The Minor Chords --5—- = Root note We can also play it here: --8-- We could even go up here and play it: --12-- Learn these three forms and move them around the keyboard to different keys. Once you have them down, you might search for other forms to play minor chords. Notice particularly the relationship between the A Major chord form and the A minor form:
The vi chord has a very important relationship with the I chord. Referring back to our Aeolian mode layout, if we extend the A minor chord to make it an Am7 chord. The chord contains the notes A, C, E, and G:
If we look at the layout to create the C major chord, and extend it to make a C6 chord, we get the following notes: C, E, G, and A:
The notes in the Am7 chord and the C6 chord are exactly the same! They are just stacked in a different order to give a lightly different sound. When these chords are inverted they start to really sound the same. This is when music starts to become difficult. Many times different chords will have the same notes, even the same shape, yet be called by different names depending on how the chord is used in a progression. This is a good reason why I preach attempting to recognize the chord changes in terms of relative scale degrees rather than naming them exactly as played in the key they are actually played. If you can hear the chord progressions (I V I), you will be less confused when naming the chords themselves (C G C). The fact that the notes making up the two chords are the same is the reason the vi chord is called the “relative minor” of the I chord. They share characteristics, just like our human relatives do. Unlike our human relatives, musical relatives can substitute for each other. A vim chord can replace a I chord in a chord progression. This gets into jazz music theory territory to a certain degree, but it can also come into play somewhat in other forms of music. |
