Mandolin · key of A minor

Chords in the key of A minor

The seven chords in the key of A minor are Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G. C, F and G are the major chords (III, VI and VII), Am, Dm and Em are the minor chords (i, iv and v), and Bdim is diminished (ii°). Its relative major is C major, which uses the same seven chords.

Key

Scale

The chords of A minor
Numeral	Triad	Notes	Seventh chord	Notes	Number	Role
i	Amhome	A C E	Am7home	A C E G	1m	tonic
ii°	Bdimthe edge	B D F	Bm7♭5the edge	B D F A	2°	supertonic
III	Cdaylight	C E G	Cmaj7daylight	C E G B	3	mediant
iv	Dmsoft fall	D F A	Dm7soft fall	D F A C	4m	subdominant
v	Emsoft fall	E G B	Em7soft fall	E G B D	5m	dominant
VI	Fcinematic	F A C	Fmaj7cinematic	F A C E	6	submediant
VII	Gheroic	G B D	G7heroic	G B D F	7	subtonic
V	Ethe pull	E G♯ B	E7the pull	E G♯ B D	5	often used in place of Em

Sound

Strum or arpeggiate any chord, tap a note to hear it, drag the strip under a picture to play it further up the neck, or pick another inversion. Library opens the chord there, with every other way to play it.

Am

LibraryMandolin · Standard

i · tonic

Bdim

LibraryMandolin · Standard

ii° · supertonic

C

LibraryMandolin · Standard

III · mediant

Dm

LibraryMandolin · Standard

iv · subdominant

Em

LibraryMandolin · Standard

v · dominant

F

LibraryMandolin · Standard

VI · submediant

G

LibraryMandolin · Standard

VII · subtonic

Chord progressions in A minor

Press a chord to hear it and see its shape, or Play to hear the progression on mandolin. The colours say what each chord does in the key.

Sound Pattern Tempo85

↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.

Colours

home, minorthe pullthe edgeheroiccinematicsoft falldaylight

What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.

The minor key’s three chords

i | iv | v | i

Key Chord chart

i–iv–v–i, the minor key’s own three chords.

The epic minor progression

i | VI | III | VII

Key Chord chart

i–VI–III–VII, the sound of film scores and rock anthems.

The Andalusian cadence

i | VII | VI | V

Key Chord chart

Stepping down to a major fifth chord, heard in flamenco and in many rock songs.

To the relative major

i | iv | VII | III

Key Chord chart

i–iv–VII–III, a minor progression that lands on the relative major.

Climbing back home

i | VI | VII | i

Key Chord chart

i–VI–VII–i, common in rock and metal.

The minor ii–V–i

iiø7 | V7 | i7 | i7

Key Chord chart

The minor turnaround of jazz, in seventh chords.

The major fifth chord

In a minor key the fifth chord is often played major, E or E7 in place of Em. Its third is the leading note of the harmonic minor scale, a half step below A, and it pulls back to Am more strongly.

The relative major: C major

C major has the same notes and the same seven chords as A minor, starting from C. A song in one often moves to the other. The parallel major, A major, starts on the same note with a different set of chords.

Other ways to play it with a capo

A minor is one of the easy keys on mandolin, with open chords. A capo gives other shapes for the same sound:

Capo 5, the shapes of E minor: Em, F♯dim, G, Am, Bm, C and D

The A minor scale and key signature

The notes of A minor are A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Its key signature has no sharps or flats. Each chord of the key is built from these notes, a third apart: a chord on every note of the scale. See the A minor scale on the mandolin neck, and the A minor pentatonic.

Keys nearby

On the circle of fifths, E minor and D minor sit on either side of A minor. Each shares six of its seven notes, which makes them the easiest keys to change to.

Every key

C D♭D E♭E F F♯G A♭A B♭B

C minor C♯ minor D minor E♭ minor E minor F minor F♯ minor G minor G♯ minor A minor B♭ minor B minor

All twenty-four on one page: chords in every key. To print these chords, open them as a chord chart, or make your own in the chord chart maker. This key on guitar, bass, ukulele and banjo.