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Revision as of 22:44, 25 May 2014

We've just learned the open position C, F, and G Major chords. Now let's learn some minor chords: E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor. E Minor consists of (E G B), D Minor contains (D F A), and A Minor has (A C E). A minor chord consists of root, minor third above root, and perfect fifth above root. The only difference between a major chord and a minor chord is the 3rd. For a major chord, the 3rd is the major 3rd; for a minor chord it is the minor 3rd.

Minor chords may sound slightly more dissonant than major chords. The major third is a more harmonic interval than a minor third; however, remember that all the intervals inside the chord must be analyzed, not simply those between the root and the other notes. While the major chord has a major 3rd between its root and 3rd, the distance from the 3rd to the 5th is actually a minor third. Similarly, in a minor chord, the root-3rd interval is a minor third, but the 3rd-5th interval is a major third. So in actuality, both major and minor chords contain 1 major 3rd, 1 minor 3rd, and 1 perfect fifth (and/or their inverses).

PreReqs

E Minor

This is probably the easiest of all the open string triads to play.

Root Position 1st Inv. 1st Inv. Alt 2nd Inv. 
E  o|-|-|-|-|
B  o|-|-|-|-|
G  o|-|-|-|-|
E   |-|r|-|-|
B   |-|m|-|-|
E  o|-|-|-|-|
     1

E  o|-|-|-|-|
B  o|-|-|-|-|
G  o|-|-|-|-|
E   |-|i|-|-|
B   |-|i|-|-|
G   |-|-|r|-|
     1

E  o|-|-|-|-|
B  o|-|-|-|-|
G  o|-|-|-|-|
E   |-|r|-|-|
B   |-|m|-|-|
G   |-|-|p|-|
     1

E  o|-|-|-|-|
B  o|-|-|-|-|
G  o|-|-|-|-|
E   |-|r|-|-|
B   |-|m|-|-|
    |-|-|-|-|
     1

Only two or 3 frets and the rest is open strings.

Notice that the E Minor has the E and G from the C Major chord, but there is a B instead of a C. It also shares two notes with the G Major Chord, G and B.

Harmonic Theory: Mediant

E is the 3rd note in the C Major scale, which means the E Minor chord in the context of C Major is called the iii Chord'. Again that's the roman numeral 3. Notice we use lower-case for minor chords. The iii Chord is also called the mediant, since its root is halfway between the root of the I and V chords (and thus shares a pair of notes with each of them).

The mediant is often thought of as a parallel or substitute for the dominant chord. The 5th of the mediant is the leading tone or 7th note of the scale, which tends to "want" to resolve to the tonic note. Thus, they often serve the same harmonic function of resolving to the tonic chord.

D Minor

Root Pos. 1st Inv. 2nd Inv. 
F   |i|-|-|-|
D   |-|-|r|-|
A   |-|m|-|-|
D  o|-|-|-|-|
    |-|-|-|-|
    |-|-|-|-|
     1

    |-|-|-|-|
D   |-|-|r|-|
A   |-|m|-|-|
D  o|-|-|-|-|
    |-|-|-|-|
F   |i|-|-|-|
     1

F   |i|-|-|-| 	
D   |-|-|r|-|
A   |-|m|-|-|
D  o|-|-|-|-|
A  o|-|-|-|-|
    |-|-|-|-|
     1

The D minor shares two notes with F Major, the F and A.

Harmonic Theory: Supertonic

D is the 2nd note in the C Major scale, which means the D Minor chord in the context of C Major is called the ii Chord. Again that's the roman numeral 2. The ii Chord serves a "supertonic" function.

The supertonic is a parallel of the IV or subdominant chord, and can be used to substitute for it.

A Minor

Root Pos. 1st Inv. 2nd Inv. 
E  o|-|-|-|-|
C   |i|-|-|-|
A   |-|r|-|-|
E   |-|m|-|-|
A  o|-|-|-|-|
    |-|-|-|-|
     1

E  o|-|-|-|-|
C   |i|-|-|-|
A   |-|r|-|-|
E   |-|m|-|-|
C   |-|-|p|-|
    |-|-|-|-|
     1

E  o|-|-|-|-|
C   |i|-|-|-|
A   |-|r|-|-|
E   |-|m|-|-|
A  o|-|-|-|-|
E  o|-|-|-|-|
     1

Like the E Minor, A Minor shares two notes with C Major, but this time it's C and E. Notice how the fingering for the A Minor is very similar to the C Major - you only need to move your ring finger to alternate between the chords.

Harmonic Theory: Submediant

A is the 6th note of the C Major scale, which makes this the vi Chord, also called the submediant (because it's halfway between tonic and subdominant when descending).

The submediant is a parallel of the tonic, having some of the same functionality; but without its resolution. Thus, the vi chord serves mostly as a transition between two chord groups.

Homework

No exercises today. Just focus on making the above shapes. Practice some bass-strum patterns on them for a while until you are comfortable making the shapes. We will use them in the context of chord progressions soon.

Q/A

Related Lessons

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