The difference between a major and minor chord comes down to one, simple change: the 3rd in a scale.

- A major chord contains the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the major scale.

- A minor chord contains the 1st, flattened (lowered) 3rd, and 5th notes of the major scale that it’s named for.

When trying to determine what is the difference between major and minor scales and chords, you can apply this formula to figure out the notes in any major or minor scale. With these formulas in mind, a major scale will always contain a third (or major third) note, whereas a minor scale will never have a major third note in its construction. In a minor scale, the 3rd note that comprises the scale or chord will always be flattened (or lowered) by a half-step. This is what gives a minor chord its somber sound.

Music is all about patterns. Once you know those “rules” and patterns, you can figure out pretty much anything on your own. And with practice, it’ll become second nature to transition between major and minor chords and learn the correct positioning for many of these chords.
spam fails_task lang_mismatch pii not_appropriate hate_speech sexual_content quality toxicity humor helpfulness creativity violence