Question about scales and chords

A

Addam

New member
I know, yet another one of these so I apologise in advance.

I have read that you can build any major chord from a major scale by playing the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes. I have also read you can build any minor chord from a minor scale by playing the 1st, flattened 3rd and 5th notes. But this confuses me a bit.

1) If I am playing a progression of I IV V I for example from lets say a E major scale:

E Major Scale: E F# G# A B C# D#
I: E G# B
IV: A C# E
V: B D# F#

I think I am doing something wrong here...

2) How do you know if you should be building major or minor chords from other scales such as Dorian, Phrygian, Locrian, etc?

I'm new to music theory and I hope someone can explain this to me.

Thanks in advance!
 
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You are correct in what you are saying about the I IV V progression.

Just a quick bit of info: building chord in any key is about as simple as pick a note (the root), skip a note in the scale and add the next one (third). Do that twice for triads or three times for 4 note chords. Depending on what note you choose as your root will determine what type of chord it is, major or minor. It's predetermined by the scale you choose. Major scales follow I ii iii IV V vi VII but the VII is a diminished chord. You'll only need diminished and augmented if you are deliberately trying to add their sound to a certain part of your music.
 
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The essence of building chords in one short sentence - skip every other note and make sure that you have three notes.

So your E major example is correct

Scale
Degree
Name		Scale
Degree
Number		Scale
Tone		Chord
Degree		Chord
Built
above		Chord
Type
Tonic1EIE-G[sup]#[/sup]-BMajor
Super Tonic2F[sup]#[/sup]iiF[sup]#[/sup]-A-C[sup]#[/sup]minor
Mediant3G[sup]#[/sup]iiiG[sup]#[/sup]-B-D[sup]#[/sup]minor
Sub-Dominant4AIVA-C[sup]#[/sup]-EMajor
Dominant5BVB-D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]Major
Sub-Mediant6C[sup]#[/sup]viC[sup]#[/sup]-E-G[sup]#[/sup]minor
Leading tone7D[sup]#[/sup]viiD[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]-Adiminished

With any scale form, knowing how the notes of a chord come together is the most helpful thing you can learn.

Major chords have a major 3rd and a perfect 5th above a common root note
Minor chords have a minor 3rd and a perfect 5th above a common root note
diminished chords have a minor 3rd and diminished 5th above a common root note
Augmented chords have a major 3rd and an augmented 5th above a common root note

Chords for the modes of E major are as follows:

IonianE-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-A-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-EE-G[sup]#[/sup]-B1-3-5F[sup]#[/sup]-A-C[sup]#[/sup]2-4-6G[sup]#[/sup]-B-D[sup]#[/sup]3-5-7A-C[sup]#[/sup]-E4-6-1B-D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]5-7-2C[sup]#[/sup]-E-G[sup]#[/sup]6-1-3D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]-A7-2-4
DorianF[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-A-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-E-F[sup]#[/sup]F[sup]#[/sup]-A-C[sup]#[/sup]2-4-6G[sup]#[/sup]-B-D[sup]#[/sup]3-5-7A-C[sup]#[/sup]-E4-6-1B-D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]5-7-2C[sup]#[/sup]-E-G[sup]#[/sup]6-1-3D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]-A7-2-4E-G[sup]#[/sup]-B1-3-5
PhrygianG[sup]#[/sup]-A-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]G[sup]#[/sup]-B-D[sup]#[/sup]3-5-7A-C[sup]#[/sup]-E4-6-1B-D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]5-7-2C[sup]#[/sup]-E-G[sup]#[/sup]6-1-3D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]-A7-2-4E-G[sup]#[/sup]-B1-3-5F[sup]#[/sup]-A-C[sup]#[/sup]2-4-6
LydianA-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-AA-C[sup]#[/sup]-E4-6-1B-D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]5-7-2C[sup]#[/sup]-E-G[sup]#[/sup]6-1-3D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]-A7-2-4E-G[sup]#[/sup]-B1-3-5F[sup]#[/sup]-A-C[sup]#[/sup]2-4-6G[sup]#[/sup]-B-D[sup]#[/sup]3-5-7
MixolydianB-C[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-A-BB-D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]5-7-2C[sup]#[/sup]-E-G[sup]#[/sup]6-1-3D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]-A7-2-4E-G[sup]#[/sup]-B1-3-5F[sup]#[/sup]-A-C[sup]#[/sup]2-4-6G[sup]#[/sup]-B-D[sup]#[/sup]3-5-7A-C[sup]#[/sup]-E4-6-1
AeolianC[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-A-B-C[sup]#[/sup]C[sup]#[/sup]-E-G[sup]#[/sup]6-1-3D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]-A7-2-4E-G[sup]#[/sup]-B1-3-5F[sup]#[/sup]-A-C[sup]#[/sup]2-4-6G[sup]#[/sup]-B-D[sup]#[/sup]3-5-7A-C[sup]#[/sup]-E4-6-1B-D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]5-7-2
LocrianD[sup]#[/sup]-E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-A-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]-A7-2-4E-G[sup]#[/sup]-B1-3-5F[sup]#[/sup]-A-C[sup]#[/sup]2-4-6G[sup]#[/sup]-B-D[sup]#[/sup]3-5-7A-C[sup]#[/sup]-E4-6-1B-D[sup]#[/sup]-F[sup]#[/sup]5-7-2C[sup]#[/sup]-E-G[sup]#[/sup]6-1-3
[tr][td]Mode[/td][td]Notes
in
sequence[/td][td]1st[/td][td]E Major
Scale
Tones
[/td][td]2nd[/td][td]E Major
Scale
Tones
[/td][td]3rd[/td][td]E Major
Scale
Tones
[/td][td]4th[/td][td]E Major
Scale
Tones
[/td][td]5th[/td][td]E Major
Scale
Tones
[/td][td]6th[/td][td]E Major
Scale
Tones
[/td][td]7th[/td][td]E Major
Scale
Tones
[/td][/tr]​

In other words go back to your parent scale to understand your chord types in each of the modes......
 
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Thank you both for your replies.

Great reply Bandcoach!!! That answers my question perfectly.
 
Your diatonic progression work is on point, so don't fret that.
Don't get hung up on looking towards learning modal accidentals (Phrygian is a minor scale with a flat second, lydian is a major with a augmented 4th...AH!) when they're all derived from the Ionian scale (the root major scale)
Just learn what mode is what interval the scale starts on.
That should sum up modes for you, for example: b flat mixolydian (Perfect 5th) is just an E flat scale starting on b flat
When you're writing over that 5 chord, just think the root scale, but using the chordal tones of the 5 chord to resolve.
 
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