Understanding Keys in Music - Part 4
Major keys comes from major scales, so it stands to reason that minor keys would come from minor scales.
But where do minor scales come from? There are different types of minor scales, the first of of which comes from the 6th tone of a major scale: C D E F G A B C ..
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A B C D E F G A This is called the "natural" minor scale because it is natural to its corresponding major scale.
Chords in this scale are constructed in the same way as those in major keys - in 3rds: 5th...
E F G A B C D E 3rd...
C D E F G A B C R..
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A B C D E F G A A major chord is defined as a major 3rd (4 half-steps) + minor 3rd (3 half-steps).
So the chords natural to a minor key are: i Am ii (not discussed here - not a basic chord) III C iv Dm v Em VI F VII G However, a long while back, it was determined by the powers that be in music that this would not be adequate.
The iv, and the v chords in a natural minor key were not "dominant" enough to resolve back to the i chord.
What does this mean? In a major key, the IV, and the V chords - especially the V chord - have a strong tendency when played to resolve, or go back to the I chord.
Try this for yourself.
However, in a minor key, the iv and v chords are minor chords, whereas in a major key, the IV and V chords are major.
Minor chords used as iv and v chords are not strong enough to develop that feeling of "resolving".
So, something had to be done to solve this problem.
The answer was to create 2 new off-shoots of the natural minor scale - the harmonic minor, and the melodic minor.
The harmonic minor scale raises the 7th tone of the natural minor scale 1/2 step: Natural minor A B C D E F G A Harmonic minor A B C D E F G# A This now allows the v chord (Em) in a minor key to become a V chord (E).
Now the V chord can resolve properly back to the i chord.
But this was not enough.
The problem child was still the iv chord - that needed to have better resolution back to the i also.
So the melodic minor scale was invented.
This scale raises (for our purposes) both the 6th and 7th tones of a natural minor scale 1/2 step.
It actually raises the 6th and 7th tones on the way up and only the 7th on the way down, but many guitarists play the same way either up or down.
To see the chord possibilities we will raise both the 6th and 7th chords.
Natural minor A B C D E F G A Melodic minor A B C D E F# G# A Now, the iv chord (Dm) can be a IV chord (D).
So now what you have,in a minor key, are choices.
In a minor key: The i chord is always minor.
The III chord is always major.
The iv or IV chord can be either major or minor.
The v or V chord can be either major or minor The VI chord is always major The VII chord is always major All of these chords are considered to be "natural" to a minor key.
Spend time constructing these minor keys and memorize the chords.
When you hear recordings of songs that are in a minor key, you will have at least a partial ability to "pull" the chords out.
But where do minor scales come from? There are different types of minor scales, the first of of which comes from the 6th tone of a major scale: C D E F G A B C ..
..
..
..
..
..
..
A B C D E F G A This is called the "natural" minor scale because it is natural to its corresponding major scale.
Chords in this scale are constructed in the same way as those in major keys - in 3rds: 5th...
E F G A B C D E 3rd...
C D E F G A B C R..
..
..
A B C D E F G A A major chord is defined as a major 3rd (4 half-steps) + minor 3rd (3 half-steps).
So the chords natural to a minor key are: i Am ii (not discussed here - not a basic chord) III C iv Dm v Em VI F VII G However, a long while back, it was determined by the powers that be in music that this would not be adequate.
The iv, and the v chords in a natural minor key were not "dominant" enough to resolve back to the i chord.
What does this mean? In a major key, the IV, and the V chords - especially the V chord - have a strong tendency when played to resolve, or go back to the I chord.
Try this for yourself.
However, in a minor key, the iv and v chords are minor chords, whereas in a major key, the IV and V chords are major.
Minor chords used as iv and v chords are not strong enough to develop that feeling of "resolving".
So, something had to be done to solve this problem.
The answer was to create 2 new off-shoots of the natural minor scale - the harmonic minor, and the melodic minor.
The harmonic minor scale raises the 7th tone of the natural minor scale 1/2 step: Natural minor A B C D E F G A Harmonic minor A B C D E F G# A This now allows the v chord (Em) in a minor key to become a V chord (E).
Now the V chord can resolve properly back to the i chord.
But this was not enough.
The problem child was still the iv chord - that needed to have better resolution back to the i also.
So the melodic minor scale was invented.
This scale raises (for our purposes) both the 6th and 7th tones of a natural minor scale 1/2 step.
It actually raises the 6th and 7th tones on the way up and only the 7th on the way down, but many guitarists play the same way either up or down.
To see the chord possibilities we will raise both the 6th and 7th chords.
Natural minor A B C D E F G A Melodic minor A B C D E F# G# A Now, the iv chord (Dm) can be a IV chord (D).
So now what you have,in a minor key, are choices.
In a minor key: The i chord is always minor.
The III chord is always major.
The iv or IV chord can be either major or minor.
The v or V chord can be either major or minor The VI chord is always major The VII chord is always major All of these chords are considered to be "natural" to a minor key.
Spend time constructing these minor keys and memorize the chords.
When you hear recordings of songs that are in a minor key, you will have at least a partial ability to "pull" the chords out.
Source...