tune “Losing My Religion” transposed to a major key. And no, learning minor keys and chords isn’t just for songwriters – they’re also a must for anyone who wants to improve their ear, cover others’ songs, and understand music theory.īefore we dive into the music theory of how we build these melancholy minor chords, let’s compare major vs. It’s important to remember that everlasting, perpetual happiness in music gets boring. Though it may be tempting for the beginner musician to stick to major keys only, the world of minor keys isn’t as sad as it seems – quite the contrary! Minor chords add a depth and richness to your music that major chords alone would not give you. While music written in major keys sounds bright and cheery, minor keys tends to be darker and sadder, with chords to match. Western music is dominated by two tonalities: major and minor.
Let’s start off with a bit of basic but important music theory. Your Minor Journey A Tale of Two Tonalities Writing Your Own Minor Chord Progressionsħ. With enough listening practice and lessons, you’ll be able to recognize minor chord progressions in songs almost instantly – this will come with time!Ĥ.
#D minor chord how to
Sometimes the same chord can appear as major and minor in the very same song!īut this heady harmonic mix is nothing to be afraid of.īy the end of this article, you’ll not only understand how minor chords are made, but you’ll know some common minor chord progressions, how they’re derived from a minor scale, how to write these progressions, how they can be used in your own music, and how to come up with your own. Minor key songs frequently modulate to major and back to minor. Minor scales and minor chord progressions generally contain richer harmonic possibilities than the typical major keys and major chord progressions. A minor scale gives flavor and emotion to a song, adding a level of musical depth that can make a mediocre song moving and distinct from others.īecause so many of our favorite songs are in major keys, those that are in minor keys can stand out, and some musical styles like rock or jazz thrive on complex minor scales and harmonic wizardry. Now it’s time to delve into the exciting world of minor chords with the lessons below. The C9 shape becomes as C7 if it's modified to X3221X.Many of us are familiar with popular major chord progressions like I–IV–V–I. A regular C major without an alternative bass note can be created with the fingerings X3223X. The C chord is more correctly written as C/D. If the D-string is played open ( X002020) it would be an A7sus4. The A7 chord is played with an omitted 3rd and can also be written A7(no3). The Gm chord is more correctly written as Gm/Bb. Notice that it can also be played as 000002 with the 5th is omitted (which is similar to the Dmadd2). The Fmaj7 chord is more correctly written as Fmaj7/D (which also can function as a Dm9 chord). The Em11 chord is more correctly written as Em11/A (notice that the 5th is omitted). Notice that Dm6 is atonal (the B note aren't part of the D minor scale). two other choices in open position are Dm6 ( 000020) and Dm11 ( 032203). In addition to the presented D minor chord, it can also be played as 000003.