In this guitar lesson I am going to show you how to play basic minor chords for beginners. The chords you will learn are: A minor, D minor and E minor chord. I really love the sound of minor chords more than the major ones. You will start by strumming the minor chords before learning how to play them with the fingerpicking technique. Enjoy this lesson.
Chord Diagrams
Out of the three minor chords the E minor is definitely the most simple chord to learn. Notice how little is the difference between the major and minor chord. Truth is, the different note between the major and minor chord is the 3rd.
I am not going into details (it is way too early for a music theory lesson), but notice from the diagram below that two out of three notes are actually the same.
The only difference between the E major and E minor is the note on the G string. For the A major and A minor is the note on the B string and for the D major and the D minor is the note of the top E string.
For this reason, it shouldn’t be difficult to learn the minor chords.
About the Strumming
We are still using a very simple strumming pattern. Pluck the string downwards and make sure each chord ring out perfectly.
Remember that the D major and D minor chord doesn’t want the low E string so mute it with the thumb (use the left hand Modern approach).
Quick Recap
- Learn the minor chords for beginners.
- Learn the difference between the major and minor chord.
- Strum the minor chords correctly.
