Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
What is a minor triad? Minor chords have a dark, mysterious quality. Keep reading to learn how to build mysterious minor chords.
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How to Build Minor Chords: Definitions
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A minor triad is a group of three pitches that’s typically played simultaneously.
- Triads have three notes: root, third, and fifth.
- The minor triad is named for the root note. For instance, Am has A as its root note.
- Likewise, the notes C and E are the third and fifth of the chord – so named because of their distance from the root note.
Moreover, minor triads have a dark or “sad” quality, which contrasts with the major triad.
How to Build Minor Chords: How Do You Construct Them?
You build minor triads using intervals.
- A basic interval (e.g., 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.) is when you count white keys on the keyboard.
- For example, when building a triad in thirds, you’ll skip every other white key.
- Though if you want to include black keys in your triads, semitones (a.k.a., half-steps) will give you a more precise measure for the triad’s internal structure.
- A semitone measures the span from one key to the next key up or down whether the key is black or white.
Use the piano diagram above to find the notes of an A minor (Am) chord.
- If you count the half-steps between the A and C of the Am triad, you’ll see that this third had three semitones between the notes. This is called a minor third (minor means “small”).
- Alternatively, C and E has four semitones and is called a major third (major means “big”).
- In the same way, the A and E have seven semitones and is called a perfect fifth.
You can build any minor chord using this pattern of semitones. In addition, you can invert the triad – essentially rearranging the order of the notes of the harmony.
How to Build Minor Chords: Directory of Triads
There are 12 minor triads. I’ve only included the spellings for the versions that exclude double sharps, double flats, or white key sharps or flats.
- Am = A C E
- Bbm = Bb Db F
- Bm = B D F#
- Cm = C Eb G
- C#m = C# E G#
- Dm = D F A
- D#m = D# F# A#
- Ebm = Eb Gb Bb (plays the same keys as D#m)
- Em = E G B
- Fm = F Ab C
- F#m = F# A C#
- Gm = G Bb D
- G#m = G# B D#
- Am = A C E
Look at the piano diagram, all the triads shown above are built from the same intervals as the A minor chord in the preceding section.
For more info on chords:
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- A basic interval (e.g., 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.) is when you count white keys on the keyboard.
- Though if you want to include black keys in your chords, semitones (a.k.a., half-steps) will give you a more precise measure for the triad’s internal structure.
- A semitone measures the span from one key to the next key up or down whether the key is black or white.
Related Posts
- How to Build Happy Major Chords
- An Easy How to Guide for Understanding Triads
- Basic Arpeggios Explained in Less Than Three Minutes
© 2026 Geoffrey Keith
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