Hey Friend,
E minor steps up as the next chord in the key of A minor.
The chord is derived from the key of E minor and its resulting scale:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (8) E F# G A B C D (E)
We take the 1 3 5 notes from the E minor scale and that gives us what we need to create the E minor chord - E, G and B. The key of E minor is the relative minor to the key of G, which explains why there is only one sharp note in the scale.
I was initially confusing myself because I kept think about the key of E major - with its four sharp notes:
E F# G# A B C# D# (E major)
But then I remembered that minor keys follow a different pattern. If you keep in mind that each minor key is a relative of a major key (and vice versa), it can help you sort it out. E minor is the relative minor key to G major, and G major only has one sharp, so E minor will only have one sharp note.
G A B C D E F# (G) (G major) E F# G A B C D (E) (E minor)
Believe me, I get that this stuff can be a a little confusing. As you've seen, I get myself twisted around, too. That's the biggest reason for revisiting these concepts time after time.
With repetition, we begin to get comfortable with the inner workings. The more familiar we get with these concepts, the easier it becomes for us to then use and exploit them to do what we want musically.
Just to prove the point, remember that we're working through the chords in the key of A minor. So what do the keys of E minor and A minor have in common with regards to the triad we're looking at today (Em)?
If you said that they both contain the notes we need for the chord, you'd be correct. Here's A minor again:
A B C D E F G (A)
See that? The notes E, G and B, lined up in perfect order with the proper intervals between them to create the E minor chord.
Let's look at the exercises:
Triad Positions:
And its barre chords:
I know, fast a furious, right? Again, for many of you, these triads are more for review than a first time introduction. Each was covered when we looked at the relative major key, and then repeated in other keys.
Once we get through these chord intro, we can slow down and apply what we've learned. We'll have some fun with progressions and maybe even layer a melody or two to help you see how melody and harmony relate to each other. Rock on!
Peace~
Dave
| 
