Major Scale Chords Extended Diatonically by Thirds

The chart shows the chords of the Major scale built by continuously taking every other note, using only the notes available within the scale, resulting in what's known as diatonic tertian chords.

The way we know which chords are in a scale is by starting on each scale note and continuously adding a major or minor third on top of it (whichever naturally occurs in the scale). In practice, this simple process looks like this: take a note, skip a note, take a note, skip a note, and so on. That's all there is to it. When you hear someone say "harmonized scale", "scale harmonization", or "stacking thirds" this is the exact process they are referring to, and you can apply it to any common 7-note scale.

If you want to know which chords are formed at each stage of this process, including the fully extended ones, this chart shows them in an incremental manner. It also shows you where those same chords exist within the relative modes.

How You Can Use This Chart

• Learn the diatonic chord types of the Major scale and its modes.
• Understand how chords are built step-by-step.
• Compare every chord side by side at each phase of the extension process.
• Identify which chords naturally occur on each scale degree.
• Understand the relationship between the chords of the parent Major scale and its modes.
• Find more colorful chords while staying diatonic to the key.
• Build and analyze diatonic chord progressions across all 7 modes of the Major scale.

Chart Features With Practical Learning Benefits

• Diatonic: Every chord option is built entirely from the notes of the major scale. All chord options naturally fit your key.
• Two Learning Layouts: The chart comes in two visual presentations. The first shows the complete chord-building process from triads through extensions, helping you understand how each chord develops as thirds are added. The second provides the same information as a more compact overview with colored checkmarks, allowing you to quickly see which chord types are available on each scale degree and compare them at a glance.
• Color-Coded Chord Families: Distinct colors group major, minor, dominant, and diminished/half-diminished chord types, making it easy to identify chord qualities at a glance.
• Chord Formula Legend: A dedicated panel on the right breaks down every chord symbol on the chart into its scale-degree formula, helping you understand chord components and construct proper voicings on your instrument.
• Modal Reference: The bottom section shows where each chord appears in every relative mode of the Major scale, helping you understand how the same chords relate to different tonal centers.
• Self-Contained: The chart stands on its own with clear header and footer details that give you full context, so you always know exactly what you are looking at, even in printed form.
• Instrument-Neutral Design: Because the information is presented using standard chord symbols rather than instrument-specific diagrams, this chart applies to any instrument.
• Covers All 12 Keys: Chords are shown without fixed roots, creating a single, universal and transposable reference that works for any key.

List of Chords Featured in the Charts