Guitar Lessons - Relative Minor Chords Made Easy
In case you are a newcomer to playing guitar then you can often hear the phrase "relative minor" somewhere on the way and wondered, "what the heck is that?" The relative minor of your chord or scale is not everything complicated, and it is a useful piece of information that you will need when you progress together with your guitar lessons. Only Prettier by Miranda Lambert
Today we'll go through not just "what" a family member minor means, but additionally "how" to easily determine the relative minor of the chord or scale. To begin with, a short explanation. The are occurrences in music when the notes of a "major" scale overlap with the notes in a "minor" scale. The one thing that changes will be the "root" notes present in scales. But they're otherwise, identical.
If this happens, the minor scale is recognized as the "relative minor" from the major scale, because they are closely related by containing the same notes. As an example, in studying the "C" major scale the notes will be the following: how to play Only Prettier
C D E F G A b - C
The relative minor with the C major scale is "A" minor. The notes from the A minor scale are highlighted below:
A B C D E F G A
Notice that the notes of the two scales are the identical. Only the order from the notes has evolved because the A scale starts with the basis note of "A".
We make use of the "C" major scale for example as it's simple to discuss because of the fact that we now have no sharps or flats within the scale. However, exactly the same principle is true to the scale on the guitar. A knowledge of the relationship between your notes inside a major scale as well as the notes in its relative minor is helpful once we proceed into working together with relative minor "chords".
The relative minor chord of any major chord is often known as the "6 minor". In a band or studio situation you may hear someone discussing a chord progression and instruct everyone to "play the six minor". What they are saying would be to play in the chord this is the relative minor chord from the key the song has been took part in. This is quicker to determine of computer may seem. For instance, again with all the "C" major scale using the following notes:
C D E F G A B C
In the event the song is in the key of "C" and you wanted to play the relative minor "chord" of C, then using the above example, you'll simply count towards the 6th step with the major scale.
Starting on "C", the 6th step with the scale is "A". The "A" will be the root, so the relative minor chord of the C major chord is "A" minor.
Although it is good, that way would require memorizing all the notes out of all scales, which may obviously be a massive task! For those who have followed Adult Guitar Lessons, or numerous this content, you know that I am a firm believer in using the easiest route possible, so now are a few easy ways to quickly locate it in almost any key, anywhere about the guitar.
Method 1 - Easy
While using above example, if you know the notes from the major scale "pattern", you can begin with all the root note, and play the major scale until you attain the 6th step in the size. This 6th step is the root note with the relative minor for the major chord that you simply began with.
Method 2 - A breeze
Focus on the basis note of any major chord and play that note about the 6th string of your guitar. After that, count down 3 frets. The note you land on may be the root note for the relative minor chord.
Do that with all the "C" major chord. The basis note ("C") about the 6th string is played at the 8th fret. Starting there and counting off 3 frets, you find yourself around the 5th fret, which can be an "A" note. This tells you that the relative minor chord of C is "A" minor.
Try it now with the "G" major chord. The basis note ("G") about the 6th string is played on the 3rd fret. After that, count down 3 frets and you end up about the open 6th string, which needless to say, may be the "E" note. Now you know that the relative minor chord of the G major is E minor.
I enjoy shortcuts and this "super easy" method to know the relative minor chord of the major chord is one i have used for many years. I am hoping it serves you as well as it has served me. Enjoy!