You can very quickly create 6 of the most common chords from the C major scale. Simply take the chord shape of the C major chord and move it up the C major scale from steps 1 to six.
This way you form 6 chords:
C major
D minor
E minor
F major
G major
A minor
There is another chord if you place the same form on the 7th scale degree, B, but because this chord is a diminished one we will skip it for now.
So now you have created 6 chords in an instant. The formula for these diatonic chords of the major scale is
major, minor, minor
for steps 1,2, and 3, and
major, major, minor
for steps 4, 5 and 6.
This same formula will work for any other major scale as well!
The above 6 chords are used by musicians and bands in 100s or 1000s of songs, simply because they are among the easiest ones to play on the piano and the guitar.
So knowing them takes you a huge step forward to playing many songs. In Piano Hack #7 I will show you how to create inversions, so that you can make even better use of these chords.