Piano scales · Minor keys
A minor scale and chords
The A minor scale has seven notes and no sharps or flats. The chords in A minor are Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G, with E as the strong V. Hear the scale, every chord and the key's famous progressions.
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A · tap any key to hear it
The notes
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and back to A.
Every minor scale follows the same pattern of steps: whole – half – whole – whole – half – whole – whole. A whole step skips one key; a half step goes to the very next key, black or white.
Chords in A minor
Build a three-note chord on each note of the scale, using only the scale's notes, and you get the seven chords of the key. In every minor key they come in the same order: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major. The Roman numerals count them up from the home chord, capitals for major.
Progressions in A minor
Dark, wide and driving: a favourite of film scores and big minor-key choruses.
The major V, borrowed from the harmonic minor, pulls home far harder than the natural minor’s own v.
The bass walks down four steps to the major V: the sound of flamenco.
The jazz turnaround in a minor key: half-diminished, dominant seventh, home.
With the scale’s own minor v: softer, older and folk-like.
Each root falls a fifth to the next: the circle of fifths, walked inside one key.
The V chord in a minor key. The scale gives Em, but most music in A minor raises the scale's seventh note, G, a half step to G♯. That turns the v chord into E (E – G♯ – B), or E7 with the seventh: the major V of the harmonic minor, which pulls home to Am much more strongly. It's the last tile above; hear the difference in “Minor with a strong V”.
| Degree | Chord | Notes | With the 7th |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Am | A – C – E | Am7 |
| ii° | Bdim | B – D – F | Bm7♭5 |
| III | C | C – E – G | Cmaj7 |
| iv | Dm | D – F – A | Dm7 |
| v | Em | E – G – B | Em7 |
| VI | F | F – A – C | Fmaj7 |
| VII | G | G – B – D | G7 |
| V | E | E – G♯ – B | E7 |
Turn on Sevenths to add the fourth note, a seventh above each root, still using only the scale's notes: that's the sound of jazz, soul and a lot of film music. Every major and minor key, side by side: chords in every key.
Key signature
A minor has no sharps or flats: every note is a white key. Music in A minor shows no sharps or flats at the start of every line.
Its relative major is C major: the same notes, starting from C, so the same seven chords. See every key on the circle of fifths, and all the key signatures.
Fingering
- Right hand, going up: 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
- Left hand, going up: 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
Coming down, use the same fingers in reverse.
How to practise it
- Hands separately first, slowly, with a metronome. Evenness matters more than speed: every note the same length and the same weight.
- Watch the thumb: it should pass under smoothly, without the hand jumping.
- When it's even at a slow speed, go up a few clicks. Then hands together, an octave apart.
- Then play the chords: left hand on the root, right hand on the chord, and move through a progression above without looking down.
Is your scale even? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a note that comes early or loud. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
What chords are in the key of A minor?
The seven chords in A minor are Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G. Most music in A minor also uses E (and E7), the major V from the harmonic minor.
What notes are in the A minor scale?
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, then A again.
How many sharps or flats does A minor have?
A minor has no sharps or flats: every note is a white key.
Is the V chord in A minor E or Em?
Both appear. The scale itself gives Em (the v chord), but most music in A minor raises the seventh note of the scale from G to G♯, which turns it into E: the major V, which pulls back home to Am much more strongly.
What is the relative major of A minor?
C major, which uses the same notes starting from C.