Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

Playing the piano

M

inor chords (m) have a near-identical

structure to that of their respective

major; the only difference being

the major third is lowered by one

semitone – producing a minor third. Minor chords

are renowned for their solemn, melancholy tone –

think Losing My Religion by REM, or Mendelssohn’s

Symphony No. 3. However, most Western music that

is written in a major key will include some minor

chords to add to the richness of the melody. As

we will cover later in ‘Chord Progressions’, using

combinations such as G-D-Em-C is the formula for

an overwhelming majority of popular music – take

most Beatles hits.

Mastering the use of minor chords will add a

beautiful quality to your playing, whatever your

mood. To construct a minor chord, first locate the

root; E for Em, for example. To identify the minor

third count three semitones up from the root; in Em

the minor third is G. To complete the triad count a

further four semitones up from the major third; in

Em the perfect fifth is B. Remember, if a chord does

not begin on its root note it is known as an inversion:

the first inversion begins on the minor third (in Em,

you would play G-E-B); the second inversion begins

on the perfect fifth (in Em, you would play B-E-G).

When playing minor triads, the common fingering is

5 - 3 - 1 in the left hand and 1 - 3 - 5 in the right.

Minor chords

Minor chords are the mood-swingers of your chord

repertoire, and add depth to your progressions

Now you have perfected these four common minor triads, try combining major and minor chords

Mixing majors and minors

Bars 1 and 2

In bar one F major and G major, both in their first

inversions, are in the right hand. Bar 2 introduces

the first minor chord – A minor in its root position

Bars 3 and 4

The chords in bars 3 and 4 are all major.

Rarely will a piece be comprised of purely

minor chords; variety is important

Bars 7 and 8

Moving from a major chord to its minor triad in

this way is common at the end of a piece. Simply

move your third finger down one semitone

Bars 5 and 6

To move smoothly from D minor to G

major, stabilise your fifth finger on the

bass note. Similarly, when moving from C

Major to E minor, utilise their shared notes

“Mastering the use of minor chords will

add a beautiful quality to your playing,

whatever your mood”

Audio file

Listen to the audio files

and follow along on your

own keyboard

Give it a try

F G Am F G C

Dm G C Em F Fm C