Lesson Goal: To quickly internalize the Minor Triads in all spellings… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…
Table of Contents
Lesson Goal
To quickly internalize Minor Triads in all spellings… using all four musical intelligences.
Prerequisites
Basic music reading skills… the LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.
C Minor Triad Theory & Ear Training
- Chord symbol: Cmin, Cm, Cm, C-, or c
- Chord structure: 1-b3-5
- Character: consonant, sad, heavy, brooding.
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Common Uses for Minor Triads
Common uses (using Roman Numeral Analysis) for Minor Triads include, but are not limited to, the following:
- i in Minor or Dorian tonality.
- iv in Minor tonality.
- vi in Major tonality.
- ii in Major tonality.
- iii in Major tonality.
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Minor Triads, All Spellings
Here are the chord symbols, spellings, common usages, and keyboard layouts for all the Minor Triads…
Sidebar advice from Frank: Skip all the widely-touted counting half-steps nonsense and simply learn to spell each chord just as you spell any three-letter word in English. For example, you spell cat C-A-T and dog D-O-G. Likewise, you spell a C minor chord C-Eb-G and D minor chord D-F-A.
C Minor
- Chord Symbol: Cm or C-
- Spelling: C-Eb-G
- Common Usage: i chord in C minor or C dorian, iv chord in F minor, vi chord in Eb major, ii chord in Bb major, iii chord in Ab major.
C Sharp Minor
- Chord Symbol: C#m or C#-
- Spelling: C#-E-G#
- Common Usage: i chord in C# minor, vi chord in E major, ii chord in B major, iii chord in A major.
D Minor
- Chord Symbol: Dm or D-
- Spelling: D-F-A
- Common Usage: i chord in D minor or D dorian, vi chord in F major, ii chord in C major, iii chord in Bb major.
E Flat Minor
- Chord Symbol: Ebm or Eb-
- Spelling: Eb-Gb-Bb
- Common Usage: i chord in Eb minor or Eb dorian, vi chord in Gb major, ii chord in Db major.
E Minor
- Chord Symbol: Em or E-
- Spelling: E-G-B
- Common Usage: i chord in E minor or E dorian, vi chord in G major, ii chord in D major, iii chord in C major.
F Minor
- Chord Symbol: Fm or F-
- Spelling: F-Ab-C
- Common Usage: i chord in F minor or F dorian, vi chord in Ab major, ii chord in Eb major, iii chord in Db major.
F Sharp Minor
- Chord Symbol: F#m or F#-
- Spelling: F#-A-C#
- Common Usage: i chord in F# minor, vi chord in A major, ii chord in E major, iii chord in D major.
G Minor
- Chord Symbol: Gm or G-
- Spelling: G-Bb-D
- Common Usage: i chord in G minor or G dorian, vi chord in Bb major, ii chord in F major, iii chord in Eb major.
G Sharp Minor
- Chord Symbol: G#m or G#-
- Spelling: G#-B-D#
- Common Usage: i chord in G# minor, vi chord in B major, iii chord in E major.
A Flat Minor
- Chord Symbol: Abm or Ab-
- Spelling: Ab-Cb-Eb
- Common Usage: ii chord in Gb major.
A Minor
- Chord Symbol: Am or A-
- Spelling: A-C-E
- Common Usage: i chord in A minor or A dorian, vi chord in C major, ii chord in G major, iii chord in F major.
B Flat Minor
- Chord Symbol: Bbm or Bb-
- Spelling: Bb-Db-F
- Common Usage: i chord in Bb minor or Bb dorian, vi chord in Db major, ii chord in Ab major, iii chord in Gb major.
B Minor
- Chord Symbol: Bm or B-
- Spelling: B-D-F#m
- Common Usage: i chord in B minor or B dorian, vi chord in D major, ii chord in A major, iii chord in G major.
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Minor Triad Names & Spellings (Flashcards)
For quickly learning to name and spell the most commonly used Minor Triads (just as you spell any three-letter word in English)…
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Minor Triads Practice, All Keys
Root position Minor Triads played melodically and harmonically, arranged chromatically ascending in all major keys…
Listen to a sample @ 120 beats per minute…
Minor Triads, All Keys (MP3 Play Along Tracks)
The benefits of playing along with a click track at various tempos cannot be overstated: very slowly at first to have enough time to “think about everything”, then fast enough to be forced to “play without thinking”.
For a donation to the website (Donations Page) Frank would be happy to send you his personal collection of zip files that include high-res PDFs of the scores and MP3 play along practice tracks for the entire Piano-ology study aids library. This includes all practice tracks for scales, chords, and chord progressions produced to date.
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learn more… Chords & Chord Progressions