Say I’m writing a song in the key of A minor. You can take chords from the scale of a key and create a chord progression with them. The 6th note of the major scale ( A) is now the 1st note of the minor scale! See the underlined 6th note A? Now check out C major’s relative minor scale, A minor. The relative minor scale has the same notes as its relative major, but it starts at the 6th note. So how can we write chord progressions in minor keys and get that melancholy mood?Įach of the 12 major keys has a relative minor. That elicits the sad or somber emotional response in us. When we hear it, it creates tension, or dissonance.īy bringing the pitches closer together, they start to clash. You can see this on the keyboard diagram below. In minor chords, the 3 rd note is now closer to the all-important 1st note. It’s the small change in the third interval that makes it sound minor. Major chords are said to have major thirds in them, but minor chords use minor thirds. and the “5th,” which is two degrees higher than the 3rd.Ī minor chord, on the other hand, uses the same 1st and 5th notes as the major chord, but the 3 rd is lowered or flattened by a half step or semitone.Ī flat note uses the little ♭ symbol.The “3rd,” which is two degrees higher than the root note,.The “1st,” AKA the root note of the chord, which can be any note in the major scale,.A basic chord of three notes, or triad, uses the first, third, and fifth notes from a scale. Using minor chords effectively is crucial to expressing difficult emotions.Ĭhords are made of three or more notes from the same scale. The Billboard charts also lean towards songs that feature minor chord progressions. Some genres are dominated by minor chords, like metal or some forms of EDM.

But making a song sound “sad” relies heavily on minor chords and their progressions. Meanwhile, minor chords are dark and melancholy. Major chords tend to sound bright and happy to us. Most of a song’s overall mood comes from whether it has a major or minor chord progression. You don’t need to enter your email address or anything.īut if you just want to learn about Minor Chord Progressions specifically, keep reading. Until now, everyone has been teaching production totally backward. We put together a brief training that covers a totally new approach to music production. If you’re like most composers and writers, you’re probably producing your own music as well. Get industry-quality mixes every time (steal this framework) Tried and True Minor Chord Progressions.Here’s a trick to tell which chords to play next, no matter what key you’re in:.So how can we write chord progressions in minor keys and get that melancholy mood?.But if you just want to learn about Minor Chord Progressions specifically, keep reading.Get industry-quality mixes every time (steal this framework).

Sad piano chords