To build a minor chord, you must start with a major chord. Such a chord will have the first, third, and fifth notes in any given scale. For example, in the C major scale, the progression of notes up the scale will proceed: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. When you reach the second C, you have completed one octave and one scale. Now, take the first, third, and fifth notes: C, E, and G. This creates a C major chord.

Now, to create the C minor chord, move the third note (the E) down one fret on a stringed instrument or by one third on a keyboard. This will create the C minor chord by changing that C, E, and G sound to a C, E-flat, and G sound. Suddenly, the entire tone of the music is different, and you are playing a minor chord.

If you wish to build a minor chord in a different key, start in the key in which you wish to build the chord. For example, in the key of G, you would start with the progression of the notes up the scale like this: G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G. This would make the first, third, and fifth notes G, B, and D, respectively. Playing those keys without modification creates a G major chord. Shifting the B downward a third to B-flat creates a G minor chord.

Now that you know how to create the minor chord, it is time to put it to work. When playing guitar or composing music for a keyboard, you can use minor chords to create changes in tone and tempo for your composition. It is very rare to hear an entire composition that revolves only around minor chords, however, so do not worry if your piece sounds better with a few major chords in there as well. Minor chords, unlike minor keys, are often intermixed to good effect.

Once you have created your minor chord, you may wonder where to put it. Some things to keep in mind are to avoid putting it anywhere, but recognize it and how it should sound in pieces of music you perform that have already been written; create a melancholy piece of music using mainly minor chords to do so; and stall momentum in your piece by inserting minor chords to slow the listener and performer down, since major chords tend to create an impression of forward, excited movement and minor ones create a feeling of uncertainty.

Also, balance your compositions with the right balance of major and minor chords to convey multiple emotions throughout a piece of music. Now that you have a better understanding of what a minor chord is and what it can do, it is time to directly compare minor chords and major chords to each other. This will help you envision ways to use these musical creations effectively.  

Jazz is probably one of the most common types of music in which you will hear minor chords. In jazz, a musician will often focus on a minor chord that occurs throughout a piece of music and improvise using a melodic minor scale based around that chord. Sometimes, the jazz musician will also harmonize with that minor chord and associated scale to create even more complicated and beautiful sounds.

By comparison, major chords and their harmonies are more likely to be detected in pop tunes and rock-and-roll, which usually tend to have faster tempos and, even when the subject matter is dark, propel a listener forward into the next stanza.

One minor chord became a star on the silver screen after Alfred Hitchcock made it famous in Psycho. Of course, Hitchcock did not write the score for the movie. A composer named Bernard Herrmann did. However, the minor chord in question, which is used to create dissonance during the infamous shower scene in the horror movie, earned the name, “The Hitchcock Chord.”

Major chords are common in the tracks in movie scores that become famous in most cases. This is likely because most audiences prefer the upbeat feel of the major chord and associated harmonic melodies. In fact, one major and its scale, the Lydian scale, may be found in nearly every cinematic production, at least once, in the key of C major. Lydian scales and associated major chords tend to be calm and contemplative in nature, which is why at some point in nearly every film you will hear them.

Another place in which minor chords are often found along with major chords creating interesting, unique sounds, is in blues music. Blues melodies often borrow notes from minor keys and chords, even when they are played in major keys. This is actually so common that the notes have a name: blue notes.

They are considered to be extra notes that occur so frequently in the composition that they have their own name and are included in some blues scales. The use of blue notes from minor chords in major keys enables the musician to optimize their use of both sounds without losing the momentum that comes from playing in a major key or using predominantly major chords.