Everything You Need to Know About Minor Scale Chords for Beginners

Minor scale guitar chords how chords are built c major key triad table beginner guitarist

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Discover how chords in a minor key are put together so you can learn songs quicker, write your own chord progressions and say bye-bye to playing plateaus.

Do you want to save time and frustration and play guitar better? Do you want to know the secrets of music theory that will help you create amazing melodies and harmonies? 

If so, you’re in the right place.

Understanding the music theory behind how chords in a minor key are put together will help you:

  • Understand the music you listen to on a deeper level
  • Improvise more easily and confidently
  • Write more expressive and creative songs

This post will give you a solid foundation for building and applying minor scale chords to your music. You will also get some resources to help you improve your musical skills and creativity.

Ready to seriously upgrade your musical skills?

Lets get started!

Table of Contents

What are relative major and minor keys?

Simply put, two keys are relative if they share the same set of notes. This means that you can play any chord in a major key in its relative minor key, and vice versa.

For example, the relative minor of C major is A minor. This means that all C major chords (C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B diminished) can also be played in A minor.

Why are relative major and minor keys so important?

There are a few reasons why relative major and minor keys are so important.

Reason #1.

First, they allow you to create different moods in your music. For example, if you’re writing a song in C major and you want to add a sad or melancholic section, you can simply switch to the relative minor key of A minor.

Reason #2.

Second, relative major and minor keys can be used to create interesting and unexpected chord progressions.

For example, you could start a song in C major and then modulate to the relative minor key of A minor for the chorus. This would create a sense of contrast and excitement in the song.

Reason #3.

Finally, relative major and minor keys are essential for understanding the music you listen to.

Many popular songs use relative major and minor keys to create different moods and emotions.

How to use relative major and minor keys in your music

Here are some tips on using relative major and minor keys in your music, which we just learned about:

  • Use them to create different moods. Switch to the relative minor key if you want to add a sad or melancholic section to your song. Switch to the relative major key if you want to add a bright and upbeat section.
  • Use them to create interesting chord progressions. Try modulating (changing) to the relative minor key for the chorus or using relative major and minor chords in your verse-chorus-verse chord progressions.
  • Improvise more easily and confidently. Relative scales are a great way to improvise over minor key chords. For example, the relative major of A minor is C major. This means that you can play any scale or lick in C major over A minor chords, and it will sound good. You can also use the relative minor of C major, which is A minor, to improvise over C major chords. 

Before diving in deeper, let’s first review some fundamental music theory. A strong foundation in music theory will help you understand minor scales and chords better.

What is a chord and a scale?

A chord is a group of notes that sound good together. You can make different kinds of chords by using different combinations of notes from a scale. A scale is a set of notes that follow a certain pattern.

What are triads and intervals?

In a minor key, the chords are referred to as triads. These are three-note chords formed by stacking two notes above a root note.

In music theory, the distance between two notes can be measured in intervals, specifically thirds. This means that the space between every note is referred to as a third interval.

Understanding intervals is essential for harmonising melodies and creating chords in songwriting.

What are the different types of triads and intervals?

There are four types of triads: major, minor, diminished, and augmented. Each type of triad has a different combination of intervals between the notes.

There are two types of intervals that you need to know: major thirds and minor thirds. A major third is four half-steps (or frets) away from the root note. A minor third is three half-steps away from the root note.

Here are the chord formulas and examples of each type of triad:

  • A major triad consists of a major third and a minor third interval between the notes. They contain a root (1), a major 3rd (3) and a perfect fifth (5). For example, C major = C – E – G.
  • A minor triad is made by layering a minor third on top of a major third; they contain root (1), minor 3rd (b3) and a perfect fifth (5). For example, A minor = A – C – E.
  • A diminished triad is made from two minor thirds and contain a root (1), a minor 3rd (b3) and a flat fifth (b5). For example, B diminished = B – D – F.
  • An augmented triad is made from a root (1), major 3rd (3) and a raised fifth (#5). For example, C augmented = C – E – G#.

How do you make chords from minor scales?

Let’s use the key signature of A minor to answer this question. The A minor scale has seven notes: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. You can use these notes to make seven chords, one for each note. Each chord has a name and a formula that tells you which notes to use.

To make a chord, you start with the note that matches the name of the chord. This is called the root note. For example, the root note of the A minor chord is A.

Then you add two more notes on top of the root note by skipping some notes in between. As we’ve already covered, this is called stacking or layering thirds.

We also learned that you need to know two kinds of intervals: major thirds and minor thirds.

The type of chord you get depends on the type of intervals you use. There are three basic types of chords: major, minor, and diminished.

Pro Tip

Once you know the types of chords found in the A minor key, the rules apply to all minor keys. Just change the starting (root) note.

What are the chords in the A minor scale?

Here are the seven chords you can make from the A minor scale, along with their formulas and notes:

  • Chord degree 1: A minor (triad) = 1-b3-5 = A – C – E
  • Chord degree 2: B diminished (triad) = 1-b3-b5 = B – D – F
  • Chord degree 3: C major (triad) = 1-3-5 = C – E – G
  • Chord degree 4: D minor (triad) = 1-b3-5 = D – F – A
  • Chord degree 5: E minor (triad) = 1-b3-5 = E – G – B
  • Chord degree 6: F major (triad) = 1-3-5 = F – A – C
  • Chord degree 7: G major (triad) = 1-3-5 = G – B – D

Where can I learn more about chords and music theory?

➡️ If you want to learn more about chords and music theory, you can check out my book, which makes it easier to understand and apply Easy Peasy Guitar Music Theory: for Beginners.

➡️ Want a book with all the chords used in your favourite songs in one handy place? Grab the popular Essential Guitar Chords for Beginners book.

➡️ You can also try Chord Crush by Hooktheory, a fun and interactive ear-training app that teaches you to recognise chords by solving puzzles based on real songs.

➡️ Another useful tool is Hookpad by Hooktheory, a songwriting software that helps you create melodies and chord progressions with built-in music theory and AI.

➡️ Finally, another great way to learn chords in songs and basic interval theory is to use EarMaster. It’s an app that teaches you how to hear notes, chords, scales, and rhythms with real music examples.

Minor Key Chord Interval Chart

Take a look at this chart below that displays the degrees, notes and intervals of the chords in the example key of A minor.

You’ll notice that this key shares the same chords as its relative, C major, but with a shift to the 6th-degree chord.

Chords in a minor key chart

Summing it Up

You learned how to build minor scale chords using triads and intervals in this post. You also learned the names, formulas, and notes of the seven chords in the key of A minor.

These chords can help you create beautiful and expressive melodies and harmonies in your music.

Building chords from scales is a fundamental skill for any musician. It can help you understand how music works and how to compose your own songs.

If you want to expand your chord knowledge and learn more advanced concepts, you can check out some of the resources I mentioned in this post: Easy Peasy Guitar Music Theory: for Beginners and Hooktheory.

Thanks for reading, and happy playing! 

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