Minor keys and relative chords

A minor key has its own seven chords, and they are the same chords as the relative major's. What changes is which one feels like home. This lesson uses A minor and C major to show the connection, and explains why minor-key songs often bend the rules.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• List the diatonic chords of a natural minor key with Roman numerals.
• Match each minor key to its relative major and share chords between them.
• Play a minor-key progression and recognise common borrowed chords.

Build triads on each note of the A natural minor scale (A B C D E F G) and you get:

• on A: Am, numeral i
• on B: B diminished, ii°
• on C: C major, ♭III
• on D: Dm, iv
• on E: Em, v
• on F: F major, ♭VI
• on G: G major, ♭VII

These are exactly the chords of C major, in a different order. A minor is the relative minor of C major: same notes, same chords, different home. Am is vi in C major and i in A minor.

The flats in the numerals show that they are measured against the major scale of the same starting note: a ♭III is a minor third above the root, as in C above A.

Minor keys bend the rules. In practice, the v chord (Em) is often played as a major V (E or E7). The G♯ in E major is not in A natural minor, but it pulls strongly back to A. The same idea applies in House of the Rising Sun, whose chords are Am, C, D, F, Am, C, E, E. The D major there is not in A natural minor either (it would be Dm): it is a borrowed chord, and a part of the song's character.

The Andalusian progression: Am, G, F, E. It is i, ♭VII, ♭VI, V, a descending line used in countless songs.

1. Play Am for four beats.
2. Move to G, then to F (use the small F), then to E.
3. The E has a G♯, which is outside A natural minor. It creates a strong pull back to Am.

Loop it. You can hear the descent through G and F and the tension of E before it resolves back home.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Spell the chords of A minor

  4 min

  1. Write the A natural minor scale: A B C D E F G.
  2. Build a triad on each note using only those notes.
  3. Label each with its numeral: i, ii°, ♭III, iv, v, ♭VI, ♭VII.

  You have it when

  • You get Am, B°, C, Dm, Em, F, G.
  I practised this one

• 2.Relative pairs

  4 min

  1. Play C then Am. Say: 'C major and A minor are relative'.
  2. Do the same with G and Em, then D and Bm.
  3. For each pair, say the numeral in each key (C is I in C major and ♭III in A minor).

  You have it when

  • You can name the relative minor of C, G and D without looking.
  I practised this one

• 3.The Andalusian progression

  4 min · 60 → 90 BPM

  1. Play Am, G, F, E, four beats each.
  2. Use the small F while you build the full barre.
  3. Loop it for two minutes and say the numerals: i, ♭VII, ♭VI, V.

  You have it when

  • You play the progression for two minutes without stopping.
  • You can say which chord is borrowed.
  I practised this one

Four beats per chord at 60 BPM. If you use the Andalusian progression for the last exercise, aim for 80 BPM and a steady strum.

• Thinking of the relative minor as a different set of chords. It is the same set. The numerals change because the starting note changes.
• Being surprised by a major V chord in a minor key. Minor-key songs often use E (major) in place of Em in A minor. The G♯ gives a stronger pull back to A.
• Treating every chord outside the key as an error. Songs borrow chords on purpose. The D major in House of the Rising Sun is not in A natural minor, and that is part of its sound.

House of the Rising Sun is in A minor: Am, C, D, F, then Am, C, E, E. You can now say that the C and F come from A minor's own scale, and that the E is the major V, borrowed for strength.

Try it in: House of the Rising Sun.

Short version (10 minutes)

Play Am, G, F, E for four minutes, counting four beats per chord.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises, then play House of the Rising Sun's chords in order (Am C D F, Am C E E).

• Natural minor chords: i ii° ♭III iv v ♭VI ♭VII.
• A minor and C major share the same chords.
• The V chord in a minor key is often major.
• Borrowed chords are part of a song's character.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I can list the diatonic chords of A natural minor.
• I can name the relative major or minor of a key.
• I can play a minor-key progression and say which chord is borrowed.