The minor chord

Lesson 44 of 72 · Just one note changes, and the chord turns wistful

In this lesson, you will:

Turn a major chord into a minor chord
Play A minor, D minor and E minor (Am, Dm, Em)
Tell a major chord from a minor chord by ear

1. Learn: Just one note changes

Play C – E – G, then lower the E by a half step: C – E♭ – G. Listen: the light dims, and the chord turns darker, more wistful. That’s the C minor chord.

Only the third, the middle note, has moved. In the major chord, it’s 2 whole steps above the root (a major third); in the minor chord, it’s a step and a half above (a minor third). These are notes 1, 3 and 5 of the minor pentascale from lesson 42.

E for the major chord, E♭ for the minor chord.

Tip: In chord symbols, a small m means minor: Cm = C minor, Am = A minor. Without the m, the chord is major.

2. Guided play: From major to minor

Each major chord turns minor: only your middle finger (finger 3) moves down a half step. Listen to the color change.

3. Quiz: Major or minor?

Listen: major or minor?
A broken chord this time: major or minor?
And this one?
Two chords: which one is minor?
To go from C major to C minor, you…

4. Learn: Three minor chords on the white keys

Good news: three minor chords use only white keys, with the same shape as C major (every other key, fingers 1-3-5):

A minor (Am): A – C – E
D minor (Dm): D – F – A
E minor (Em): E – G – B

A minor, D minor, E minor

To tell whether a chord is major or minor, count the half steps between the root and the third: 4 (2 whole steps) = major, 3 (a step and a half) = minor. A – C: 3 half steps, so A minor.

Why this way: Edwin Gordon advised letting learners hear major and minor very early on: comparing them is how the ear learns to tell them apart. That’s why you keep switching between the two colors in this lesson.

5. Practice: Major and minor

Any octave, any order of notes. Think of the shape: every other key, then check the third.

6. Piece: Major or minor?

C major, A minor: two notes in common, and yet two opposite colors. C major (happy), then A minor (wistful). The two chords share two notes, C and E: your whole hand moves down a 3rd.

7. Piece: Three minor chords

Three minor chords in a row, in half notes: Am – Dm – Em – Am. The computer plays the bass. A minor – D minor – E minor – A minor, in half notes.

To practice

Minor chords: A minor, D minor, E minor: the melancholy color
The Andalusian cadence: Your first black key: A minor – G – F – E

← Lesson 43: The major triad Lesson 45: The chords of the key →