Looking for a website that shows each chord for piano/guitar that is in each scale.. So for example, I'd click C Major and it would show ALL the possible chords in C Major... Can anyone help?

I have a suggestion, one that I've used successfully in composition.

Instead of starting with a scale, start with a single note. Then build every chord you know, using that note in every position on the chord.

For example, say your starting note is A. Begin with all the intervals, which are after all just two-note chords. So in a minor second, A can be the 1 or the flat 2: ABb & G#A. Every other interval will have A in either the first or second location -- so in a two-octave range and including octaves, we already have 48 different two-note chords, all that include our starting note A.

Now move on to triads. Begining with the diminished triad, we have three diminished chords that include A: ACEb, F#AC, D#F#A.

Three minor triads: ACE, F#AC#, DFA. Three major triads: AC#E, FAC, DF#A. Three augmented triads: AC#F, FAC#, C#FA.

There are further three note chords that aren't triads (that aren't built on thirds.) For example, what is sometimes called a tone-cluster chord can just be three consecutive half steps: AA#B,G#AA#, GG#A. Our sus4, where A is the 1, the sus4, and the 5: ADE, EAB, DGA. There are many more non-named three-note chords, such as 1, #4, #5 (AD#F, D#AB, C#GA.)

Note that I've only listed the triads & other three-note chords in root position: each of those chords has two inversions, also (so ACEv == CEbA == EbAC.) The augmented triad (like the fully diminished seventh) is symmetric, so each of the three 'different' chords are actually inversions of the others.

So now we have 48 two-note chords, plus our named triads (4 types x 3 positions for each A = 12, multiplied by 3 inversions = 36) plus the non-triad three note chords we've used (3x3x3) for a total of 111 chords that include the note A, and we're already not comprehensively including all the chords.

You can continue these permutations and the number grows rapidly. Find all dominant 7 chords where the A is the 1, 3, 5, and flat 7. Include all (four) inversions. Repeat the process for minor 7th, major 7th, fully diminished 7th, half-diminished 7th, minor/major 7th, and all other 7th chords.

Expand this process to all 9th, 11th, and 13th chords... it will grow exponentially, yet you're still barely scratching the surface because you're not including all other non-named chords that could include the letter A. On top of that, we're only using the equal-tempered chromatic tuning: throw in different tunings, quarter-tones, etc and the permutations expand further.

Anyway by using this process, by starting with a note rather than with a scale, you'll theoretically be able to get all chords that include one particular note in every position.

/r/musictheory Thread Parent