The A minor triad, more commonly called the A minor chord, is a minor triad consisting of the notes A, C and E. Here it is on the bass clef staff: Here is the above chord on the piano: We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.Don't worry, your information will not be shared. And this should be your point of view angle when you're looking down at it. If the root of the A minor chord – A – is the bass note (i.e., the bottom note), then the chord is in root position: If the third of the chord – C – is the bottom note, then the chord is in first inversion: If the fifth of the chord – E – is the bass note, then the chord is in second inversion. After logging in you can close it and return to this page. Those aren't your string names, those are actually showing you what note you're playing in the chord. This is the web hosting I use for Strumcoach, and have been very pleased so far. Just know that the root note in any type of A chord is going to be "A". In this post, you'll learn how to play an A minor chord on your guitar, as well as an easier, A minor replacement called A minor 7, or Am7 for short. If the notes of a chord are played one after the other, the chord is said to be arpeggiated. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. You could always just be careful with your strum and not hit it, but personally, I wrap my thumb around the neck and use my thumb to lightly touch the Low E string so it doesn't make a sound. Please log in again. So again, each of those 3 statements are all saying the same thing. Oh yeah, and you're still going to mute your Low E string in this one too. Now don't get confused by the letters underneath the chart! | It’s my favorite online course for learning how to play piano. But now, instead of having the 2nd fret on G, we have an open string on G. Then back to the normal 1st fret on the B string with your 1st (pointer) finger, and then an open High E string. We shall list triad chords and four note extended chords below in the key of A min. So, since we're talking about minor chords here, what makes a chord a minor chord verses a major chord? If you already know how to build a major chord, then you'll know that it's almost the same thing: a root, a major 3rd, and a perfect 5th. All you need to do now is move everything down one string... and you're done! A minor chord attributes: Interval positions with respect to the A major scale, notes in the chord and name variations: Scale intervals: 1 - b3 - 5; Notes in the chord: A - C - E; Various names: Am - A Minor - Amin Now make sure you don't confuse the A minor chord with the A major chord. A minor chord for piano (including Am/C and Am/E inversions) presented by keyboard diagrams. I think it always helps to start off with a reference picture. ...We're doing the dark and sad one today haha. You're just making it a 2 finger chord instead of a 3. Now like I briefly talked about in the beginning of this post, the A minor chord is found in both the C major, and G major keys, which are the two most used keys in mainstream popular music today. It's all in what type of 3rd you use. Then a 3rd finger, your ring finger, on the 2nd fret of the G string. What are the chords in the key of A minor natural? Why is that? To learn more about chords by key (what chords are in what key and why), check out my book, Master Piano Chords By Key And Give Yourself A Big Advantage When Playing, Learning Or Writing Songs. Thankfully for us, it's a beginner chord so it shouldn't give you too much trouble, once you learn the finger placement for it. Diagram of the A minor scale on piano keyboard. Those circles with numbers in them show you which fingers to use, on what frets. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. (If you don’t understand the below notation, you should start with my How to Read Sheet Music course.). So again, you have an open A string, your 2nd (middle) and 3rd (ring) fingers play those 2nd frets on your D and G strings, respectively, and then your 1st (pointer) finger plays the 1st fret on B, followed by an open High E string. Even though this is a beginner chord, it will still take some getting used to. Now the way you go about "skipping" that Low E string is kind of up to you. So that would be an A note (1), a C# (3), and an E (5). So all in all, it's not too much different. That way you know where you're going to end up when you're done. This note is called a lowered or flat third (♭3). So just like before: open A string, then a 2nd finger (middle) on the 2nd fret of the D string. Only when I have an update, about once a week, usually on Fridays. But no worries, I don't send out very much mail! "Starting Points" is a short guide designed to help you go deeper into the art and smarts of music and guitar playing. Here are the standard fingerings for arpeggios of the A minor chord. I get paid (at no extra cost to you) from BlueHost if you sign up from this link. Awesome! So for the minor 7 chord we use: 1, b3, 5, b7, which means the notes we need for an A minor 7 chord are: A, C, E, G. Again, if you want to know more about intervals, check out the guitar intervals page here. So the line going up and down on the far left is your Low E string, the thick one. For the melodic minor scale, you raise the sixth and seventh notes of the natural minor scale by a half step as you go up the scale and then return to the natural minor as you go down the scale. For example, the minor triad built on C, called a C minor triad, has pitches C–E♭–G: If you want to get technical, it means to add a "minor 7th" interval on top of our existing minor chord, but I'll explain that a little better in a minute. Be sure to check out the Piano For All piano lessons. The following chord chart shows all the triads in A minor as well as four note extended chords. That way, I don't have to be super careful with my strumming. © 2009-2020 Piano-Keyboard-Guide.com. E Major Chord (Easy Guitar Chords For Beginners). It's played the exact same way as up above, I just know that a lot of people prefer tab so I want to give that option. C Major Feel free to use this A minor 7 chord if you're having trouble getting the traditional A minor to sound right. What that means for you, is that in a good majority of songs that you play, this A minor chord has the potential to pop up on you. The notes of the A minor natural scale are: A B C D E F G. Chords in natural minor keys follow the pattern, minor diminished major minor minor major major. Then, when you're able to play the traditional A minor chord, you'll already have this sweet minor 7 variation figured out. By the way, if you want to test your knowledge about what you just learned, there's a quick quiz you can take down below. For example, in the C major scale, the notes are C, E and G. After finding these notes, simply move the 3rd note (the E) down by one fret. Let me know in the comments! Now all this is great, but how do you know what notes use to make an A minor chord? There is only 1 different note in C major and C minor (or any major and minor chord with the same starting note) Major chords start with a major 3rd followed by a minor 3rd; Minor chords start with a minor 3rd followed by a major 3rd; A major 3rd is 4 semitones; A minor 3rd is 3 semitones. So if you're ever trying to tell the difference between a major and minor chord, just remember to look at the 3rd. Alright, let's go! If these are new to you, imagine they are just like your guitar neck if it were sitting straight up, vertically. So for the minor 7 chord we use: 1, b3, 5, b7, which means the notes we need for an A minor 7 chord are: A, C, E, G. Again, if you want to know more about intervals, check out the guitar intervals page here. This is true of any major scale, we just happen to be looking at A major, because we want to know more about a minor--I said just stick with me!! Explanation: The regular A minor chord is a triad, meaning that it consists of three notes. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. I use Am7 in place of Am all the time. So if we want to form a minor chord, we need: a root, a minor 3rd, and a perfect 5th.