The Minor Chord

Now that we're dong with the major Chords (Huh? click here to start from the beginning of our chord piano lessons) is the Minor ones.

That's a simple story. Let's start with the theoretical level.
When we spoke about the major chords we found out that every major chord is built out of a major third and a small third.
The minor piano chords however, are built of a minor 3rd and a major 3rd.

Let's take C major for example. It contains the notes C E G. In order to turn it to C Minor all we have to do is lower the major third in half a tone and press on E flat instead. At the end we stick with these notes (C Eb G).

The difference between Major chords and Minor Chords.

The minor third in the minor chords sounds more mellow and more introvert in comparison with the major third and that's why the minor chords are often interpreted in music as the sad ones or more mellow ones.

Listen to sound of the chord and try to identify its mood in your ear.

Tip: If you're having difficulties with finding a certain minor triad seek for the major chord and then lower the major third into a minor third. Remember: Developing your musical ear is the key to success on the long run. That's what we are aiming for.

When we'd like to state a minor chord, C minor for example we'll write the root note in a big letter just as we did with the major chord and we'll add a small m letter next to it.
C minor would be written as Cm for example.

Question:

Try to find all Minor Piano Chords intuitively. Find the major chords first and then lower the major third in half a tone.
Click here to see if you get it all right.

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