In this lesson we will take a look at Minor Keys. Minor keys are a little more complicated then major. There are 13 chords in a minor key because on the 6th and 7th degrees of a minor key there are two alternative notes. This means that, apart from on the tonic (whose triad doesn't include the 6th or 7th degrees of the key), there are two alternative triads for each degree in the key's scale.
- Chords In A Minor:
I
A Minor
II
Bdim or Bm
III
C or Caug
IV
Dm or D
V
Em or E
VI
F or Fdim
VII
G or Gdim
- The first set of chords basically come from the relative major key.
In this case the chords come from the key of C
Am,Bm C,Dm Em,F,G
Minor keys are cool since you have so many options. You can choose to stay with the relative chords of the Major or venture into the true minor chords. ( Am Bdim,Caug,D,E,Fdim,Gdim) This opens alot of doors for scales and modes you can use. You can also add this chords into a C major key to make things more interesting. Your choice of scales and modes will change of course.
Have Fun
