The note for the chords in the key of C in the learn more page shows the minor chords listed twice
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Hi, just wanted to say there’s a small mistake (duplicate writing) in the article:
Major Chords: C, F, G,Minor Chords: Dm, Em, Am
Minor Chords: Dm, Em, Am
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Not sure if this is the right time to be asking this so far in the lesson, but I saw the song Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones is in the key of G major. When I looked at all the chords in that song, I saw that they matched the scale (G, Bm, C, D) except for two of them. Am and F are in that song, but those notes are not in the G major scale. Is that normal to sometimes play chords that are not in the key of a song?
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IMHO, the right time to ask, is when you have a question and ask 
I am still a very much beginner. But the more songs I look through, it seem to be much more common, that there are chords borrowed from other keys, one way or the other. Also some songs change keys in the middle of a song and then go back again to the key the song started in. Some start in one key and end in another. No limits really. - Richard have made an extensive post about borrowed chords.
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That makes sense. Thanks for the reply!
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Hello @abcdefg1234 and welcome to the community.
Many thanks for the alert, I have fixed the double-entry.
If you see any issues that require a fix can you please tag (using the @ symbol) myself and @DavidP and @LievenDV - that will ensure it gets prompt attention. Thanks. 
Good question based on your learning Dave.
Note that Am and is extension Am11 are in the key of G (diatonic chords) so it is only F (Fadd9) that seems not to fit.
The G major scale and its diatonic triads (chords):
In the borrowed chord topic kindly linked by Kim above, Example 5 has a progression in the key of G major too, from where I can use the same partial Circle of Fifths.
Look at the parallel key of G minor to see that the F chord (extended in the song to Fadd9) is borrowed from the parallel minor key.
I hope that helps.
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Thank you for that very thorough and informative answer! Appreciate it.
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I just wanted to say, I am so pleased that I now understand the point of scales!! It’s great that you can link them to the specific chords. Being I prefer finger picking it’s like a door has been push open. Many thanks
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@Richard_close2u - I think the lesson text needs californication clarification.
The main riff, the verse and the chorus all use notes from the C major (/ A minor) scale.
However, when it goes to the solo, the song modulates to the key of A major. All the notes in the solo are derived from the A major scale. After the solo we go back to the key of C major (/ A minor).
Just thought I’d put it here in case people are trying to figure out the solo by ear and wondering why it sounds off in the key of C major.
Alternatively, House of the Rising Sun might be a better choice for this lesson? I think everyone can sing the vocal melody which is in C major, so it should be doable.
My brain has just exploded. I’m piano trained so I can read scores and know the scales but when it came to guitar I never understood why someone would say the song is in C and then we end up strumming so many different chords. Now I do!!!
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I really feel like I had a breakthrough “lightbulb” moment during this lesson. Just mastering the C scale in open position and playing around with C, F, A minor and D minor chord arpeggios, single note improvs from the C scale, and strum patterns with all stops really opened my eyes to the great songs I can do just with this scale in one position! Learning theory is so important (to me at least).
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ah dont understand
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Hey guys, can someone please point me out the way to play Bdim (chord diagram), I want to learn all the chords in the key of C. Would be also cool to know if Bdim is major or minor chord. Thanks!.
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Hi there,
Diminished chords are diminished chords, i.e. the 3rd and 5th degrees are both flattened. Bdim has the notes B, D and F in it.
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can you please drop chord diagram please?
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Well, I’m a bit reluctant to do that as I believe that working these kind of things out for yourself will be more beneficial to your development in the long run. That said, I think this grip can be manageable if you are a beginner (the image comes from a different site, the notes in red are not the root note):
In the Practical Music Theory Course, Justin puts a great emphasis on (1) learning where each note can be found on the fretboard and (2) learning a smallish number of chord grips and how those can be manipulated to arrive at different chords. A useful tool for the 1st one is the “chord-finding method” worksheet that you can download here under the “Resources” tab:
On this worksheet, you can add the following information to aid you in your practice:
Chord equation: it refers to the chord formula, e.g. 1 3 5 for major triads; 1b3 5 for minor triads; 1 3 #5 for augmented triads; 1 b3 b5 for diminished triads. Of course, chords with more than 3 distinct notes (“letters”) also exist, so this formula can get longer.
Key: this is for the root note of the chord; at the beginner stage, it is the lowest note in the chord.
Then, based on the root note and the chord formula, you can write out the notes you’d like to find on the fretboard, and then mark them on the diagram accordingly. After that, it’s only a question of how comfortable each grip is to play, and which one of those grips is the most appropriate for the given song.
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Hello Pawel and welcome to the Community.
If you remove the note on the 3rd string from the diagram @Jozsef posted, that leaves the three notes you need for the triad - frets 2 and 3.
The other strings are muted.
The overwheleming proportion of diminished chord is in the form of an extended diminished chord, extended to a 7th version, not the triad version.
These are usually called minor 7 flat 5 (m7b5) chords.
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None of this makes any sense to me
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Hey mate,
Feel free to ask away with a specific question and we’ll help you out.
Cheers, Shane
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