This lessons gonna go over how to build minor scale chords, which is the same as building major scale chords (leads to chord). The goal of this system is to establish all the chords that have the same root as the designated key. The basis of understanding and creating chord progressions.
Guitar Triads
The basis of chord construction begins with stacking thirds to create triads, the chords that form the basic of all chord. Three refers to the number of notes that are apart. You can also consider it as the root, 3rd, and 5th degree. These thirds determine the quality of a triad:
- Major Triad – a triad with a major 3rd and perfect 5th, or a major 3rd + minor 3rd interval [7 semitones]
- Minor Triad – a triad with a flattened 3rd (minor 3rd) and perfect 5th, or a minor 3rd + major 3rd interval [7 semitones]
- Augmented Triad – a major triad with a raised 5th, or two major 3rd intervals [8 semitones]
- Diminished Triad – a minor triad with a flattened 5th, or two minor 3rd intervals [6 semitones]
As we go through some examples, how these qualities will become more clear.
G Minor Chords
To understand how chords can be built in a minor key, let’s look at how they are built within the key of G. The G minor scale features the following notes, as seen on the fretboard diagram below:
G – A – B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F
1st Degree – G
On the first degree of the G minor scale, stack thirds from D to get a triad:
| 3rds | Triad Quality | Chord Formed | |
| G – B♭ – D | From G to B♭ is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) From B♭ to D is a major 3rd (4 semitones) | Minor | Gm |
The first degree of the G minor scale is G A B, which makes up a minor chord. This particular triad has the following chord formula:
Root – ♭3 – p5
Chord: G minor
2nd Degree – A
You play this triad using the G minor scale (second degree):
| Triad | 3rds | Triad Quality | Chord Formed |
| A – C – E♭ | From A to C is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) From C to E♭ is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) | Diminished | Adim |
A minor 3rd stacked with a minor 3rd results in a flatted 5th degree. The diminished triad is the result.
Root – ♭3 – ♭5
Chord: Adim (diminished)
3rd Degree – B♭
Third degree of the minor scale leads to some interesting scales stems.
| Triad | 3rds | Triad Quality | Chord Formed |
| B♭ – D – F | From B♭ to D is a major 3rd (4 semitones) From D to F is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) | Major | B♭ |
From the third degree, you are able to match up a major third stacked with a minor third. So, you get a major triad with the following formula: major 3rd and minor 3rd.
Root – ♭3 – p5
Chord: B♭
4th Degree – C
The fourth degree yields the following triad:
| 3rds | Triad Quality | Chord Formed | |
| C – E♭– G | From C to E♭ is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) From E♭ to G is a major 3rd (4 semitones) | Minor | Cm |
With the fourth degree of the minor scale, you’ll get yet another minor triad.
Root – ♭3 – p5
Chord: Cm
5th Degree – D
The fifth degree of the minor scale gives us:
| 3rds | Triad Quality | Chord Formed | |
| D – F – A | From D to F is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) From F to A is a major 3rd (4 semitones) | Minor | Dm |
The eighth note of the scale is a minor triad with a minor 3rd, and the fifth degree of that minor triad is actually a major third.
Root – ♭3 – p5
Chord: Dm
6th Degree – E♭
The sixth degree has a triad of three.
| Triad | 3rds | Triad Quality | Chord Formed |
| E♭– G – B♭ | From E♭ to B♭ is a major 3rd (4 semitones) From G to B♭ is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) | Major | E♭ |
A major triad contains a major 3rd stacked with two minor thirds, which is a perfect example of the sound in question.
Root – ♭3 – p5
Chord: E♭
7th Degree – F
The final triad of the minor scale is:
| Triad | 3rds | Triad Quality | Chord Formed |
| F – A – C | From F to A is a major 3rd (4 semitones) From A to C is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) | Major | F |
One more major triad is needed on the seventh degree, which gives us a major chord.
Root – ♭3 – p5
Chord: F
Chords in the G Minor Scale
The table below summarizes all the chords built from the G minor scale.
| Scale Degree | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | Gm | Adim | B♭ | Cm | Dm | E? | F |
Minor Key Chords
We can see the connected minor key chords at a glance now, with the minor scales and their harmonizations.
With the minor scale harmonized, we can see the qualities of the minor key chords summarized in the table below.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| Triad Quality | Minor | Diminished | Major | Minor | Minor | Major | Major |
| Chord Pattern* | i | ii° | III | iv | v | VI | VII |
| *Capital letters are used in major numbers and lowercase letters for minor numbers. | |||||||
We used the G minor scale in this lesson, but really all minor scales use these same chord qualities.
Relative Scales
The chords of minor and major scales are the same, just in a different order. This is because they are relative to each other. Slurs are used in musical scales even though they sound the same. Remember, C minor is a diatonic scale, featuring only natural notes, and D major is an extended diatonic scale.
Conclusion
Chord progressions are flowery, sound rich and create diverse yet harmonious melodies. They can be tough to decipher for people who haven’t really spent a lot of time understanding diatonic harmony. An important part of chord progressions is the built-in scales that come from composing a particular piece in a certain key, like you did with the C major scale. By now you know how to use these scales for your own compositions, but it’s also worth learning about building your own chords.
This is true, and what I meant by diatonic is the pure scale of a musical key. To use a different kind of example, consider the C major scale in C major as an example. All chords in this scale are diatonic to this particular key and can be played without any other chords.
FAQ for Building from the Minor Scale Chords
What is a minor scale chord?
A minor scale chord is made up of three notes and is played on a guitar, which are the root note, the major third, and the perfect fifth. The major third note is a semitone higher than the root note while the perfect fifth is a semitone lower than that.
What is the minor scale?
The minor scale is an eight-note scale that is used in Western tonal music. It is one of the two most commonly used scales in Western tonal music. The major scale and the natural minor scale are the other two scales.
The minor scale has three notes that are a semitone lower than those of the major scale, and it has seven notes that are a semitone higher than those of the major scale.
How many different chords are in the minor scale?
There are two types of chords in the minor scale. The first type is the natural minor, which has a raised 6th note and the second type is the harmonic minor, which has a lowered 6th note.
The natural minor scale contains 7 notes. The raised 6th note creates a dissonance between the tonic and dominant chords in this scale.
Harmonic minor also contains 7 notes but it has raised 5th and 7th notes as well as lowered 3rd and 6th notes that create a consonance between tonic and dominant chords in this scale.
What is a key signature?
Key signatures are used to identify the tonic note in a scale. It is also used as a reference point for chords that have the same key signature.
The key signature of C major is C-D-E-F-G-A.
How do scale chords progress?
Music theory is a fascinating subject that has been around for centuries. There are many different ways to approach music, and the most popular way is through scales. The scale is a group of notes that follow one another in order, and it can be used to create chords.
The scale consists of seven notes: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti. The seventh note is called the octave note and it’s located twice in the scale. It’s important to know where these notes are because they form the basis of chords in music theory.
The first two notes from a major chord. The next three form a minor chord while the last two form an augmented chord. A major chord consists of 3 major tones while a minor chord consists of 2 minor tones and 1 major tone. An augmented chord consists of 4 major tones and 1 minor tone with an extra note at its end – this note is called the leading tone or seventh tone.
How is the minor scale chords progression different than the major scale chords progression?
The minor scale is a seven-note scale. The natural minor scales are the same but with a lowered seventh note, which makes it a six-note scale.
The major scale has seven notes, but the first note (the tonic) is not the root of the chord progression. The first note is called the leading tone and it’s always in one of two places:
The minor scale chords are made up of three notes on each string, whereas major scales have four chords per string.
This makes it easier to find notes in a minor chord progression and make them sound more interesting than major chords.
How does the minor scale chords progression work in C major?
The minor scale is a musical scale with seven notes in it. It is the relative minor of the major scale. This means that it has the same notes as its relative major, but with one or more tones higher or lower than their corresponding major key. For example, C Major has a minor scale of C D E F G A B C.
The following are some chords from the C Major Scale: C-Dm-E-F#m-G-Am-Bdim/C#
How are minor keys constructed?
Minor keys are constructed by taking the first, third, fifth, and seventh notes of a major key.
What types of chords can be found in the minor scale?
The first type of chord that can be found in the minor scale is a dominant seventh chord. This chord is made up of three notes: a major third above the root note (B), a minor third below (E), and an octave above (G). This type of chord has a lot to do with tension because it contains two major thirds.
How do I play a chord in the minor scale?
To play a minor chord, you would simply take the first note of the scale, which is A. Then follow it up with either D or E depending on what key you are playing in.