are easiest on guitar?
- G, C, D, A and E major, plus Em, Am and Dm, because their chords fall on open shapes. Flat keys such as E flat and A flat need barre chords — which is exactly the problem a capo solves.
- Can I change the key of a song?
- Yes, and it is routine — singers do it constantly to fit their range. Transposing moves every chord by the same distance. A capo does something subtly different: it keeps the original pitch while letting you finger easier shapes.
Wrong key for your voice?
Upload a chord chart and move every chord into a key you can actually sing — the printed layout stays exactly as it was. Or find the capo position that keeps the key and drops the difficulty.