What does the m stand for in guitar chords?
Short Answer: A small "m" stands for a minor chord. A large "M" stands for a Major chord.What's the Difference?There is a one note difference between a major and a minor chord.You can change a major chord to a minor chord by lowering the 3rd note of the associated scale by one half step. I will explain this below.On a guitar, a half step is equal to one fret. Major chords are usually the first chords you learn on a guitar. Examples are E, G, C, and A. These are all major chords.If you wanted to change an E chord to an E minor chord (Em), you would shift the G# note (the third note in the E scale and the middle note in the chord) down one-half step to a G note. With an open E chord, that means simply lifting your first finger off of the G string. When that finger is down on the first fret, you are playing a G# note.Another simple example is changing the A chord to an Am chord. With an open A chord, you are holding down the major third (C#) on the second fret of the B string. By moving your fingers so that you are instead holding down the B string at the first fret, you will now be playing a minor third (C).How are Chords Built Again?All chords are based on a scale. Major chords are based on the major scale. A scale is a special pattern of notes defined by the numbers of half steps between each note. The major C scale is easy: C D E F G A B CRemember, one fret on a guitar is a half step. Two frets are a whole step.The note D is one whole step (2 frets) away from C. The note F is one half step away from E. On the guitar, F is on the first fret of both E strings. C is on the first fret of the B string and D is two frets higher (third fret).The pattern for a major scale is: 1 W 2 W 3 H 4 W 5 W 6 W 7 H 8W =whole step; H = half step; Notes 1 & 8 have the same letter.In the C scale, there is a half step between E and F (3 & 4) and between B and C (7 & 8). Using this pattern, you can create any scale.To do this, you need to shift some notes up or down one-half step. Moving a note up is making it Sharp. You use the # sign to indicate a note is being raised one-half step. Moving a note down is making it Flat. One a keyboard, you can use a small b to indicate a flat. So, C# means that the C note is raised one half step. Db means the D note is lowered one-half step. And yes, C# and Db are the same note when played on a guitar.The "A" scale = A B C# D E F# G# A play these notes on a guitar to see the relationships. Start on the A string as note 1 (A), then hold down the string at the second fret (two frets up) for B, the fourth fret for C#, the fifth fret for D, and so on.A chord is made of three or more notes. A "C" chord uses C E G. Those are the First, Third and Fifth note of the "C" scale. Playing these three notes together gives you a "C" chord.On guitar, those are the lowest three notes in an open C chord. Third fret of the A string is C (1st note of the scale). Second fret of the D string is E (3rd note). The unfretted G string gives you G (5th note). The other strings on the guitar simply duplicate other notes in the chord. So a C chord on guitar gives you: E C E G C E from the lowest sounding string to the highest one, when you strum all six strings.Strumming all six strings on a guitar when fingering an E chord gives you: E B E G# B E By now, you might recognize E as the first note of the E scale, G# as the 3rd note, and B as the fifth note. That is a major chord.Each major Chord is based on the scale of the First note of that chord. An "A" chord is based on the A scale: A B C# D E F# G# AWhat about Minor Chords?Minor chords are based on a minor scale. This gets more complicated becuase there are three different minor scales. One thing they all have in common is that the 3rd note is lowered one-half step from the 3rd note of a major scale. In Cm the third note (E) becomes an Eb. A Cm chord has the notes C Eb G.In Am, the third note (C#) becomes C. An Am chord has the notes A C E.The simplest way to change a major chord into a minor chord is the flatten the 3 note in the chord by moving a finnger one fret toward the nut of the guitar. This is easier to do in some open chords than in others.Easy: Am Dm Em - just move one finger (the third note in the scale) down one fret. For Dm, you are holding the high E string down on the first fret. For the D chord, you hold the High E string down on the second fret. This change means shifting some of your fingers around, but you get used to it.More challenging: Bm Cm Fm Gm - uses the same principle, but the fingering gets more challenging. For Cm, you have to mute bith the low and high E strings so they do not sound, and fret the D string at the first fret instead of the second. This becomes a finger twister and there are easier ways to play a Cm chord.Why are Minor Chords Used?Minor chords are considered more emotionally sad and are often used for that purpose. A blues song in a Minor key (Em/Am/Bm) sounds just a little bluesier than a blues in a Major key (A/D/E). Major chords could be considered "happy" but really they are just neutral.Chords are used to add richness to a song's melody. They underscore the feeling of the song and help provide a firm foundation for the melody.Minor chords are also used for other reasons, some of which relate to deeper issues of music theory than I am covering here. This is more important when you are writing songs than when you are playing songs.
