How To Figure Out Minor Chords By Ear 

By Dylan Andrews

Do you want to know how to figure out chords by ear?

Would you like to know what chords are being played in a song without touching your guitar or looking up a chord chart? 

If so, then this article is for you.

A huge key to figuring out chords by ear is first training your ear to identify minor chords.

And without being able to hear minor chords, you will never be able to figure out songs or what others are doing because minor chords are everywhere. To have a great ear, minor chords are a key factor. 

Before training your ear, you must first understand how minor chords work. 

In the video below, I go through exactly that and what you need to know to identify minor chords by ear. 

Now that you understand how each chord functions and sounds, you must practice ear training. Here are a few ear training exercises you can do every day to train your ear to hear minor chords.

How To Hear Minor Chords Ear Training Exercise #1

First, pick up a pencil and make a list of 12 chord progressions, each with two chords. Each chord progression will start with the I chord and be followed by the ii, iii, or vi chord. 

For example:

• I iii
• I vi
• I iii
• I ii
• And so on

When you have 12 written down, record yourself playing each progression. The key you're playing in doesn't matter and can change each progression. 

You will play each progression 2 - 4 times and then say the answer.

When you listen back, you can guess and find out if you are right. You don't need any recording equipment; your phone is perfect for this. 

When listening back, try to identify the chords by ear. 

How To Hear Minor Chords Ear Training Exercise #2

Pick up your guitar and play the I chord in any key you want.

Then try to sing the root of the chord you are going to. If the next chord is iii, then try to sing the iii before playing the chord. 

Play the chord after singing the note and see if you're right.

If not, correct it again and again until you do. And don't worry if you don't have a great voice, anyone can learn to sing notes. Singing is one of the most powerful exercises you can do to train your ear to hear chords. 

How To Hear Minor Chords Ear Training Exercise #3

Repeat ear training exercise #1, but instead of only playing two chords at a time, do 3. Once you get the hang of that, do 4, then 5, etc. Make sure to write down your list of 12-chord progressions first. 

Practicing these ear training exercises will significantly increase your ability to hear minor chords. Still, you need to know what to look for. You must ask yourself specific questions to identify what chord you are hearing.

If you want to learn more about identifying intervals by ear, get my free video on my top 5 favorite exercises for ear training.

Dylan Andrews is a professional guitar teacher and teaches ear training lessons online.