If you've been following along, this lesson builds directly on the C major triad lesson. We're applying the same approach — three parent chords, four triads extracted from each — but this time to A minor. The methodology is identical. The shapes are different. And by the end, you'll have 15 ways to play Am all over the neck.
If you haven't worked through the C major lesson yet, I'd suggest starting there. The concepts carry over almost exactly, and you'll find this one much easier to absorb once the major framework is in your hands.
A Minor Triads
A minor is the relative minor of C major — they share almost all the same notes. C major is made up of C, E, and G. A minor is made up of A, C, and E. The only change is that G becomes A. That small shift is what gives the chord its minor character.
A quick note on notation: major chords drop the word "major" entirely — you just write C, G, D and so on. Minor chords always carry a marker. The most common is a lowercase m, so A minor is written Am. You'll also see it written as Amin or A−, but Am is by far the most common.
The 3 Parent Chords
Just like with C major, everything here comes from three parent chord shapes. Here are the three Am parent chords we'll be working from:
Prioritise getting all three of these under your fingers before worrying about the triads. Quantity first — quality comes with repetition.
The Open Am Chord
The open Am uses five strings. You might think: but Am only has three notes — A, C and E. You're right — but they're three different notes, not three different strings. This open Am has two A's (5th and 3rd string), two E's (4th and 1st string), and one C (2nd string).
From that larger shape, we can pull out four compact triads — each using just three strings, with one A, one C, and one E:
Only put down the fingers each shape actually needs. Don't hold the full Am shape and just pick certain strings — use the parent chord as a reference point, but treat each triad as its own thing. The first two shapes sit right inside the open Am fingering. The third uses the open A and D strings with one finger on the B — a slightly wider stretch in feel. Work through them left to right, then reverse.
Pro tip: These three-note shapes are ideal for fingerpicking. Try using your thumb on the lowest string and index and middle fingers on the upper two. Much cleaner than a pick for individual triads.
The 5th Fret Am Barre Chord
This is the Em-shape barre — your open Em chord slid up to the 5th fret. It's the trickiest of the three parent chords, partly because the barre needs to cover the 3rd string, which tends to fall right under the knuckle joint. If it's giving you trouble, that's normal — work on it separately in your own time.
Once you've got the parent chord reasonably solid, extract the four triads:
Moving left to right: the first shape uses the 5th and 4th strings — your 4th finger holds the 7th fret and you reach your 1st finger back to the 5th. The second adds the G string into the mix. The third is a clean barre across strings 3, 2, and 1 at the 5th fret — one finger does the work. The fourth uses the low three strings and is the most physically demanding of the set.
Practise the sequence in both directions and use the parent chord as a bookend — parent, triads, parent. Then try reversing.
The 7th Fret Am Chord
The third parent chord is based on the open Dm shape, moved up to the 7th fret. Unlike the other two, this one is not a barre — you're only using four strings, and each finger is on its own fret. It's less common than the other two shapes, which makes it even more valuable to know.
Because this parent chord only uses four strings, two of the extracted shapes involve non-adjacent strings. That's not unusual — some of the most useful triad voicings on guitar skip a string. Focus on making each note ring cleanly and don't rush the fingering. As you work through these, you might notice a few shapes that look familiar from the open and 5th fret sets. That's not a coincidence — the same geometry repeats.
What's Next
Now that you have all 15 Am shapes, the obvious next move is to combine them with the 15 C major shapes from the previous lesson. C major and A minor share almost every note, so the triads naturally overlap across the fretboard. Try improvising over a simple Am vamp and use these shapes as your vocabulary — move between regions, mix major and minor, and see what comes out.
Final Thoughts
The same logic that gave you 15 ways to play C gives you 15 ways to play Am — and 15 ways to play every other chord, in every key. The parent chord system doesn't change. Once it clicks, the fretboard stops feeling like a collection of isolated shapes and starts feeling like one connected landscape.
Major and minor triads follow the same parent chord logic. Three shapes, four mini-triads each, fifteen total — and it works in every key across the entire fretboard.