In this tutorial, we will look at the diatonic chords for the natural minor scale.

What are diatonic chords

As we saw in the tutorial regarding the major scale diatonic chords, the word diatonic means in the original Greek ‘through the tones’. This means that we construct triads on each scale degree, using only notes from within the scale without adding accidentals from outside that scale. These chords thus all “belong” naturally to the key you’re working in.

However, the situation is not quite as simple as with the major scale as we have three minor scales

• Natural Minor scale
• Harmonic Minor scale
• Melodic Minor scale

This means that we will have three different sets of diatonic chords depending upon the specific notes of the scale.

How to construct diatonic chords for the natural minor scale

We can construct the diatonic chords for the natural minor scale in the same fashion as we did for the major scale, just the notes will be different. We still use stacked thirds, and only the notes from the scale.

The step pattern for the natural minor scale is:

W – H – W – W – H – W – W

For example, the A natural minor scale

A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A

If we start on each note of the natural minor scale and stack thirds to create triads using only notes from the scale, we get the following combinations of notes and examining the third qualities (major or minor) we can see that the triads that are built are as follows

• A-C-E – m + M – minor Triad
• B-D-F – m + m – diminished triad
• C-E-G – M + m – Major Triad
• D-F-A – m + M – minor triad
• E-G-B – m + M – minor triad
• F-A-C – M + m – Major Triad
• G-B-D – M + m – Major Triad

So, we end up with the following chords

• A minor
• B diminished
• C Major
• D minor
• E minor
• F Major
• G Major

Diatonic chords are the backbone of tonal music and are used to build harmony, create progressions, establish a key, and guide emotional movement in songs.

Some uses of diatonic chords

Here are some of the uses for diatonic chords

• Establishing Key and Tonality – Diatonic chords are built directly from the notes of a scale (major or minor). They define the “home base” of a piece and make the key recognizable.
• Creating Chord Progressions – Most common progressions (like I–IV–V–I or ii–V–I) are diatonic. These progressions provide structure and predictability, making music sound cohesive.
• Supporting Melody – Since melodies are usually scale-based, diatonic chords naturally harmonize with them. This makes them ideal for songwriting and arranging.
• Functional Harmony – Each diatonic chord has a role
• Improvisation & Composition – Musicians use diatonic chords as a framework for improvisation. They provide a safe palette of notes and harmonies that “fit” the key.
• Songwriting & Analysis – Understanding diatonic chords helps musicians figure out songs by ear, write new ones, and analyze why certain progressions sound good.

Final Thoughts

As can be seen, the process of constructing diatonic chords for minor scales is relatively straightforward.

There are many uses for diatonic chords, not least being the use of the Roman numeral nomenclature that allows us to easily represent a harmonic progression without any relation to a specific key.

If you’d like to go deeper and explore the diatonic chords of the harmonic minor and melodic minor scales, the full tutorial is available in the PhysMuse Payhip store for $0.99. If you’d like to support my work, you can do so on Buy Me a Coffee — it’s always appreciated.