finding chords in a key?

Hi, I was hoping someone could explain if there is a way to find out what chords you can play when your in a certain key. I realize that there are only seven is there a way to find them; and why are some of them minors and majors. Also when you are playing in a certain key must you say in those 7 chords.
I have one more question for all you knowledgeable musicians. On the link at the bottom there is a scale; I read recently that each box is for a different key even though it is a E scale. Is this right? I thought that if the song was in E that meant you could just fiddle around with the whole scale. Thanks KCAJ


E Pentatonic Minor

if your in a major key, all the notes in the scale have chord in the key. the 2, 3 and 6 will always be minor and the 1, 4 and 5 will always be major. if you don't understand the CAGED system i would suggest you learn about it. but, if you are playing in a minor key it's the same chords as the major key a third above which is 3 half steps. so the keys of Am and C have the same chords. i hope that all made sense because i'm bad at explaining things

vii - Dim7 Chords Topic

your answer is in there and not just in my post, but jeff's will help as well. there is alot in there and i don't really know where you are coming form so read it all, then feel free to ask questions or i can highlight the important parts if you want.



must you no, can you of course. When playing a chord progression if you follow the chords in the scale,(scales and keys are different, scale(set of notes) is what you are trying to say above, a "key" is just the tonic center), you are playing diatonically, meaning sharing notes. it is something you need to know get a grasp of theory but playing strictly diatoincally gets really boring to me any way.



each box is not for a different scale but if you move the whole box shape up or down a fret(s) you will change scales. however you may have read that each box is for a different mode that is also wrong as all the modes of the given scale are in each box. and yes if the song is in the key of E you can fiddle around with the whole E scale and to the beginner i recommend it, so you can hear all the tones in the scale because music is about listening, but remember there is more to soloing then "hitting" random notes in the scale. I hope that answers your last question as I'm still confused as to what your really trying to say so i took a shot at it but as always feel free to redirect me.

Thanks RA I know my question was sort of confused - sorry, but yes that helped me