The Language of Music

The Minor Chord

The minor chord is constructed in the same way as the major chord, but using the minor scale. Playing the first, third, and fifth note of a minor scale at the same time creates a minor chord, visualized below.

The only difference between this and the major chord is the third note. For the minor chord, the third is lower. So, the only difference between a C major and a C minor chord is the E. In C major it’s an E, and in C minor it’s an E^b. Again, there are only twelve minor chords. If you know the scales, the chords will be easy to learn.

Looking at the intervals, we see that the distance from the bottom note to the middle note is three semitones, or a minor third, and the distance from the bottom note to the top note is seven semitones, or a perfect fifth.