Chords in the Key of A Minor
The key of A minor contains seven chords: Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G. It has no sharps and no flats, it is the first minor key most people learn, and on guitar every one of those chords except Bdim is an open shape.
The seven chords on guitar
Each chord below opens its own page, with more shapes up the neck, audio for every voicing and a printable chart. Tap the play button on any card to hear it.
The seven chords on piano
The same seven chords on a keyboard, in root position. Each one opens its own page, with every inversion and the finger numbers for both hands.
The seventh chords in A minor
Add one more note to each chord and the key gains its seventh chords, which is where most jazz and a good deal of soul begins.
Common progressions in A minor
- i - VI - III - VII
Am F C G
The most common minor progression in popular music, and the same four chords as the C major loop starting from a different place. On guitar only the F needs fretting, so it is a good first minor progression.
- i - VII - VI
Am G F
Three chords walking down in steps. This is the sound of most minor key rock, and it stays open and ringing on guitar because two of the three shapes use open strings.
- i - iv - v
Am Dm Em
The saddest of the four, because all three chords are minor and nothing pulls hard. Swap the Em for E or E7 and the ending suddenly sounds finished, which is the harmonic minor change at work.
- i - iv - VII - III
Am Dm G C
A circling progression that keeps drifting toward the relative major. Play it long enough and C starts to feel like home, which is exactly how close A minor and C major sit.
Why these seven chords
On a stave, A minor is written with no sharps and no flats, which is how a reader knows the key before playing a note.
The seven chords come from the A natural minor scale, one chord stacked on each note using only notes from that scale. The pattern of qualities is the same in every minor key: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major. Written as numerals that is i, ii dim, III, iv, v, VI and VII, so Am is home, Bdim is the odd one nobody plays much, and C, F and G are the three major chords you lean on.
Two of those chords are worth pointing at. The VII, G, is a major chord a whole step below the home chord, and the slide from Am down to G is the sound of a great deal of rock and folk. The v, Em, is minor in the natural minor scale, but songs constantly raise its third and play it major instead, as E or more often E7. That raised note, G sharp, is the leading note borrowed from the harmonic minor scale, and it is what gives the return to Am its strong pull. E7 is the one chord you will meet again and again in A minor that is not in the list of seven, so do not be surprised when a chart shows it.
On guitar
A minor is the easiest minor key on a guitar. Am, C, Dm, Em and G are all open shapes, and F is the only chord that normally asks for a barre or a smaller fretted version. Bdim comes up so rarely in songs that most players in this key never learn it as a shape at all.
Because the chords are open, they ring. A change like Am to G to F gives you two chords with open strings and one fretted, which is why beginners can get a real minor key sound out of A minor within a few weeks. There is no capo trick needed here, because this is the key other keys get capoed into. If the full F barre is still out of reach, play the three string version on the first fret or use Fmaj7, which keeps the top strings open and still works under an Am song.
On piano
A minor uses no black keys. The scale is the seven white keys from A up to G, the same notes as C major, so it is the minor key piano students meet first and the one that is easiest to find by touch.
The chords all sit flat under the hand, with one exception: when a song plays the v as E major or E7, the G sharp is a black key, and it is the first black key many players touch in this key. Bdim is also a little awkward because both of its upper notes, D and F, want the same fingers as the Dm chord next door. Every triad and seventh on the site shows all of its inversions with fingering for both hands, which is the quickest way to find a smooth path from Am to F to G without jumping the hand around the keyboard.
Questions about the key of A Minor
What are the 7 chords in the key of A minor?
Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G. Am, Dm and Em are minor, C, F and G are major, and Bdim is diminished.
What is the relative major of A minor?
C major. It has the same key signature, no sharps and no flats, and exactly the same seven chords. The only difference is which chord feels like home: C in C major, Am in A minor.
Why do songs in A minor use an E or E7 chord?
The fifth chord of the natural minor scale is Em, but raising its third to G sharp turns it into E or E7 and creates a strong pull back to Am. That raised note comes from the harmonic minor scale, and E7 is the one common chord in A minor that is not one of the seven.
Does the key of A minor have any sharps or flats?
No. Its key signature is empty, the same as C major, so the scale is the white keys from A to G. The G sharp you often hear in A minor songs comes from the E or E7 chord, not from the key signature.
Is A minor easy on guitar?
Yes, it is the easiest minor key on guitar. Am, C, Dm, Em and G are open shapes, F is the only chord that usually needs a barre, and Bdim almost never comes up in songs.
What do the numbers next to each chord mean?
They are each chord's place in the key, written as Roman numerals. In A minor the i is Am, the iv is Dm and the v is Em. The numbering holds in every key, so the v of E minor is Bm. That is why progressions get written as numerals like i, VI, III, VII: learn one and you have it in all twelve minor keys.
Why are some numerals capitals and some lowercase?
The case tells you the chord quality. Lowercase are minor, which in A minor means Am, Dm and Em. Capitals are major: C, F and G. The small circle on ii° means diminished, and here that is Bdim.
What is the relative major of A minor?
C major. It is written with no sharps and no flats, the same signature as A minor, and it contains the same seven chords. Only the chord that sounds like home changes, from Am to C.
The relative major
C major is written with the same no sharps and no flats and contains the same seven chords as A minor. What changes is which one sounds like home, so the same shapes can be played brighter without learning anything new. Chords in the key of C