On this page is a complete guide to the chords in A minor. Example guitar chords for playing and / or writing music in the key of A minor are also provided.
Being aware of all of the available chords in A minor is useful if you’re writing music in this key. You can use this page as a reference, or inspiration if you want to find some new sounds in the key of A minor...
If you have any questions regarding the contents of this page, then feel free to ask them in the comments section; we'd be happy to help!
Page Index
Introduction
We explain the theory in more depth below, but, in a nutshell, the chords in A minor come from the notes of three scales:
- A natural minor scale
- A harmonic minor scale
- A melodic minor scale
When writing or playing rock and pop music in the key of A minor, the chords you'll be most interested in are those that come from the A natural minor scale. However, by including chords from the other two A minor scales, you can add additional color to your music.
If you want to get your ear attuned to the key of A minor, you can jump to the "Guitar Chords For The Key Of A Minor" section, below, for a selection of example guitar chord shapes to experiment with.
On this page we have listed all of the triad and seventh chords from each of the three A minor scales listed above.
Triad chord = three-note chord consisting of a root, third and fifth
Seventh chord = four-note chord consisting of a root, third, fifth and seventh.
Which set of chords you’ll use to harmonize a melody in A minor depends on which of the three A minor scales the melody is using at any given time.
Alternatively, you may want to start a composition with a chord progression rather than with a melody. In which case, you can use any of the chords from any of the scales – let your ears be the judge of what sounds good.
You can find out how to play any of the A minor scales below on this page: A Minor Scale Guitar
You can see example chord progressions in A minor on this page: A Minor Chord Progressions
Learn how to play A minor scales on bass on this page: A Minor Bass Scale
A Natural Minor Scale And Chords
The notes in an A natural minor scale are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
Usage
The natural minor scale is the most common form of minor scale used in rock and pop music.
Unlike the two other forms of minor scale, the natural minor scale has no additional accidentals (sharps or flats) other than those in the key signature.
The key signature of A minor has no sharps or flats, therefore the notes of an A natural minor scale are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
A minor has the same key signature as C major. Therefore, C major is the relative major of A minor, and A minor is the relative minor of C major.
The E minor chord of the fifth degree of the A natural minor scale doesn’t provide a very strong-sounding cadence, so the E dominant 7th from the A harmonic minor scale is often used in its place to give phrases a strong ending.
Note that the A natural minor scale is the same as the A Aeolian modal scale. You can find out more about modes on this page: Guitar Modes
Guitar Chords For The Key Of A Minor
Before we cover chords from the A harmonic minor and A melodic minor scales, here is a selection of guitar chords you can use for playing and / or writing songs in A minor.
(The chords below are all from the A natural minor scale apart from the E7, which is found in the chords of both the A harmonic minor and A melodic minor scales.)
If you need alternative shapes for these chords, or chord shapes for some of the more esoteric chords in A minor, then check out the Guitar Command Guitar Chord Book, which is available in both download and print forms.
You can see example chord progressions using these and other chords in the key of A minor on this page: A Minor Chord Progressions
A Harmonic Minor Scale And Chords
The notes in an A harmonic minor scale are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G#
Usage
The harmonic minor scale is common in classical music, particularly that of the Baroque and Classical periods, and is typically the scale used to harmonize melodies in a minor key in this genre (hence the name, harmonic minor).
You’ll also hear the harmonic minor scale (and its associated chords) in rock and pop music with a classical sound, such as some heavy metal songs.
The harmonic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale by having a sharpened seventh note. This means that the seventh chord formed on the fifth degree of the scale is a dominant seventh, which can be used to create strong, classical-sounding perfect cadences.
In the key of A minor, the seventh note of the harmonic minor scale is G#, meaning that the seventh chord formed on the fifth degree of the scale is E7. Try writing a chord progression in A minor with an E7 as the final chord - you'll hear the music wanting to return to the tonic chord (Am).
A Melodic Minor Scale And Chords
The notes in an A melodic minor scale (ascending) are: A, B, C, D, E, F#, G#
The notes in an A melodic minor scale (descending) are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
Usage
The melodic minor is a variation of the harmonic minor that came about as a means of softening the potentially awkward-sounding augmented second interval between the 6th and 7th degrees of the harmonic minor scale (the three-semitone gap between the F and G# notes in the case of an A minor harmonic scale.)
The melodic minor scale has two forms – an ascending form and a descending form, so is essentially “two scales in one”; you play the ascending form when going up, and the descending form when going down!
Luckily, the descending form of the melodic minor is the same as a natural minor scale, so there is only one further group of chords to learn: those built from the ascending form of the melodic minor.
Note that the ascending form of the melodic minor is the same as the jazz minor scale. Furthermore, both of these scales are essentially a major scale with a minor third.
Minor Chord Harmony
Chords From Scales
The chords of any given key are taken from a scale (or scales, in the case of minor keys).
Whereas the chords of a major key are taken from the corresponding major scale, there are three different types of minor scale (natural minor scale, harmonic minor scale and melodic minor scale), and the chords of a minor key can be drawn from any of these.
Triads (three-note chords consisting of a root, third and fifth) and sevenths (four-note chords consisting of a root, third, fifth and seventh) are formed from each of the seven notes of the minor scale.
Chords In A Minor
Learning how chords are built from scales (in this case, the A minor scale) is important if you want to take your songwriting (or other music composition) to the next level.
Without a good knowledge of the chords available in a given key, writing music can be a hit and miss affair, in which you spend more time auditioning potential chords rather than writing pleasing melodies.
Of course, if you are writing music in the key of A minor, you don’t have to use just the chords built from an A minor scale. “Borrowed chords” – essentially, chords from other keys or scales – can be added to A minor chord progressions to add additional color. You might also want to introduce chords from another key to introduce a key change to a different section, perhaps a chorus or bridge, in the new key.
