Triads
A minor chord
Darker and more melancholy than major, but just as stable.
Am is the ii chord in G major, iii in F major and vi in C major. In minor keys: i in A minor and iv in E minor.
- Notes
- ACE
- Formula
- 1♭35
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th
How to play Am
About the A minor chord
A minor is the relative minor of C major — the same white-key notes, centered on A — which makes it the first minor chord most musicians learn. Its sound is gentle and a little wistful rather than tragic.
Playing it
On guitar, Am has an open-position shape, x02210, using three fingers alongside the open strings. Don’t strum the low E string.
On piano, Am sits entirely on white keys.
On ukulele it takes a single finger (2000), which makes Am one of the simplest chords on the instrument.
Related chords
Am shares two of its three notes with C (C and E), its relative major, and with F (A and C). That overlap is why these chords sound so natural next to each other — and why they can often stand in for one another.
Move a single note and Am becomes a different chord: raise C to C♯ for A, add G for Am7, swap C for D for Asus4 and lower C to B for Asus2.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find Am in common progressions such as Am–F–C–G (the minor-feel pop progression in C major), Am–Dm–E–Am (the minor cadence in A minor) and Am–G–F–E (the Andalusian cadence in A minor).
