I want to know what the chords are in the harmonic and the melodic minor scales.
Like if we take C major scale, then the chords are
C Dm Em F G Am Bm(♭5) C
If we take C natural minor scale, then the chords are
Cm Dm(♭5) E♭ Fm Gm A♭ B♭ Cm
In the same way, what are the chords for the harmonic and the melodic minor scales?
At their simplest:
Harmonic Minor
Imin IIdim IIIaug IVmin Vmaj VImaj VIIdim
Melodic Minor
Imin IImin IIIaug IVmaj Vmaj VIdim VIIdim
At their slightly more complex
In Classical theory, the descending minor scale is dealt with by flattening the 6th and 7th degrees. In chordal terms this means that VI and VII would both be major on the way down, but now we need to update our notation.
all degrees are named in comparison to the natural minor scale, with # notating a semitone raised chord
Harmonic Minor
Imin IIdim IIIaug IVmin Vmaj VImaj #VIIdim
Melodic Minor ascending
Imin IImin IIIaug IVmaj Vmaj #VIdim #VIIdim
Melodic Minor decending
Imin IIdim IIImaj IVmin Vmin VImaj VIImaj
See Also:
Minor scales have three versions because the seventh scale degree, called the leading tone, is flatted.
The three minor scales: natural, harmonic, melodic. When you see harmonic; think chords. You need to spell the scale correctly. Make sure the roots are in alphabetical order: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C. This is the natural minor - meaning that it has the same notes as the relative major: Eb Major.
The issue is that the V7, or DOMINANT chord of the key of Eb Major is Bb7. Playing the Bb7 establishes the key of Eb. If you are in C Minor, the V chord is minor (in the natural minor) and the DOMINANT is on the seventh scale degree and will drive the ear to Eb, not C. To make a DOMINANT for the key of Cm, you raise the 7th scale degree, Bb in the natural minor. Doing this eliminates the old dominant from the relative major, and more importantly creates the tritone in the right place for the Dominant to establish the Minor i, C Minor.
Once you raise the 7th scale degree, get the Minor key chords as you would in the Major: start on each scale degree and go in 3rds (every other note). Then look at what chord it spells. Here are the triads.
Harmonic Minor: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, B, C
Cm(C, Eb, G) Ddim(D, F, Ab) Eb+(Eb, G, B) Fm(F,Ab, C) G7(G, B, D, F) Ab(Ab, C, Eb) Bdim(B, D, F)
It's really cool to keep adding 3rds for the 7th, 9th, etc and see what you get.
I just had the same question, and based on the information here and on other sites, I went ahead and visualized this in FL Studio. This helped me see the pattern. This is also a very convenient way to listen to the chords (by clicking on them).
I look at the "distance" between the notes in a chord:
Please tell me if I made a mistake and I will of course correct it.
The rules for deriving the modes - and the diatonic chords (chords that contain only the notes of the parent scale of any mode) - of any scale are universal, and very simple:
Simple Example : They key signature for the C (Jazz) Melodic Minor would be one flat, on E, to get Eb instead of E, making the 3rd note (more technically referred to as the 3rd degree in this context) of C Melodic Minor: Eb.
To build a mode on the 3rd degree of C Melodic Minor - Eb, use Eb as your root and follow the key signature. In this case that means that after the root Eb, all the other notes are naturals and you end up with this scale:
Eb-F-G-A-B-C-D
Counting off its intervals, we get
Eb - Root;
F - M2nd;
G - M3rd;
A - 4+(Augmented 4th, Ab being the Perfect 4th);
B - 5+(Augmented 5th, Bb being the Perfect 5th);
C - M6th;
D - M7th.
That scale is the 3rd Mode (Mode built on the 3rd degree) of C Melodic Minor. It is often called the Lydian Augmented Scale, because it is identical to the Lydian mode of C Major except for the 5th, which is a Perfect 5th in Lydian, but an Augmented 5th in this scale.
Deriving the triad, we get
Eb - Root;
G - M3rd;
B - 5+(Augmented 5th, Bb being the Perfect 5th);
That's called Eb Augmented because of the Augmented 5th. The diatonic triad of the 3rd Mode of C Melodic Minor - a Lydian Augmented Scale -is an Eb Augmented triad.
Adding the 7th from that scale, we get
Eb - Root;
G - M3rd;
B - 5+(Augmented 5th, Bb being the Perfect 5th);
D - M7th;
That's called Eb Augmented major 7th. The diatonic 7th chord of the 3rd Mode of C Melodic Minor - a Lydian Augmented Scale -is an Eb Augmented major 7th chord.
That is it - there is really nothing more to know. This algorithm will give you any mode of any scale, or any mode of any mode, etc etc etc - because that's all a mode amounts to: A different "manner" of playing the same notes of a scale - stacking them on a different root note.
The rule for deriving the diatonic chords of a scale/mode is always the same: Stack the 3rds, whether they're major, minor, diminished or augmented: Those are you diatonic chords.
Some of the more commonly encountered and more 'useful' modes have names, in addition to the familiar 7 modes of the Major Scale. For example, Lydian Augmented and Locrian #2 - both modes of the Jazz Melodic Minor.
Other modes don't have names - they're just called the Xth mode of Scale X, etc. The names are just an easy way to remember certain modes, but the concept is always the same: A mode is simply a different "manner" of playing the same notes of scale.
The diatonic triads of the harmonic minor scale are: Im, IIdim, IIIaug, IVm, V, VI, ♯VIIdim
That means the diatonic triads of A harmonic minor are:
The diatonic seventh chords of the harmonic minor scale are: Im(maj7), IIm7(b5), IIImaj7(#5), IVm, V7, VImaj7, ♯VIIdim7
That means the diatonic seventh chords of A harmonic minor are:
The diatonic triads of the melodic minor are: Im, IIm, IIIaug, IV, V, ♯VIdim, ♯VIIdim
That means the diatonic triads of A melodic minor are:
The diatonic seventh chords of the melodic minor are: Im(maj7), IIm7, IIImaj7#5, IV7, V7, ♯VIm7(b5), ♯VIIm7(b5)
That means the diatonic seventh chords of A melodic minor are:
