I am sure the Guitar tricks instructor might have thoroughly answered your questions but I wanted to offer some encouragement for someone that went through all the questions that you might having now.



When you consider the chords in a key, they follow a specific pattern. However, like any art, the rules are learned so they can later be BROKEN!

So your basic chord theory is like this.


In a major key, there are 7 tones, and when you construct a triad on each, you get a different chord.

In they key of C you have.

C major- I
D Minor- ii
E Minor- iii
F Major- IV
G Major- V
A minor- vi
B diminished- vii (dim)

The roman numerals represent the chords function within the key. These chord qualities (major,minor etc.) are consistent within any major key. So in the key of D, you would have

D major
E minor
F# minor
G Major
A Major
B Minor
C# diminished

Now regarding your question with the A minor in the key of D major.

The coool part is that you can "borrow" chords from other keys and superimpose them. So it is not uncommon to see a minor v chord in a major key or a bII in a major key.


So borrowed chords from C minor to C Major would be: Ab, Bb, Gm, Fm.

In C major, this would result in chords like a bVI (Ab), bVII (Bb), v (Gm), iv (Fm)

Alot of great songwriters of yesterday utilized borrowed chords and it is a great way to take any composition in a different direciton.

It all takes time to really utilize and absorb all this knowledge so be patient, and all the riches will be yours!