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Diatonic Harmony Primer
Material by John Ely
Diatonic harmony simply put is a system of melody and harmony that uses only the notes from the key of the song you're
playing. In steel guitar, that usually means a major key built on one of the 15 major scales. Let's look at the parent scale for
the key of C, the C major scale.
Elements of the Major Scale
The C major scale shown starts on middle C and coincides
with the white keys of the piano. All major scales can be
generated using the sequence of whole steps (W) and half
steps (H) shown. [See the Music Theory Quickstart on how
to read the treble clef and how to generate the major scales.]
Each note of the scale is assigned a degree number and a
name as shown.
Building Diatonic Triads
From each scale degree you can generate a triad built on
that scale degree and carrying the name associated with
that degree. So the tonic triad is built on degree 1, 3, and 5;
the supertonic triad is build on degree 2, 4, and 6; and so
on. The seven diatonic triads for the key of C are shown
in the diagram (right) and are commonly labeled using the
Roman numeral equivalent of the degree number upon
which the triad is built. Lower case numerals are used for
the minor triads and the diminished triad (leading tone).
Chord Inversions
The triads shown in diagram 2 are in root position, which
means that the root of the chord is on the bottom. You can
generate inversions of the triad by successively shifting
the low note of the triad up an octave. Using inversions,
you allow each note of the chord to function as the top
note or melody.
Major Scale Definition and Components
1
& œ
2
W
3
œ
W
4
œ
H
Note
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
5
œ
W
œ
Degree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
W
œ
7
6
œ
W
H
Name
Tonic
Supertonic
Mediant
Subdominant
Dominant
Submediant
Leading Tone
The Diatonic Triads
I
ii
œœœ
& œœœ
IV
V
vi
supertonic triad (minor)
Chord Inversions
& www
root
position
vii°
ww
w
ww
w
Tonic (I)
œœ
œ
œœœ
œœœ
œœœ
œœœ
iii
œ
1
first
inversion
second
inversion
Diatonic Triads and Inversions on Steel Guitar
What does all this mean for the steel guitarist? The strength of the basic sixth tunings is that almost all the diatonic triads
and their inversions are available in the "straight bar" position. Only the leading tone triads are missing. Using only the 18
diatonic triads shown below you can harmonize almost any song in a very professional manner.
Diatonic Triads on Steel Guitar (18 Voicings)
&
E
C
A
G
E
C
I (C)
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
0
0
0
Steel Gtr. (C6th)
T
A
B
0
0
0
Revised: 4/16/11
0
0
vi (Am)
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
œœœ
IV (F)
œœœ
0
0
0
5
5
5
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
5
5
5
5
5
ii (Dm)
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
© 2010 Ely Music/Publishing
œœœ
V (G)
œœœ
5
5
5
7
7
7
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
7
7
7
7
7
iii (Em)
œœ
œ
œœ
œ
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
œœœ
7
7
7