What do the roman numerals for chords mean?

Question:like the I, iv, v, III?

What does it mean and what are the orders for major and minor keys?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: like the I, iv, v, III?

What does it mean and what are the orders for major and minor keys?

The Roman numerals are specific to chord changes.

eg. the key of C major is made of these 7 notes
C D E F G A B

now,,, in the key of C,, there is a "chord" built from each note,,, so,,, 7 notes,,, 7 chords ... as follows

I II III IV V VI VII
C Dm Em F G Am Bdim

Key of G
I II III IV V VI VII
G Am Bm C D Em F#dim

see a pattern?

We use Roman numerals for the chords so that we don't get things confused as numbers are used to indicate fingerings.

Here's where it's useful
In the key of C::
I IV V = C F G

I want to move that to the key of G,,, so now I need to move
I IV V to the key of G = G C D chords

?Comprendes?

Save the minor key stuff for a bit later when you've absobed this.

http://www.musictheoryblog.blogspot.com/...

http://www.howmusicworks.org/hmw611.asp

Major keys are usually as follows:
I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii (diminished)

Minor keys:
i, ii (diminished), III, iv, v / V, VI, VII / vii

Capital Roman Numerals: Major chord, having a major third above the root and a minor third above that

Lower Case Roman Numerals: minor chords, having a minor third above the root and a major third about that

I = tonic/ do
ii = re
iii = mi
IV = fa
V = sol
vi = la
vii = ti / te

To add a little more, roman numerals stand for the scale degree upon which a triad is built. For example, "ii" is a triad built on the second scale degree.

Roman Numerals

The Roman Numeral method of naming chords is a very logical and easy system to understand.
The chord is simply named after the degree of the scale from which it is formed. In a major scale
this always gives a fixed pattern of chords:
I is major, II is minor, III is minor, IV is major, V is major, VI is minor and VII is a diminished
triad (triad = a chord with three notes).
Any of these chords can have additions, for instance seventh chords of differing types
are formed by adding the number 7 after the Roman Numeral. In jazz notation a "7"
always means a minor seventh above the root (root = the note which names the chord),
but in Roman, it can mean any kind of 7th. this being determined by the layout of the scale.
Thus the following diagram shows both jazz and Roman descriptions of the 7th chords.
I7 is a major seventh chord as is IV7, II7 is a minor seventh chord as is III7 and VI7,
V7 is a Dominant 7th. chord and VII7 is called a half diminished or minor 7th.
flattened 5th 8-)

go to http://www.smu.edu/totw/chords.htm