Minor Chord Progression
Harmonizing Three Forms of the Minor Scale

Minor Chord Progression is a little more complicated than a chord progression in a major key because there are three forms of the minor scale.

NATURAL MINOR SCALE

Remember that the "Natural Minor Scale" is formed by flatting the 3rd, 6th, and 7th notes of the major scale. For example, the "A" natural minor scale is:

A B C D E F G A

The chords which result from these notes are shown below. The guitar chord positions do not necessarily represent the root position triads shown in the standard notation. (I included easy chord fingerings.)

Click on the right arrow of the player to hear the chords.

HARMONIC MINOR SCALE

The "Harmonic Minor Scale" is formed by sharping the 7th note of the Natural Minor Scale. Thus the "A" Harmonic Minor Scale is:

A B C D E F G# A

When we sharp the "G's", the chords resulting from the harmonic minor scale are as shown below. Again, click on the right arrow of the player to hear the chords.

MELODIC MINOR SCALE

The "Melodic Minor Scales", often known as the "Jazz Minor Scale"is formed by raising the 6th and 7th notes of the Natural Minor Scale. To continue with our examples in the key of "A", the notes would be:

A B C D E F# G# A

If we sharp the "F's" and the "G's", the following chords would result:

When using the Melodic Minor scale, the 6th and 7th notes are sharped in ASCENDING passages, but the scale reverts back to NATURAL MINOR in DESCENDING passages. Remember to adjust the chords accordingly.

NOTE The V and vii chords still lead back to the i chord, just as in major progressions.

Harmonizing the Minor Scales--A Mini-Ebook

I have compiled Guitar Pro charts of the chords resulting from the three forms of the minor scale in all twelve keys. These charts include both piano and guitar notation. If you are interested in learning in depth about harmonizing the minor scales, these are well organized, comprehensive, and easy to understand.

HARMONIZING THE MINOR SCALES -- $36.00 USD

**These are PDF files. Before printing, set your page scaling option to "Fit to Printable Area".






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