How to Play Minor Chords in Jazz Guitar

Minor chords in jazz guitar, built from major scales and chords, show the versatility of the root-third-fifth major chord triad. Learning ways to alter chord triads opens the door to creating your own chords and sounds. Minor chords also offer a way to explore your fretboard and get more familiar with guitar tone composition.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Start by understanding that basic major chord triads, often written as 1-3-5, are based on the root (first), third and fifth notes of a scale. For example, B-D#-F# are the three different notes of the B chord (B-F#-B-D#-F#) and come from the first, third and fifth notes of the B major scale (B, in turn, is the seventh tone of the C major scale).
2. Play a minor chord on your guitar by lowering, or flatting, the third tone (1-b3-5). For the B minor, or Bm, the D# drops to a D and the minor chord is B-F#-B-D-F#. Next, strum the C chord (G-C-E-G-C-E), then lower the third, and play Cm: Eb-G-C-G.
3. Go through the rest of the chords in the C major scale, playing the major then minor of each: D and Dm, E and Em, F and Fm, G and Gm, A and Am. Get a feel for the tone of an Fm compared to an F chord. Hear the pitch differences and how they sound in relationship to one another in addition to where they are on the guitar fretboard.
4. Take time to understand how chords are formed. Chords, founded from scales, are based on intervals and thirds. An interval is the pitch difference between two notes. On your guitar, adjacent frets are half steps. Combine three half steps for a minor third, four half steps for a major third interval.
5. Apply this now to your Bm chord. B (first) to the D (third) is three half steps, a minor third. The D to the F# (fifth) is four half steps, a major third. Looking at the B chord, you'll see this chord is composed of a major interval and a minor interval (B to D# is four half steps, D# to F# is three half steps). Go through other minor chords now and practice hearing the intervals that make up guitar chords.

Tips & Warnings

• Minor chords can also be built from the 1-3-5 of a natural minor scale (W-h-W-W-h-W-W).
• The 1-3-5 and 1-b3-5 are not static formulas. For example, the C chord is arranged 5-1-3-5-1-3 (G-C-E-G-C-E) and the Cm, b3-5-1-5 (Eb-G-C-G).