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6.2.3 C Minor Chord: Minor Third Interval on the Bottom
To get a major triad, such as the C major chord, you stack two “third” intervals on top of each other. A major third interval (four semitones) goes on the bottom, and a minor third interval (three semitones) sits on top. Note that the minor third interval has scale degree 3 as its bottom note.
To get a minor triad such as the C minor chord (C, E♭, G), you flip the two intervals. The minor third goes on the bottom, the major third on top. Now the minor third interval (C – E♭) has scale degree 1 as its bottom note.
The minor chord sounds stable, at rest ... except ... it has that spooky “minor” sound. When you play a C major chord followed immediately by an C minor chord, you hear, unmistakably, a drastic difference in perceived mood.
Recall the discussion in Chapter 5 about the three versions of the minor scale. It doesn’t matter which scale you use—natural minor, melodic minor, or harmonic minor (or “grand minor”)—they all still retain the characteristic “minor” sound because they all have a minor third interval in relation to the tonic note (scale degree 1).