Part 7: Make a minor key feel like home · Lesson 062 / 117
Build the natural-minor chord family
Use the familiar alternate-note method in A natural minor.
Take alternate notes of A natural minor to form triads. The results are Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G.
Inspect Am = A–C–E, Dm = D–F–A and Em = E–G–B. Each has a minor third and perfect fifth above its root. These will be the main chords in our first minor studies.
Two numeral conventions are common. In this course, minor-key progressions use a parallel-major reference: i–ii°–bIII–iv–v–bVI–bVII. The flats explicitly locate roots such as C, F and G relative to A major. Other resources may omit these flats when the natural-minor scale is already assumed. We state our convention so the labels remain clear.
The first task is only to derive Am, Dm and Em. The whole family remains a reference. No new physical chord shape is required to understand a triad's construction.
Hear it
A Minor Family
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
In A natural minor: i=Am, iv=Dm, v=Em. C is bIII relative to A major, F is bVI and G is bVII.
Try it, slowly
- Build Am from A–C–E.
- Build Dm and Em using the same alternate-note method.
- Check the third in each against its own root rather than against A.
Check one idea
Why is the natural-minor v chord Em rather than E major?
Show the explanation
The scale supplies G, the minor third above E. E major would require G#, a note not in A natural minor.
A good place to stop
You can derive the three minor triads and understand the stated numeral convention.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.