Chord progressions are an important aspect of playing music because they make up the structure of a song to support the melody. A chord progression simply means a series of chords that are organized together to make up a section or whole part of a song.
In this lesson, we’ll specifically be looking at how to play chord progressions in minor keys to give you ideas for writing music or to use as a background for practicing scales and improvisation.
Let’s first go over some music theory to understand how related chords work in minor keys and then show you practical musical examples you can try out.
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Your goal is to understand how the notes of a natural minor scale create a family of related chords, then use the scale-degree numbers to play one minor chord progression and move it to another key. Use the all-keys chart and additional progressions as references rather than trying to memorize everything at once.
Related chords in minor keys
The way we can figure out which chords are related is by taking a minor scale and building triads or 7th chords starting on each scale degree. We would get different chord qualities starting on each degree of a minor scale.
For example, let’s find the related chords using the A minor scale which has the notes A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.
We get the following triad chords starting on each note:
- A, C, E = A minor (1 minor chord)
- B, D, F = B diminished (2 diminished chord)
- C, E, G = C Major (b3 Major chord)
- D, F, A = D minor (4 minor chord)
- E, G, B = E minor (5 minor chord)
- F, A, C = F Major (b6 Major chord)
- G, B, D = G Major (b7 Major chord)
Notice the pattern: In a natural minor key, the triads follow the same chord-quality order: 1 minor, 2 diminished, b3 Major, 4 minor, 5 minor, b6 Major, and b7 Major. Learning this pattern is more useful than memorizing a separate list of chords for every key.
All of these chords are related because they come from one scale. By the way, you might hear the music term “diatonic chords” to refer to related chords which come from one scale.
We can also build 4-note chords based on a minor scale to get 7th chord qualities. We’ll also use the A minor scale for this example.
- A, C, E, G = A minor 7 (1 minor 7 chord)
- B, D, F, A = B half diminished (2 half diminished)
- C, E, G, B = C Major 7 (b3 Major 7)
- D, F, A, C = D minor 7 (4 minor 7)
- E, G, B, D = E minor 7 (5 minor 7)
- F, A, C, E = F Major 7 (b6 Major 7)
- G, B, D, F = G 7 (b7 Dominant 7)
If needed, review the essential 7th chords on guitar or half diminished (minor 7 b5) chords.
Once you know what chord qualities belong to each scale degree, you can then apply this concept to any minor key.
Chords in minor keys
Use the chart below whenever you want to apply the same chord relationships to another minor key. You don’t need to memorize every row. Focus on understanding the scale-degree pattern and use the chart to check yourself as needed.
| Minor key | 1 minor chord | 2 diminished chord | b3 Major chord | 4 minor chord | 5 minor chord | b6 Major chord | b7 Major chord |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C minor | D diminished | Eb Major | F minor | G minor | Ab Major | Bb Major |
| D | D minor | E diminished | F Major | G minor | A minor | Bb Major | C Major |
| E | E minor | F# diminished | G Major | A minor | B minor | C Major | D Major |
| F | F minor | G diminished | Ab Major | Bb minor | C minor | Db Major | Eb Major |
| G | G minor | A diminished | Bb Major | C minor | D minor | Eb Major | F Major |
| A | A minor | B diminished | C Major | D minor | E minor | F Major | G Major |
| B | B minor | C# diminished | D Major | E minor | F# minor | G Major | A Major |
| Db | Db minor | Eb diminished | E Major | Gb minor | Ab minor | A Major | B Major |
| Eb | Eb minor | F diminished | Gb Major | Ab minor | Bb minor | B Major | Db Major |
| Gb | Gb minor | Ab diminished | A Major | B minor | Db minor | D Major | E Major |
| Ab | Ab minor | Bb diminished | B Major | Db minor | Eb minor | E Major | Gb Major |
| Bb | Bb minor | C diminished | Db Major | Eb minor | F minor | Gb Major | Ab Major |
Chord progressions in minor keys
The examples below show several ways these related chords can be combined in real progressions. Start with one example and notice the scale-degree numbers before focusing on the chord names. Once it feels comfortable, try moving the same number pattern to another minor key using the chart above.
Guitar charts are included above the staff, and the chord links give you additional ways to play each shape when needed.
E minor chord progression
We’ll start with an easy minor chord progression using some basic chords you might already know. This first progression is 1 minor, b3 Major, b6, and 4 minor. In the key of E minor, the chords are E minor, G Major, C Major, and A minor.
Roadmap exercise: This progression uses 1 minor – b3 Major – b6 Major – 4 minor. Choose one other minor key from the chart above, find those same four scale degrees, and play the progression again in the new key.
More practice: The remaining examples use different combinations of minor-key chords, including some 7th chords. Work through them as you want more practice recognizing scale degrees and hearing how different minor progressions sound.
D minor chord progression
This next progression has the chords 1 minor, 4 minor, 5 minor, and 1 minor. In the key of D minor, they are D minor, G minor, A minor, and D minor.
If needed, check out this lesson on how to play barre chords and 5 tips to get better at playing them.
C minor chord progression
This chord progression has the chords 1 minor, b7 Major, b6 Major, and 5 minor. In the key of C minor, they are C minor, Bb Major, Ab Major, and G minor.
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This chart covers how to play:
- Major chords
- Minor chords
- Major 7 chords
- Minor 7 chords
- Dominant chords
- Half diminished chords
- Diminished chords
- Chords starting on all (12) root notes
- Over 80+ chords!
G minor chord progression
This minor progression has the chords 1 minor, b7 Major, 4 minor, and 1 minor. In the key of G minor, they are G minor, F Major, C minor, and G minor.
F minor chord progression
This next chord progression is 1 minor, b3 Major, 4 minor, and 5 minor. In the key of F minor, the chords are F minor, Ab Major, Bb minor, and C minor.
B minor chord progression
For this minor chord progression, we introduce some diatonic 7th chords. The chords here are 1 minor, b3 Major 7, b6 Major 7, and 4 minor 7. In the key of B minor, they are B minor 7, D Major 7, G Major 7, and E minor 7.
A minor chord progression
This last progression also uses related 7th chords. The chords are b6 Major 7, 5 minor 7, 4 minor 7, and 1 minor 7. In the key of A minor, they are F Major 7, E minor 7, D minor 7, and A minor 7.
Wrapping up
When you build chords from the notes of a minor scale, you get a family of related chords that can be identified by their scale degrees. Once you recognize that pattern, you can use the same progression idea in different minor keys instead of memorizing every key separately.
Start with one of the progressions above, learn the scale-degree numbers, and then move that same pattern to another minor key. Use the all-keys chart to check your work until the relationships start becoming familiar.
As you get more comfortable, experiment with your own combinations and use your ear to decide what you like. Music theory gives you a way to understand and recreate the sounds you hear.
Before continuing
You’re ready to continue when you can explain how a natural minor scale creates a family of related chords, identify the scale-degree numbers in one minor progression, and move that same progression to at least one other minor key.
Next: Continue in the Skill Builders Roadmap to see where this skill fits and what to practice next.
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