Beginner Acoustic Guitar Basics lesson 4 – E minor and A minor chords
Playing any musical instrument would never be complete without learning minor chords. They are used in all kinds of musical compositions to create discord at times, as well as to create suspense or alternate moods with particular chord progressions. Minor chords are very similar to major chords except that they alter 1 note in the chord. A major chord is typically complete when it has 3 notes: the root, the 3rd and the 5th.
If you were playing a C major chord, the root would be C, the 3rd would be E, and the 5th would be G, following the major scale, C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. The one alteration that makes a major chord become a minor chord is simply by taking the 3rd of the chord, or in this case, the E, and lowering it ½ step to E flat. Knowing this, you can take any major chord and create a minor chord by simply lowering the 3rd by ½ step. Adding this to your studies will help you on your way to becoming a great beginner acoustic guitar player. Just be sure to keep practicing regularly and adding to the challenge so you do not become stagnant or limited in your learning.
Taking this practice to the A major chord
In previous lessons you learned how to chord A major. Now you can take that A major, and lower the 3rd of the chord structure to create an A minor chord. See the diagram for help. In order to chord the A minor open form, first recall the variation on the A chord you learned in an earlier lesson where the fingers 2, 3 and 4 were used. Go ahead and chord the A first to hear the contrast. Place fingers 2-3-4 on strings 4-3-2 consecutively of the 2nd fret as it appears in Diagram 1. Now, in order to switch to the A minor chord from this open A chord formation, simply lift the 4th finger (pinky) and place the index finger (#1) on the same string as the 4th finger, only place it on the first fret instead. In other words, lift the 4th finger, keep he 2nd and 3rd fingers in place and then place the 1st finger on the 2nd string 1st fret. Be sure to strum only the strings it calls for (1 through 5) and do not let string 6 ring. Now practice alternating between A major and A minor in order to hear the difference, and to practice chords and finger dexterity exercises.
Now the E and E minor guitar chords
Likewise in previous lessons, we learned the E major open chord form. This time, we will use a variation of the E major chord open form in order to easily switch to the E minor open form. First, locate diagram 2 and use the left chord chart to chord an E major. Place your 2nd finger on the 5th string 2nd fret, your 3rd finger on the 4th string 2nd fret and your 1st finger on the 3rd string 1st fret. Now, all you have to do to switch from the E major chord to the E minor chord is lift your index or 1st finger. Strum all 6 strings for either chord.
This is perhaps one of the easiest chord changes to make, as it only requires that you lift the index finger to switch from the E major to the E minor and then simply replace the 1st finger to switch back from the E minor to the E major chord.
Now, if you have completed all of the lessons in this series so far, you will have learned 7 different chords with some alternatives finger positions. Keep adding to your repertoire daily, and soon you will be an advanced beginner or intermediate player.
A few final notes on minor chords
Just to note, many of the minor chord formations can be used in future lessons when learning to play barred or bar chords while moving up the neck or fretboard of the guitar. Just like the major chords, there are variations which suit themselves to easier barring as well as fitting in with different chord progressions. Additionally, keep in mind that whenever you see a minor chord, there will always be the letter of the Chord name and a small “m” to the right of the chord letter. In other words, an A minor chord will be depicted as “Am”, or uppercase “A” next to a lower case “m”.
This lesson on A minor and E minor for the acoustic or electric guitar was provided by Aaron Schulman, a guitar player, writer and teacher for over 21 years. He enjoys writing acoustic guitar reviews at StrumViews.com, where he also teaches people how to understand acoustic guitar construction for making the best purchase on any budget. You can learn more, including about different acoustic guitar sizes for different players and purposes at his site.
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