Julie Swihart

Minor Chords

Let’s look at how to play a Gm chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any minor chord.

What Are Minor Chords?

Minor chords are built using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching minor scale.

You can learn how to build a minor scale here.

You might be wondering which type of minor scale we should use to build our minor chords, since there are three kinds of minor scales (natural, harmonic and melodic). But it doesn’t matter which kind we use, because the first, third and fifth notes for each will match.

This means the first, third and fifth notes of the G natural minor, the G harmonic minor, and the G melodic minor scales are all the same and will all build a G minor chord.

Another way to build a minor chord is to take a major chord and lower the middle note 1/2 step.

Chord Types Printable

Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 34-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note (C, D, E, etc.) and type (major, minor, augmented, diminished, etc.).

Get the Printable

How to Play a Gm Chord

So to play a Gm chord on the piano, we’ll find the first, third and fifth notes of a G minor scale: G – B♭ – D. We can also take a G major chord (G – B – D) and lower the middle note B by 1/2 step, down to B♭.

So to play the chord, we’ll play:

G – B♭ – D

You can use this pattern to build any minor chord on the piano. Just take the first, third and fifth notes of the matching minor scale, or find the matching major chord and lower the middle note 1/2 step.

Other Chord Types

There are many other types of chords you can learn. Here are some others:

Major
Augmented
Diminished
Second
Minor second
Fifth
Suspended
Sixth
Minor sixth
Seventh
Minor seventh
Major seventh
Ninth
Minor ninth
Major ninth

Conclusion

Minor chords sound really beautiful on the piano, and add a lot of depth to music. And now you know how to build a Gm chord on the piano, as well as the pattern for building any minor chord!