Piano Guidance
Photo by Andres  Ayrton Pexels Logo Photo: Andres Ayrton

What are the 3 minor chords?

The formula for finding chords in a minor key looks like this: i - ii(dim) - III - iv - V - VI - VII. ... A - B - C - D - E - F - G. ... Am - Bdim - C - Dm - E - F - G. ... A minor: Am - Dm - E. F minor: Fm - Bbm - C. D minor: Dm - Gm - A. ... D minor: Dm - Bb - C. G minor: Gm - Eb - F. More items...

How do I teach my 5 year old piano lessons?
How do I teach my 5 year old piano lessons?

13 Tips For How To Teach Piano To A 5 Year Old Learn The Finger Numbers. Practice Key Groupings. Introduce The Musical Alphabet. Daily Rhythm...

Read More »
Which Beatles song uses only one chord?
Which Beatles song uses only one chord?

Tomorrow Never Knows But when it comes to truly only using a single, unchanging chord, no song in the band's catalogue can top 'Tomorrow Never...

Read More »

Minor chord progressions are very similar to major chord progressions but of course, we’re looking at the minor scale! It’s important to know how to find chords within a minor scale so that you have a number of options when it comes time to create your own song or if you simply want to know how your favorite hits have come together.

How to Find Chords in a Minor Key

In order to find the chords within a minor guitar scale, we’ll use the concept of Roman numerals and how they determine which chord is a major or minor in the relevant key, just as we did when we talked about major chord progressions. The formula for finding chords in a minor key looks like this: i - ii(dim) - III - iv - V - VI - VII The lowercase numerals indicates a minor chord, while the capitalized numerals are major chords. As you can see, the second chord within this formula is a diminished chord. Let’s take this formula and apply it to the key of A. Remember the A minor scale is made up of these notes: A - B - C - D - E - F - G Since we know that these are the notes of the A minor scale, we can take these notes and plug them into the chord tones. Am - Bdim - C - Dm - E - F - G Now that we know how to find chords in a minor key, let’s take a look at some really common minor chord progressions.

3 Common Minor Chord Progressions

These minor chord progression is not only popular for major progressions, but can also be used for minor work as well.

Here are some examples of this chord progression in different keys.

i - iv - V

A minor: Am - Dm - E

F minor: Fm - Bbm - C

D minor: Dm - Gm - A

i - VI - VII

D minor: Dm - Bb - C

G minor: Gm - Eb - F

B minor: Bm - G - A

i - VI - III - VII

C minor: Cm - A - E - B

E minor: Em - C - G - D

A minor: Am - F - C - G

Give these minor chord progressions a try and see what you can come up with. Feel free to play around with them and have fun!

Get More Tips

How old is a Grade 10?
How old is a Grade 10?

Canada's grade levels compared to other countries Starting age Canada United States 14-15 Grade 9 Grade 9 15-16 Grade 10 Grade 10 16-17 Grade 11...

Read More »
How do you play piano without mistakes?
How do you play piano without mistakes?

How To Avoid Piano Mistakes (A Helpful Guide) Memorize the music in small chunks. Do chord analysis for difficult passages. Practice slowly and...

Read More »

Why do piano keys start with C?

The answer is that that the most familiar melodies use the major scale: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. And that is the pattern of steps outlined by the white keys of the piano if you start on C. Naturally the C major scale is therefore the first one everyone learns.

Question: Why do most musical scales start on C? - G.K. Answer: To start with, let's not mislead any impressionable readers that may be in the room: it isn't actually correct to say that most scales start on C. But I think I know where you're coming from here - "C" has a big and seemingly undeserved reputation among musical pitches. One might ask, "Why not A? If we've decided to name the notes A,B,C,D,E,F,G why is it that we hear so much about C??" The answer is that that the most familiar melodies use the major scale: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. And that is the pattern of steps outlined by the white keys of the piano if you start on C. Naturally the C major scale is therefore the first one everyone learns. And "middle C" is the pitch exactly between the treble and bass clefs used in piano music. "C" is famous. But the major scale can start on any note. By using the black keys placed there for just this purpose you can play that same pattern of whole and half steps beginning on C#, or Eb, or any other. So really, C major is just one of the many transpositions of the major scale, and its only real distinction is that it is played without using any of the piano's black keys. On the violin it has no special status at all.

Why is D minor the saddest key?
Why is D minor the saddest key?

This so-called “flatted third” is closer to the root note, and the distance from the major third is thought to create peripheral dissonance and a...

Read More »
Why does making out feel so good?
Why does making out feel so good?

Along with the oxytocin and dopamine that make you feel affection and euphoria, kissing releases serotonin — another feel-good chemical. It also...

Read More »
Is it expensive to learn piano?
Is it expensive to learn piano?

According to a 2020 report from Thumbtack, a piano teacher will charge anywhere from $40-$100 an hour for private lessons and $30-$50 per hour for...

Read More »
What is Grade 8 music?
What is Grade 8 music?

Grade 8 is the final level of music theory offered by the ABRSM as an examination subject. At this level, you are studying topics similar to those...

Read More »