Book · Music
Beginner to Composer in 14 Days · Digital edition
It's Just A Minor Thing Y'all
Day 10
The minor key circle
Strong chord movements
Now you know which chords belong to the minor keys you’re going to find out the strongest way to move between these chords using the minor key circle. Remember you can move around the circle clockwise or anti-clockwise, just like you did with the major key circle. Both directions sound good.
Example: Minor key circle in A minor
Add the chords of your minor key to the circle on your worksheet. Starting on the root note chord, move anticlockwise once around the circle, playing each chord as a whole note. As soon as you’ve got the hang of that, move on to this fun little exercise that you’ll no doubt recall from Day Five:
- With your RH, play the minor scale as quarter notes, starting on the root note. Ascend and descend twice without repeating the top and bottom notes. Keep it rolling, using the minor scale finger pattern to help you flow.
- With your LH, start on the root note chord and move once around the circle anti-clockwise. Hold each chord as a whole note.
- Combine your RH scale and your LH chords.
Time to choose: Get ready to add a new layer to this much-loved exercise by choosing a new rhythm for your LH and RH e.g. half notes and whole notes like in the table below. Remember to change chords every four beats, no matter what rhythms you decide on for your LH and RH.
| LH Chord Rhythm | RH Scale Rhythm |
|---|---|
| Whole notes | Whole notes |
| Half notes | Half notes |
| Quarter notes | Quarter notes |
It’s time to start training your ear to hear which notes of the key sound best over your LH chords. To do this, use your RH to improvise with any of the notes of your chosen key. Remember to create short phrases, each one ending with a chord tone, a note that is also in your LH chord. Play for one minute.