Chord Colors

A sharp minor seven chord

Inversions

6fr 8fr

(root position)

Notes and intervals

1 A sharp Root
2 C sharp Minor 3rd
3 E sharp Perfect 5th
4 G sharp Minor 7th

Keys that use A sharp minor seven

A sharp minor seven is diatonic to these keys, where it acts as the chord shown.

About the A sharp minor seven chord

The A sharp minor seven chord is a A sharp minor seventh built from A sharp, C sharp, E sharp, G sharp. You will most often meet it as the i chord in A sharp Dorian. Tap the keys or frets above to hear each note, or press Play chord to hear them together.

It is also written B flat minor seven , which spells the same notes enharmonically.

Other A sharp chords

Simpler triads

Suspended

Sixths and sevenths

Extensions

Altered

Functional relationships

These chords are where this one most naturally comes from and resolves to inside a key.

Relative major C sharp

The relative major uses the same notes and key signature, so it works as a brighter home base.

Parallel major A sharp

The parallel major keeps the same root note but raises the third, giving the same key a brighter, happier sound.

Dominant F

The dominant is a fifth above the root, and it builds tension that pulls strongly back to this chord.

Subdominant D sharp minor

The subdominant is a fourth above the root (a fifth below), and it usually leads on to the dominant or back home.

Tritone substitution B seven

The tritone substitution stands in for this chord's dominant with a dominant seventh a half step above the root, which slides down by a half step to resolve here.

What do the colors mean?

Every note has its own fixed color, laid out around the circle of fifths. Once you know the colors, chords and scales turn into patterns you can recognize at a glance.

There is so much more to explore

Play any chord or scale, transpose it, and watch it move around the color wheel in the free Chord Colors app.

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