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A Minor

Reviewed for accuracy · Last updated June 2026 · Maintained by Justin Evans

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Am
A – C – E
Right Hand Fingering:1 – 3 – 5
Left Hand Fingering:5 – 3 – 1
Formula:R-m3-P5
Intervals:P1-m3-P5
Scale Degrees:1-b3-5

Practice A Minor

Reading about it is one thing. Drilling it is what makes it automatic.

Chord Drill →Timed drills — build speed and recognitionPractice Room →Plug in a MIDI keyboard for real-time feedback

Introduction

A Minor piano chord, root position — A, C, E
The A Minor chord in root position on a piano keyboard, notes A, C, E.

The A Minor chord is a three-note chord made up of A, C, and E. It is built from a root, minor third, and perfect fifth.

Notes

Notes:A – C – E

How to Play the A Minor

Right Hand (RH)

Place your right hand over the keys with the thumb on the root. Use the fingering: 1 – 3 – 5

Left Hand (LH)

For the left hand, start with your pinky on the root. Use the fingering: 5 – 3 – 1

A Minor Inversions

A Minor piano chord, 1st inversion — C, E, A
The A Minor chord, 1st inversion, on a piano keyboard.
A Minor piano chord, 2nd inversion — E, A, C
The A Minor chord, 2nd inversion, on a piano keyboard.
PositionNotes
Root PositionA – C – E
1st InversionC – E – A
2nd InversionE – A – C

Key Signature

A chord has no key signature of its own, but the A Minor is the tonic (i) chord of A Minor, which shares the signature of its relative major, C Major — no sharps or flats.

Chords in the Key of A Minor

These are the triads built on each degree of the A minor scale:

C1C2C3C4ACEC6C7C8
i — A Minor (minor)
DegreeNumeralChordQuality
1iA MinorMinor
2ii°B DiminishedDiminished
3IIIC MajorMajor
4ivD MinorMinor
5vE MinorMinor
6VIF MajorMajor
7VIIG MajorMajor

Common A Minor Progressions

Pick a progression and press play. Change the key to hear it anywhere — every chord is built from the same theory as the chord pages, so the notes always agree.

Version
C1C2C3C4ACEC6C7C8
i›Am
80 BPM
Sounds a little stiff and jumpy? There’s a reason —

The epic minor loop — cinematic and driving, heard across pop, rock and film scores.

Theory: Intervals

Formula: R-m3-P5
Intervals: P1-m3-P5

The A Minor is built by stacking intervals from the root note. The formula R-m3-P5 describes the scale degrees used. The intervals P1-m3-P5 show the distance between each note in the chord.

A Minor — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the A Minor chord on piano?
The A Minor chord contains the notes A – C – E. On piano, play these notes together to sound the chord.
What notes make up the A Minor chord?
A Minor contains three notes: A (root), C (minor third), and E (perfect fifth). All three are white keys — A Minor is the simplest minor chord on the piano and the relative minor of C Major.
What fingering do I use for A Minor?
Right hand: finger 1 on A, finger 3 on C, finger 5 on E. Left hand: finger 5 on A, finger 3 on C, finger 1 on E. The all-white-key layout makes Am as easy as C Major, and both share two notes (C and E).
What are the inversions of A Minor?
First inversion (Am/C): C–E–A. Second inversion (Am/E): E–A–C. Am/C is particularly versatile — with C in the bass, this inversion blurs the boundary between Am and C Major, creating ambiguity that composers use expressively.
What songs use the A Minor chord?
A Minor is one of the most used chords in music. It appears in Stairway to Heaven, The House of the Rising Sun, and is part of the iconic Am–F–C–G progression heard in Let Her Go (Passenger), Counting Stars (OneRepublic), and hundreds more.
What chords pair well with A Minor?
Am pairs naturally with F Major (VI), C Major (III), G Major (VII), and E Major (V). Am–F–C–G and Am–G–F–E are two of the most common progressions in pop. In classical music, Am resolves powerfully to E Major or E7 (dominant).
What is the relationship between A Minor and C Major?
A Minor is the relative minor of C Major — they share the same key signature (no sharps or flats) and the same seven notes. This is why songs can shift between Am and C Major feeling without a key change: they are two sides of the same tonal coin.

Practice Tips

  • A Minor is all white keys and shares notes with C Major — if you know C Major, Am is instantly familiar.
  • Practice Am → F → C → G as the most common pop minor progression — it appears in hundreds of chart hits.
  • Notice Am/C (first inversion, C in bass): this chord sits between Am and C Major ambiguously and is widely used in ballads.
  • Work all three positions: A–C–E (root), C–E–A (1st inv), E–A–C (2nd inv).
  • Practice Am → E → Am (i–V–i) for the essential minor cadence — E Major resolving to A Minor is one of the most powerful movements in Western music.

Related Tools

Chord FinderLook up any chord — see the notes, hear it, and play along.Chord DrillTimed drills to build speed and recognition across all chord types.Practice RoomPlug in a MIDI keyboard and get real-time feedback on every chord and scale.Circle of FifthsVisualize key relationships, relative minors, and key signatures.MIDI MonitorLive MIDI message stream with note names, velocity, and a scrolling staff.

References & Further Reading

How this chord page is sourced & verified

The note names, intervals, fingering, and harmony on this page are drawn from the established body of Western music theory and verified against the conventions below — the same fundamentals taught in conservatories and music programs. We list categories of source material rather than individual titles, and reference the standards themselves rather than any single edition.

  • Standard music theory texts — Widely taught fundamentals of pitch, rhythm, and notation.
  • Western tonal harmony conventions — Established rules for chord construction, voice leading, and key relationships.
  • Interval and chord construction standards — The conventional spelling of intervals, triads, sevenths, and extensions.
  • Scale and mode theory — The common derivation of major, minor, pentatonic, blues, and modal scales.
  • Piano pedagogy and technique references — Long-standing practices for fingering, hand position, and practice.

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