Minor chords have a haunting quality that is unique as witnessed by the fact that countless composers from Beethoven to Billy Joel have written many pieces in minor keys. Watch this short video on minor chords, then click on the link under the video to go to the web page that illustrates minor chords.

Click here: Minor Chords

How important are major chords? Since probably 80% to 85% of all the chords used in music are some form of major chords, I’d say they are pretty important. And since there are only 12 of them (not counting enharmonic chords like Gb and F#) it’s not too much to go to the trouble of learning them.

Three of the major chords are composed of just white keys on the piano; three major chords have a black key as the 3rd of the chord; three major chords are like Oreo cookies; one major chord is composed of all black keys; and two are left over — B and Bb. Watch this short video and you will understand:

For more information on major chords please go to: Major Chords

There is a style in music called “new age”, and while I don’t care for the title, it is a beautiful style that is so nice for relaxation and meditation, that I thought I would make a short video showing how you can create your own little “peaceful song” using just 3 or 4 chords. I chose Am, F, Dm and Em, but you can choose any chords you like. The key is to play rubato (which literally means “robbed time”) and get lots of contrast between arpeggios for an open sound and supportive chords.

Watch this short video:

As you no doubt know, there are 12 possible major chords because there are 12 different piano keys on which you can build those chords. (There can be more than 12 names for those 12 chords, of course, because we can call the same chord two names, such as Db or C# — we’ll do a video on enharmonic chords another time). Once you know those 12 major chords, it’s a snap to learn the minor chords, because all you do is lower the 3rd of the major chord one-half step. For lots of good stuff like this, come on over to http://www.facebook.com/pianochords and sign up for our free newsletter on piano chords and chord progressions as well as grab the Major-Minor Chord Chart.

Like Mr. Rogers used to say, “Won’t you be my friend?” (for those of you who are old enough to remember Mr. Rogers).

We just opened a brand-new Facebook Page so you can have easy access to all my videos, podcasts, articles — all in one place. So come on over to my Play Piano Using Chords Facebook page and get the free “Major-Minor Chord Chart” just by clicking on the “like” button at the top of the page.

Click on this link to go there: “Major-Minor Chord Chart”

Once you know how to form major chords, you can easily form any minor chord by simply lowering the 3rd of the major triad. Watch this video and see all 12 major chords become minor by moving just one note down 1/2 step:

Piano chords come in all flavors — major, minor, diminished, augmented, and many kinds of extended chords such as 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, etc. This 50-minute video will give you a good introduction to piano chords and prepare you for more in-depth study:

Chords of all kinds: Major, minor, diminished, augmented & extended chords from chordman on Vimeo.

MInor chords are formed by simply lowering the 3rd of a major chord 1/2 step, which means that one needs to be able to form a major chord based on the major key of that particular scale.
For more information on minor chords, please go to Minor Piano Chords

Minor chords create a sound which most people think is somber or serious; some people even think of minor chords as “sad”, as opposed to major chords which sound “normal”, or “happy”. Some of the great classics are written in minor keys, including Fur Elise by Beethoven, Prelude in C# Minor by Rachmaninoff, Prelude in Cm by Chopin, and many others. In popular music there is “Summertime”, “A Taste of Honey”, “‘Round Midnight”, etc. and in folk music there is “Greensleeves”, “Dark Eyes”, “Volga Boatman”,”When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and many more.

But minor chords also occur frequently in songs which are written in major keys, and they provide the contrast needed to make a song interesting. The most-used chords in any given key are the I, IV, and V chords which are major, but followed by the ii, iii, and iv chords which are minor. So most songs written in a major key include from 1 to 3 minor chords somewhere along the line.

To understand minor chords we first need to understand major chords. Major chords are created using the root, 3rd, and 5th of a major scale. A major scale (from “la scala” = the ladder) is defined as a row of notes that moves from a root (the bottom or starting note) and moves upward by 2 whole steps, a half step, 3 whole steps, and one half step until it reaches the octave note (8 notes higher). By selecting the root, 3rd, and 5th notes of the scale we create a major chord (also known as a triad — a 3-note chord).

There are only 12 different major chords:

3 of the major chords were made of all white keys: C F G.

3 of the major chords were made of white keys on the outside, with a black key in

the middle: D E A.

3 of the major chords were like an Oreo cookie? Black on the outside, white on the inside: Db Eb Ab.

That only leaves 3 major chords, one of which is all black, and one of which is white, black, black, and the other the reverse — black, white, white. Gb (all black) B (white, black, black) Bb (black, white, white).

And that’s it.

Here they are in that order:

Major chords composed of all white keys:

C major chord: C, E, G

F major chord: F, A, C

G major chord: G, B, D

Major chords composed of white keys on the outside with a black key in the center:

D major chord: D, F#, A

E major chord: E, G#, B

A major chord: A, C#, E

Major chords composed of black keys on the outside with a white key in the center: Db major chord: Db, F, Ab

Eb major chord: Eb, G, Bb

Ab major chord: Ab, C, Eb

Major chords left over:

Gb major chord (all black keys): Gb, Bb, Db

Bb major chord: Bb,

D, F B major chord: B, D#, F#

All these chords shown above are in “root position”; that is, the root, or name of the

chord, is on the bottom of the chord. In a subsequent article we will take up the other

positions in which we can play chords: inversions.

So why do I need to learn the major chords?

The answer is simple: all other chords are formed by altering one or more notes of a major chord. So once you know major chords, it’s easy to find minor, diminished, augmented, and extended chords.

So to find a minor chord, all we need to do is lower the 3rd of each chord 1/2 step. So to make the C major chord into a C minor chord, we just need to lower E (the 3rd of the chord) 1/2 step to Eb.

So C minor chord is C, Eb, G

Here are the rest of the minor chords:

F minor chord: F, Ab, C

G minor chord: G, Bb, D

D minor chord: D, F, A

E minor chord: E, G, B

A minor chord: A, C, E

Db minor chord: Db, Fb, Ab (Fb is the same as E)

Eb minor chord: Eb, Gb, Bb

Ab minor chord: Ab, Cb, Eb (Cb is the same as B)

Gb minor chord: Gb, Bbb, Db (Bbb is the same as A)

B minor chord: B, D, F#

Bb minor chord: Bb, Db, F

Learn them well, as you will be playing them all of your life in countless songs.