I hope you are enjoying learning about all the chords in the world — and we’re going to cover them ALL before we’re done — you’ll know more about chords than 99% of the people in the world – believe it or not, it’s true.
Here is a chart that shows how chords are members of families, just like you and I. Most all of us have a family of some kind, and we have cousins, and we have neighbors, and we have visitors. If we’re like most people, we see our family a good deal more than we see our cousins. It’s like that in music, too. The “fam” chords — I, IV, and V — are used much more frequently in a song than a “cousin” chord — the ii, iii, and vi chords. But they are more common than the “neighbors”, and the neighbors in turn are more common than the “visitors.”
And here’s all the “fam” and the “cousins” in all 12 keys:
Do yourself a huge favor and memorize the “fam” chords and the “cousin” chords in whatever keys you like to play in. For example, if you play lots of songs in the Key of D, then learn what the primary (fam chords) and secondary (cousin chords) are in that key. You’ll make life a whole lot easier for yourself.
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