The minor chord is one of the most important chords in all of music. If you had to put all chord types in two buckets, one bucket would be Major chords, the other would be minor chords. The minor chord contains the root note, flat 3rd (b3) and 5th of the Major scale.
Here is a list of common ways to play the minor chord in all 12 keys.
How is the minor chord produced?
The minor chord is produced by taking the root note, flat 3rd (b3) and 5th of the Major scale. It’s the flat 3rd that essentially makes a chord a minor chord. The Major chord contains the root note, 3rd and 5th of the Major scale. Therefore, the minor chord can be determined by taking a Major chord with the same root note and ‘lowering the 3rd’.
For example, if we take the C Major chord (C, E, G) and lower the 3rd (E), we get the C minor chord (C, Eb, G).
If we take the A Major chord (A, C#, E) and lower the 3rd (C#), we get the A minor chord (A, C, E).
Minor Barre Chord Shapes
Apart from A minor, D minor and E minor (see the shapes above), most minor chords are played by using barre chord shapes. Here are the moveable root 6 and root 5 minor barre chord shapes.
Minor Chords in Every Key
If you’re after more minor chord shapes and theory for specific minor chords, use the links below.
Here is a list of different minor chords:
