Minor Key Scale Tone Triads
To find the relative minor of any major key, start on the 6th degree of the major scale. The following example shows the scale tone triads for the key of A minor, with the chords being derived from the natural minor scale. As you will see, the chords are exactly the same as those contained in the key of C major. The only difference is the starting and finishing point. Because the minor scale starts on A, A minor will now be chord I instead of VI.
The following progression could be described in two possible ways. It could be called VI I V VI IV V VI I V IV V VI in C major or I III VII I VI VII I III VII VI VII I in A minor. Because the progression has an obvious minor tonality, musicians would use the second description. Experiment with other chord combinations in the key of A minor.
