Minor key chord progressions can range from soothing (George Gershwin’s “Summertime”), funky (“Brick House” by the Commodores), or rocking (Dire Straits’s “Sultans of Swing”). Knowing how to construct chord sequences in minor keys will allow you to become a more versatile songwriter.
This chart represents triad chords and suspended chords on every scale degree of A Minor Scale. Additionally, each chord offers multiple variations including barre shapes and capo positions.
Triads
Triads are chords made up of three notes. By selecting different starting points for these three notes, different triads can be formed which are described according to their qualities (major, minor, diminished or augmented).
Any note in the scale can serve as the root of a triad. Triads are composed of intervals – or distance between adjacent notes – so major and minor triads might contain C, E and G or C E B respectively.
Doublings and open spacing have no bearing on identifying triads; therefore, the one in box 13-11 still counts as a minor triad, even though its third note lies a semitone lower than its first.
To identify the quality of a triad, its pitch class must be studied. As a rule of thumb, an uppercase letter name followed by lowercase letters indicates a major triad while an attached degree sign signifies diminished and plus signs indicate augmented triads respectively.
Inversions
As part of learning chords, it is advisable to become acquainted with all their possible inversions as well. An inversion occurs when the lowest note changes; for instance, a C major triad can either have its bass inversion changed, such as from third bass note being replaced by fifth bass note before root note followed by third.
An inverted chord can be identified on a lead sheet by noting the use of a slash (/) between its triad and bass note; for instance, CEC/E would mean that its triad was C and bass note was E.
As part of playing minor chords, it’s crucial that musicians understand inversions as they feature heavily in many chord progressions – particularly the popular I – V – VI (1 – 4 – 5) progression. Such information is invaluable when creating their own music!
Scales
Minor chords should be an indispensable tool in any musician’s toolkit, whether creating songs or tracks using chord progressions, or just learning them for their sound and emotional potential. Discovering them will open up new sonic worlds that add emotion and tension to your compositions.
To create a minor chord, take any major scale and lower its 3rd note by half-step – this will produce a chord that sounds sadder and less stable than its original major scale. You can use this technique to craft any minor chord you desire, including 7th or diminished ones.
One of the most frequently seen minor chord progressions is i – iv – vi, which you’ll likely come across when listening to blues or rock songs. Make sure you keep a chord chart nearby so you can remember all of its roman numerals which correspond with each key’s scale degrees – these charts can help create song structures as well as identify minor or major keys!
Voicings
Generalising, each chord’s sound depends heavily on context; majors tend to sound brighter and happier while minors sound darker and melancholic; the difference lies in the interval between root and third; majors contain a perfect fifth while minors don’t.
Chord voicings allow musicians to create various sounds using just one chord, providing musicians with an unlimited range of expression. These voicings may include extensions or non-crescent notes from the scale that don’t normally form part of it, like sharp 9ths and b7s.
Some voicings (such as open position or barre chords) utilize multiple strings in unison to produce one chord and have more than one note per string, whereas others involve only the lower octaves – known as spread or close voicings depending on how many notes are stacked together.