Piano chord
A minor chord
Am is a minor triad: the root A, a minor 3rd up to C and a perfect 5th up to E.
- Symbol
- Am
- Notes
- A – C – E
Play it yourself
Tap A, C and E on the keys below, in any order.
- A
- C
- E
Minor chords sound darker and more serious than major ones. The only difference is the middle note: the third is one half step lower.
Inversions of Am
An inversion keeps the same notes but puts a different one at the bottom. Pianists use them to move between chords with less jumping.
- Root position
A – C – E
- 1st inversion · Am/C
C – E – A
- 2nd inversion · Am/E
E – A – C
Keys with Am
Am occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.