A Minor Chord (Am)

1Composition: what it contains

A – C – E

Symbol

Am

Also written

Am, Amin, A-

Formula

1 ♭3 5

2Appearance: diagrams and sound

On the guitar

On the ukulele

On the piano

On the staff

On bass and as an arpeggio

3Indications: what it is used for

The ii, iii and vi chords of a major key and the i, iv and (natural) v chords of a minor key are minor triads. It anchors ballads, rock anthems, folk and film music; progressions like vi–IV–I–V, i–VI–III–VII and i–iv–v are built on it. The relative minor (vi) often substitutes for the tonic (I), and minor chords can be extended to m7, m9 or m6 depending on style. In blues-rock, a minor chord on the tonic often supports minor pentatonic soloing.

4Dosage: how to practise it

On guitar, learn the open minor shapes, the barre shapes rooted on the sixth and fifth strings, and three-string triads in all inversions. On piano, play the triad in root position and both inversions, hands separately and together, at 60–80 BPM. Then practise switching between a major chord and its parallel minor to hear the third change. Arpeggiate the chord on bass (1-♭3-5-8). Five minutes daily of i–iv–v and vi–IV–I–V loops will cement it.

5Warnings and common mistakes

The minor third is the only difference from the major chord: make sure your fingering lowers exactly that note. A lowercase 'm' means minor, while 'M' or 'maj' means major; misreading them is a common sight-reading error. A minus sign (-) is also minor. Do not confuse 'm' with 'dim': the diminished chord also lowers the fifth. In dense voicings, keep the minor third clearly audible or the chord becomes ambiguous.

6Interactions with chords, scales and keys

Inversions

• Inversion 1 · Am/C · C – E – A Play
• Inversion 2 · Am/E · E – A – C Play

Scales to play over Am

• A Natural Minor Scale
• A Harmonic Minor Scale
• A Melodic Minor Scale
• A Dorian Mode
• A Phrygian Mode
• A Minor Pentatonic Scale
• A Blues Scale
• A Major Blues Scale
• A Half-Whole Diminished Scale
• A Hungarian Minor Scale

Where it appears (keys and Roman numerals)

• vi – Key of C Major
• ii – Key of G Major
• iii – Key of F Major
• i – Key of A Minor
• iv – Key of E Minor
• v – Key of D Minor

7Other presentations available

The same chord from every note

Cm C♯m Dm E♭m Em Fm F♯m Gm A♭m B♭m Bm

Other chords on A

A Adim Aaug Asus2 Asus4 A5 A6 Am6 A7 Amaj7 Am7 Am7♭5 Adim7 Am(maj7) A7sus4 Aadd9 Am(add9) A6/9 A9 Amaj9 Am9 A11 Am11 A13 A7♭9 A7♯9 A7♯5 A7♭5