Chord progressions in minor keys

Take A minor: A B C D E F G. Triads on each degree give Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G — the same seven chords as C major, starting in a different place.

That is the first thing to understand: a natural minor key contains exactly the chords of its relative major. A minor and C major share everything; E minor and G major share everything. What differs is which chord is home.

The second thing is the problem this creates. The chord on the fifth degree comes out minor — Em in the key of A minor — and a minor v does not pull home the way a major V does. The cadence sounds unfinished.

The fix is universal: raise the seventh degree. In A minor, G becomes G#, and Em becomes E major — or better, E7. That single alteration is the harmonic minor scale, and it exists for this one purpose. Nearly every minor-key song in the Western repertoire uses it at the cadence and the natural form everywhere else.

i–♭VI–♭III–♭VII. In A minor: Am–F–C–G. The most used minor loop in modern music — and note that it is the same four chords as the major vi–IV–I–V, simply heard from the minor.

i–iv–V. Am–Dm–E. The classical minor cadence, and it needs the raised seventh: with Em instead of E it loses its point entirely.

i–♭VII–♭VI–V. Am–G–F–E. The Andalusian cadence — flamenco, surf rock, and a great deal of dramatic film music. It descends stepwise and lands on a major chord that refuses to resolve.

i–♭III–♭VII–iv. Am–C–G–Dm. Softer, folk-leaning, avoids the dominant altogether.

ii°–V–i. Bdim–E7–Am, usually voiced as Bm7♭5–E7–Am. The minor version of the jazz cadence.

i–♭VI–♭VII–i. Am–F–G–Am. Rock's favourite minor loop, and the reason the flat seventh feels heroic rather than sad.

A minor — Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G. No sharps or flats; the relative minor of C major. The default key of minor examples, and the easiest to read.

E minor — Em, F#dim, G, Am, Bm, C, D. One sharp; relative minor of G major. The guitarist's minor key: Em, G, C, D and Am are all open chords, which makes it the most played minor key on the instrument.

B minor — Bm, C#dim, D, Em, F#m, G, A. Two sharps; relative minor of D major. Common in folk and in songs written on guitar in D.

C minor — Cm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭. Three flats; relative minor of E♭ major. A keyboard and orchestral key rather than a guitar one — heavy, and a favourite for dramatic writing.

D minor — Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭, C. One flat; relative minor of F major. The traditional key of laments.

F minor — Fm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭. Four flats; relative minor of A♭ major. Rare on guitar, frequent in soul, gospel and modern production.

In every one of these, the same rule applies at the cadence: raise the seventh and the v becomes V. In E minor that means Bm becomes B or B7; in C minor, Gm becomes G7.

Natural minor is the scale as it stands. It gives the seven chords above and is what most progressions use for everything except the cadence.

Harmonic minor raises the seventh. It exists to make the dominant work, and it produces the augmented second between the sixth and seventh degrees — the interval that sounds unmistakably like flamenco or like the older classical repertoire when a melody walks through it.

Melodic minor raises both the sixth and seventh going up and reverts coming down. It was invented to smooth over that augmented second in melodies, and in jazz the ascending form is treated as a scale in its own right.

For chords, only the first two matter in practice: natural minor for the progression, harmonic minor for the moment it resolves.

The flat seventh is the lever. Am–G–F is not mournful — it is the sound of rock, and the ♭VII is why. Progressions that avoid the dominant tend to read as powerful rather than sorrowful.

The Picardy third is the opposite move: end a minor piece on the major tonic. In A minor, finish on A major instead of Am. Four centuries of composers have used it, and it still works.

Borrowing from the parallel major gives another set. A minor song that reaches for F#m or D major is borrowing from A major, and the brightening is audible without any change of key.

And the relative major is always one chord away. A verse in A minor that lifts into C major for the chorus has not modulated at all — the notes are identical, and only the centre of gravity has moved. That is the cheapest lift in songwriting and among the most effective.

Every minor key shares its chords with a major one: A minor with C major, E minor with G major. Leaving a key rather than borrowing from it is modulation, and choosing which inversion connects two chords smoothly is voice leading.