Arpeggio quality

m

The minor triad is the dark twin of the major triad: root, minor third and perfect fifth. Lowering the third by a half-step is all it takes to turn brightness into melancholy, and that single change is the most expressive move in tonal music. The perfect fifth still anchors the chord, so the sound is sad but stable — not yet unstable like the diminished family. It is the foundation of the minor key, the ii chord in a minor cadence, and the shape behind countless rock riffs. Arpeggiated, it is the cleanest way to hear where the third sits. Listen for the minor third's weight against the open fifth.