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Using Roman Numerals
When we talk about these chords and how they relate to them we DO number them, but we use Roman numerals instead of regular numbers.
[icon type=”glyphicon-question-sign” color=”#337524″]”Why?” you ask. It’s because we can denote chords major or minor by using upper case and lower case Roman numerals.
- Upper Case Numerals = Major Chord
- Lower Case Numerals = Minor Chord
If we number our 7 chords in a major key using Roman numerals it will look like this:
- I
- ii
- iii
- IV
- V
- vi
- vii°
We have 3 major chords: I, IV, V
We have 3 minor chords: ii, iii, iv
We have 1 diminished chord: vii° (that funny little circle added is our sign for diminished).
The Roman numeral system comes in handy when communicating chord progressions. For example:
- I, iii, V
- I, IV, V
- I, vi, IV
It’s all relative to the key of the song. If we take the three chord progressions above and translate them to the key of C we would end up with:
- C, Em, G
- C, F, G
- C, Am, F