Part 6

Relative Minors

Many tunes have a familiar sequence of chords e.g.

G to Eminor to C to D
C to Aminor to F to G
F to Dm to Bb to C

The second chord in these sequences is a minor chord based on the note  
two steps down the major scale below the major root 
e.g. G major has its relative minor as E minor.
The five string banjo is often played with guitar playing full strummed chords, so that the
banjo in some cases only has to play the characteristic note of the relative minor
and not necessarily the full chord

This is the standard F SHAPE chord

In many situations the right hand picking pattern is such that the 4th string will not be played. To play the relative minor chord move the third finger from the 4th across to the 2nd string. With this method you can play the required relative minior without having to know its name!

This is the standard D SHAPE chord

In many situations the right hand picking pattern is such that the 4th string will not be played. To play the relative minor chord move the third finger from the 4th across to the 3rd string. With this method you can play the required relative minior without having to know its name!

. . .This is the standard bar SHAPE chord

. . . . Just add the 3rd finger 2 frets up (this is really adding the 6th)

. . . . This is the full four note version of the relative minor