Minor key guide
A minor scale, chords, and progressions
Learn the A natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales, the seven diatonic triads, and a playable Am–F–C–G loop.
Key at a glance
No sharps or flats
A natural minor uses the same notes as C major but makes A feel like home. The changed tonal center is enough to create a distinctly minor structure.
- Tonic
- A
- Key signature
- No sharps or flats
- Relative key
- C major
01
Play the A minor scale
A minor shows the relationship between relative keys with no extra accidentals. Harmonic minor then demonstrates how raising G to G♯ creates a major E dominant.
A minor scale
Listen from the tonic to the octave, or press one note at a time.
Sound loads when you first play.
02
Three forms of A minor
Minor keys often change scale degrees 6 and 7 to create stronger melodic or harmonic movement.
Natural minor
A – B – C – D – E – F – G
The key signature form and the source of the diatonic chord table below.
Harmonic minor
A – B – C – D – E – F – G♯
The raised seventh creates E, a major dominant that pulls back to A minor.
Melodic minor, ascending
A – B – C – D – E – F♯ – G♯
The sixth and seventh rise in the ascending form. Classical descending melodic minor normally returns to natural minor.
03
Diatonic chords in A minor
Build a chord on every scale degree using only notes from the scale.
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord |
|---|---|---|
| i | Am | Am7 |
| ii° | Bdim | Bm7♭5 |
| ♭III | C | Cmaj7 |
| iv | Dm | Dm7 |
| v | Em | Em7 |
| ♭VI | F | Fmaj7 |
| ♭VII | G | G7 |
04
Natural-minor loop: i–♭VI–♭III–♭VII
Use G natural for a broad natural-minor loop, then introduce G♯ only when you want E major to pull firmly back to Am.
Am – F – C – G
i–♭VI–♭III–♭VII in A minor.
Sound loads when you first play.
A short practice plan
- Play A natural minor and C major back to back, noticing that only the home note changes.
- Compare Em with E major before returning to Am.
- Practice the three forms of A minor slowly and say which degrees change.