Reference for chords that belong to a key

JessicaM

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Hi! I'm looking for a handy reference that lays out the common chords that belong to a particular key.

(e.g. C: Am F Dm G Em...)

I have a scratch sheet with many of them, but I'd like to print something nice to keep with my uke stuff.

Someone must've already done this and put it on the web somewhere, right?

Thanks :)
 
Well, you could get a circle of 5ths sheet. It's got what you need.
 
a circle of 5ths sheet
Hmm...so maybe I need a circle of 5th sheet and a teeny little theory lesson that tells me how to use it. Any tips?

eta: I used to know this stuff, but I just don't remember any of it. Maybe it'd come back to me?
 
Search YouTube for UU and many other videos on the Circle of Fifths.

I understand the structure of the thing, but I've been reading sites for about an hour now and still don't quite understand how to use it to find chords (beyond 1-4-5) that go well together. Do you have a favorite video to recommend?
 
How do the 7th chords fit in? I have been playing a song in C but using C7. That isn't a note in the key of C but fits to my ear for this song.
 
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Uncle Rod's Ukulele Boot Camp's Practice Sheets for the 5 keys of (C, F, G, A, D) have
10 different chords per sheet that 'go with' each other in that specific key.

just a suggestion... and the Boot Camp materials are FREE! :)

just click on the link in my signature below :)

keep uke'in',
 
I've studied the circle of fifth a lot, and it has not really helped me much. In theory it is great, too bad there is so much music out there that completely ignores it. Real life is so complicated.
 
This is something that has helped me more than the circle of fifth. I hope there isn't any mistakes here, but it is possible. I committed most of this to memory. That was a huge waste of time and brain space. If I were to do it again I would just learn the keys that I use. It is nothing more than the I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-vdim in the major keys. If you are familiar with the sounds of them, not the names of them, you can pick them up in most songs that you hear. Not always though. Okay, if you find mistakes, I apologize again.

C major C-Dm-Em-F-G-Am-Bdim
Db major Db-Ebm-Fm-Gb-Ab-Bbm-Cdim
D major D-Em-F#m-G-A-Bm-C#dim
Eb major Eb-Fm-Gm-Ab-Bb-Cm-Ddim
E major E-F#m-G#m-A-B-C#m-D#dim
F major F-Gm-Am-Bb-C-Dm-Edim
F# major F#-G#m-A#m-B-C#-D#m-E#m
Gb major Gb-Abm-Bbm-Cb-Db-Ebm-Fdim
G major G-Am-Bm-C-D-Em-F#dim
Ab major Ab-Bbm-Cm-Db-Eb-Fm-Gdim
A major A-Bm-C#m-D-E-F#m-G#dim
Bb major Bb-Cm-Dm-Eb-F-Gm-Adim
B major B-C#m-D#m-E-F#-G#m-A#dim
 
F# major F#-G#m-A#m-B-C#-D#m-E#m
Gb major Gb-Abm-Bbm-Cb-Db-Ebm-Fdim


My knowledge is weak and these two lines confuse me a bit. I'm assuming that the E#m should be a dim and that that's a mistake, but also, these lines are essentially the same, right?

My real question is: Is it normal to sometimes refer to an F as an E# and a B as a Cb? Is that a mistake or something that people do sometimes, or something else and I'm even more confused than I thought?
 
On the Circle of Fifths, you find your key (ie, C) and the chords directly to the right and left (G and F) will be the most common chords with the chord to the right being the dominant seventh. In the case of C, the G chord will usually be a G7. If you look on the inner circle at the minor chords, these are your most common minor chords starting with the chord directly below C (Am) and then the one to the left (Dm) and finally, the one to the right (Em). Many songs will be mostly C and F chords with the G7 chord coming at the end of a section. On the circle of fifths, the minor chord directly below a major chord shares two common tones which means they are great alternative chords, whether you're writing a song or arranging it.
 
My knowledge is weak and these two lines confuse me a bit. I'm assuming that the E#m should be a dim and that that's a mistake, but also, these lines are essentially the same, right?

My real question is: Is it normal to sometimes refer to an F as an E# and a B as a Cb? Is that a mistake or something that people do sometimes, or something else and I'm even more confused than I thought?
Good question. Honestly, I don't know, but looking at them I think you are absolutely right. It is like a song where you find a Ebdim, and then you turn around and find an Adim in the same songs, and you ask yourself, "aren't those the same chords?" I'm sure there is reason, but I'm not sure if makes a difference in the song. I found this chart on the internet, maybe even here, and I memorized it as it was written. Those two lines that you so astutely picked out are two keys that I have never used. In fact, probably only four of those keys have any value to me at all. The only reason I put that all out there is because I don't know what other people are doing or what is of value to other people and what is not. That is why I said that if I had it to do over I would only be concerned with those keys that I find useful. But that was early on that I learned these, when I had the misconception that the more minutia that I could absorb the better ukulele player I would be. Since then I've changed my approach. So if those two keys, whatever they might be, are important to you, perhaps someone with more knowledge of those things could answer your question and explain them, or if they are wrong, tell you why. That would be helpful in itself. Otherwise, I would just pick what I needed, give it a try, and either it works or it doesn't, in which case if it doesn't, forget I ever brought it up. ;)
 
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