7.1 · Chords of the Minor Key

A chord on every minor step

Build a triad on every degree of a minor key and you get its seven chords: i · ii° · III · iv · v · VI · VII. Still three major chords, three minor, one diminished; the majors just sit on new degrees.

One minor scale in, seven chords out

Pick a home note, then hear the minor scale and a chord built on each step of it. Shapes mark the key's own 1, ♭3, and 5: star, triangle, pentagon.

Home note · sets the minor key

The seven chords of A minor

Home (i) is now minor, the diminished chord moved to step 2, and the majors regrouped on III, VI, and VII. Change the home note above: the letters move, the pattern never does.

Same team, new positions

Major key: majors on 1, 4, 5. Minor key: majors on 3, 6, 7. Hear the two home chords back to back.

Quiz

1 / 3

In a minor key, the home chord i is…

Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson. A perfect run sticks: a later miss never undoes it.The minor big three: i, iv, v →