Minor chords are indicated with m, mi or min and consist of the first, flattened third and fifth notes from a major scale.
Minor chords create sounds that evoke feelings of hope and optimism; learn when and how to include these chords in your songs.
Triads
A triad is the basic unit of musical chord. It consists of three notes that are one third away from its root note, each separated by an interval equaling three thirds from it (see diagram above). This interval determines whether a triad is minor or major – minor chords have minor thirds between their third and fifth notes while major ones use major thirds between fifth and root note (or vice versa).
A triad’s quality can also be determined by its placement within the bass; depending on its position, its quality may range from major, minor, or diminished.
To identify the quality of a triad, begin by drawing its root chord on a staff and adding snowflake images representing notes a third and fifth above its root chord. Finally, add any accidentals required from key signatures in order to complete it; note that minor triads with their root in the bass sound like minor chords.
Intervals
Intervals are the spaces between two notes and may be major, minor, perfect or augmented in size and sound quality. Each interval has both a number and quality rating that describes its sound to the ear.
Calculating an interval involves counting letters from its bottom note to its top note and back again. To assess its quality, ask whether its top note belongs to the major scale associated with its lower note. Intervals that differ by at least one semitone larger or smaller than perfect or major intervals are considered augmented while those varying by less than an semitone smaller are diminished.
Intervals may be divided into either harmonic or melodic categories, meaning they either combine (harmonically) or separate (melodically). Accidentals do not alter the size of an interval – meaning, for instance, that an F to C perfect fifth could become an augmented fifth simply by raising one note and lowering another one – with no change to its size being caused by doing this.
Scales
One key difference between major and minor chords is their respective thirds – major chords always feature a major third while minor ones contain a lower minor third that may also contain flattened notes, making a chord either major or minor depending on its intervals. But this distinction doesn’t define all major/minor distinctions; other intervals could make up either type.
One important consideration when selecting seventh chords is whether or not they contain a perfect fifth, which as we’ve already seen can determine whether the chord falls under minor or major seventh categories.
As can be seen, learning to construct chords may take some getting used to; but once you grasp the basic rules and patterns it becomes second nature to you and, over time, can enable you to use this knowledge with confidence to play songs from your favourite albums! Don’t give up; keep practicing and you’ll soon be playing tunes you love without breaking a sweat! Happy playing!
Keys
No matter the genre of song, major and minor chords can have an immense effect on its emotional resonance. That’s because they differ only in one key element – namely the third note – which creates major-sounding scales and chords with their brighter, cheerier tone while giving minor ones their darker and melancholier one.
Now, there is an easy way to distinguish major and minor keys based on intervals: just count the semitones between notes in a key signature and you will instantly know if a song belongs to either category – minor or major!
This simple process can help you determine the key of any song even if you are unfamiliar with its key signature or time signature, and is a useful method for identifying tonality of any chord – as it eliminates the risk that sharps or flats have been accidentally added, altering its overall sound.