melodic minor chords

Read the continuation of this article and many other full articles in the Simplifying Theory PDF Booklet. Very well, just as we said on the application of the harmonic minor scale, the melodic minor scale needs to be studied beyond the context of the key, after all only a few songs have the melodic minor tonality. The Mixolydian Mode: Everything You Need To Know! Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Understanding Tertian Triads and Seventh Chords, Locrian Mode: Everything You Need To Know About Locrian, Aeolian Mode: Everything You Need To Know About Aeolian. This difference is big with regards to harmonization of the scales: The other common function for minor chords in jazz, beyond the Im7 chord, is the iim7 chord. The associated chord is the CmMaj7 chord … The modes provide us with easy starting points/roots/1’s that make it easy to build chords on each of the notes of the Melodic Minor Scale. If we approach improvising over an EmMaj7 or Em6 chord with the melodic minor scale in the way that I have described in my two lessons on diatonic chords, we can easily come up with these 3 arpeggios that will work well as a starting point for composing good lines: EmMaj7, Gmaj7#5 and C#mb5. Here, we’re gonna compare different minor scales and the diatonic chords that they create. The altered dominant has an accidental note (for example, the augmented 5th). There’s a lot of harmonic variety in the Melodic Minor Scale! If we’re using E minor b5 pentatonic to write a solo or melody, in its most basic form, we know that this scale will work on chords derived from the E locrian b2 mode. But when the seventh degree is raised from G ♮ to G ♯, the triad becomes a major triad. The “Classical” Melodic Minor is one scale ascending (the real Melodic Minor) and a different scale descending (the natural minor or 6th mode of the Major Scale). In Classical music theory the melodic minor and natural minor are combined into one scale. It’s very interesting to me that the 7th note, B, offers both the darkest (diminished) and brightest (augmented) triads! It has 2 major, 2 minor, 2 diminished, and 3 augmented triads. This article focuses on a very popular but certainly very strange sounding scale, the melodic minor, and how we can figure out some chords to play behind our rockin’ solos. In the case of C Melodic Minor, this cadence is made with G7-Cmin/maj7. Each different scale type yields a different pattern of related chords. This post is a companion to that “Beginner’s Guide...” piece. It can be used to solo over just about every chord type, including m7, 7th, 7alt, and more. And from D to F, like we already saw, it is three semitones i.e. In this case, G7 is the dominant of C (resolves in C). *w=whole step // h=half step*. You can then start to explore it through compatible chord changes. How come? The key generated by the A minor melodic scale is as follows: More generally, the melodic minor key is formed by: Im(M7) – IIm7 – bIIImaj7(#5) – IV7 – V7 – VIm7(b5) – VIIm7(b5) An example of a song that has many chords in the melodic minor key is “Papel Machê” by João Bosco. Enjoy your exploration of this wonderful scale and thank you for your time! In the case of C Melodic Minor, this cadence is made with G7-Cmin/maj7. Tertian chords are built by stacking thirds. A D7 flat 9. Diatonic 7th chords: Examples of lines. Note that the A harmonic and melodic minor scales share four of the same triads—Am, Caug, E, and G#dim. Learn how to follow the contexts in which you will use this scale most in practice! In the D minor chord, the jump from D to A, just like the jump from C to G, is a fifth. And then, over the second mode of the melodic minor, you can play a D7 flat 9, [inaudible 00:22:16] actually. The melodic … For you to see this difference, we will show you the scales of A minor harmonic and A minor melodic, one below the other. And it is not by chance, after all, the melodic minor scale is a great option to achieve an alternative sound, which mixes tonal with atonal sensations. = 99 unique chords. The real scale is a scale that goes up like the melodic minor scale and goes down like the natural minor scale. I’ll add here that we’ll be discussing the Melodic Minor is the “Jazz” sense versus a “Classical” sense. Therefore, we would play the melodic minor two semitones above C, which is D. The justification that makes this application possible is somewhat complex and will be addressed in more advanced topics. D melodic minor chords. Melodic Minor Scale Over iim7 Chords. In fact, this one different note changes several of the related chords, as you see from the table below. If, at any point in a song, the G7 chord (dominant that resolves in C) was played, we could play the melodic minor scale of D on top of the G7. So these are the tertian chords harmonized from the Melodic Minor … In a recent article, “Beginner’s Guide to the Minor Scale,” I wrote about the natural minor scale, the theory behind the scale, reviewed the major/minor relationship, covered the minor scale formula and introduced 5 must-know patterns. Let’s show it with an example. For now, be content with the fact that the dominant is an unstable and tense chord, which makes room for many “daring” melodic resources. Otherwise, your solo can become ugly and clumsy. Check below the shape of the A minor melodic scale (degree 6 and 7 are highlighted): Try playing this scale repeatedly to feel the melody. This article will offer some important “triads” and seventh chords of the Melodic Minor Scale and how we build those chords! By stacking two thirds, you get a triad. Start by getting familiar with melodic minor's sound and patterns over single chord tracks (which I provided earlier on this page). Here are the diatonic chords of the melodic minor scale in C: C-(ma7) D-7 Eb+ma7 F7 G7 A-7b5 B-7b5. Or, Alternatively by the following intervals: w-h-w-w-w-w-h There are far too many chords to list out, but the ones featured in this article are a good starting point for building the chords of the Melodic Minor Scale. Many prefer to call the classical scale the “Bachian Scale”. The name “classical” comes from the origin of its founder (Sebastian Bach), a great Baroque composer. The Melodic Minor Scale is defined by the following scale degrees: 1        2      ♭3         4         5         6         7. This scale is extremely used by musicians of different styles, especially jazz guitarists. This easy-to-understand formula allows you to build the melodic minor scale in any key at any time. For example, in the key of A minor, the dominant (V) chord (the triad built on the 5th scale degree, E) is a minor triad in the natural minor scale. That is, for altered dominant chords, you can play the melodic minor scale that is located a semitone above the dominant chord in question. In each new application below, we will show you a new example of a lick, and you can also invent yours. Either of the harmonic or melodic minor scales can be used on this chord. Quick formula. + 1 seven-note chord Now play the A melodic minor scale’s triads, first as block chords (Example 7) and then in arpeggios (Example 8). An example of a song that has many chords in the melodic minor key is “Papel Machê” by João Bosco. This means that we’re using it as a single scale. The only difference between the Melodic Minor Scale and the Major Scale is the third scale degree. Invest time in this study, get some songs, identify the dominants and wear the melodic minor scale out on top of them! The minor b5 pentatonic will share some or all of the notes from the chords that can be built from the locrian #2 mode. These are called diatonic chords: chords that naturally occur in the key. Note as well, that there are no “avoid notes” in the Melodic Minor Scale. Here in Simplifying Theory however, whenever we talk about the melodic minor scale, we are talking about the classical melodic minor (which goes up and down in the same way). Therefore, the sixth degree that was previously minor on the harmonic scale became major on the melodic scale. This idea is not used in a jazz environment and in modern music is somewhat redundant, except in high school classical music study. These numerals apply to the degree of the chord in the Melodic Minor Scale and also to the mode of the Melodic Minor Scale. Comparing the tables, we get a good idea of some excellent chord scale relationships! F Minor Melodic: The big list of chords and scale notes Scale notes: F, G, G#, A#, C, D, E MIDI file: scale_f_minor_melodic.mid (includes scale notes and chords) Other root notes: [C] , [C#] , [D] , [D#] , [E] , [F] , [F#] , [G] , [G#] , [A] , [A#] , [B] Other scales: List of available scales It’s time to drop this addiction of thinking only in “keys”. For example, C Melodic Minor differs from C Major in having a third note of E ♭, rather than E. Thus the first related chord we find is Cm (=C+E ♭ +G) rather than Cmaj. Due to this purpose, this scale became known as the altered scale after all it contains many accidental notes in relation to the tonic. Extensions can be added at your own will . When a dominant chord appears in a particular song, you can use the melodic minor scale right then. Notice that we have less tertian seventh chords than we have triads. By using the raised sixth and raised seventh in a melodic minor scale or just the raised seventh in a harmonic minor scale, you can create augmented triads (where the fifth of a chord is raised a half step). Enharmonically, ♭4 is the same as 3, and ♭6 is the same as ♯5. This creates strong and common chord progressions. But to help build harmonic and arpeggio ideas, I’ll add some of the more common 3 and 4 note chords I like to use. So there are plenty of possibilities for chords in the Melodic Minor Scale. Just remember that the unaltered dominant is the one that has only the fundamental notes (tetrad). In Classical music, you play the ‘true’ melodic minor scale ascending and the natural minor scale descending. Over the Emin7 chord, theory suggests using E natural minor scale to avoid the natural 7th contained in the harmonic minor scale. Enroll in Course for $27. Try them out! It’s simple! As we calculated in the Chords of the Melodic Minor article, any heptatonic scale has 99 unique chords (not including different voicings of those chords):35 three-note chords+ 35 four-note chords+ 21 five-note chords+ 7 six-note chords+ 1 seven-note chord= 99 unique chordsGoing through all these chords would be very tedious to write out and probably as tedious to read through. They all fit with C Melodic Minor harmony. As with most of our common heptatonic scales, the 5th degree of the Melodic Minor Scale offers a dominant seventh chord, making the perfect cadence of V7-i. That is, the melodic minor scale of the fifth degree is played on top of the dominant chord. Melodic Minor Chords. The A melodic minor chord V is the E major chord, and contains the notes E, G#, and B. But in Jazz, we play the ‘true’ melodic minor scale both up and down, and call it the Jazz Melodic Minor Scale. And then, over the third, you can play … The melodic minor scale in detail There are 3 minor scales (not counting minor modes): natural, harmonic and melodic. Basically, this means that we have the same notes, but different letter names for those notes based on our reference scale. The melodic minor is used when ascending the scale, the natural minor is used when descending the scale. Melodic Minor - Ultimate Guide for Guitar Unleash the power of this essential scale with fun, creative, and addictive melodic minor workouts. Another way to think about it is to play the melodic minor scale that is two semitones above the chord that the dominant will resolve in. Triads . Easy to understand. As always, thank you for reading and for your support. One confusing aspect of the melodic minor scale is that it has different scale degrees ascending vs. descending. So the first mode of the Melodic Minor Scale is built on the first note (therefore it’s the same), and the second mode of the scale is built on the second note, and so on so forth. The obvious usage for Melodic minor would be to just play it over any of the chords above. The melodic minor is also used on chords marked simply m6, although, as was noted earlier, this symbol can also imply the dorian mode. Let’s get loose. The scale is called the harmonic minor scale because it is a common foundation for harmonies (chords) in minor keys. Notice the G augmented and B augmented. Although this scale can be used in the most different contexts, to make it beautiful it will be important to have some phrases and licks well memorized and internalized. The flavor of the melodic minor scale differs somewhat from the flavor of the harmonic minor scale and is a little more difficult to analyze, after all it presents two alterations in relation to natural minor scale (6th and 7th degrees), while the harmonic minor scale shows only one alteration (7th degree). Melodic minor gives us both a melodic and harmonic system for accompanying minor chords and keys, plus three related modes (built on melodic minor's 4th, 5th and 7th degrees) for use over dominant 7th chords. Try adding extensions to the seventh chords I’ve listed, try secundal or quartal harmony rather than tertian harmony. The classical melody is the one we have already shown. This dominant chord's root / starting note is the 5th note (or scale degree) of the A melodic minor scale. The reason is that chords built on melodic minor scale notes don't tend to work so well together. Lydian Mode: Everything You Need to Know About Lydian. ©2014-2021 All Rights Reserved - Simplifying Theory, Notes of the Harmonic Am scale: A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, Notes of the Melodic Am scale:    A, B, C, D, E, F#, G#. From a theoretical standpoint, this chord-tone comes from the Melodic Minor Scale, which is Dorian with a major 7th. The Melodic Minor Scale offers the harmonization of 5 of the possible 7 different tertian seventh chords (The Major Scale offers 4). The bottom line is that any combination of 3 or more notes. The Solution below shows the D melodic minor scale triad chords (i, ii, III +, IV, V, vi o, vii o) on a piano, with mp3 and midi audio.. In fact, this will be true for all the next scales that we will address. By doing this, you will develop a rich vocabulary and bring new sensations to your improvisations. For example, the Altered Scale is a great fit for a melody line over a minor7♭5, dominant7♭5, or augmented7 chord. I find it easier to build chords when looking at modes because the scale degrees are referenced to a new root. We will talk about the altered scale in another topic, but it is important that you already know that the altered scale of a certain tone is the melodic minor scale played a semitone above it. Let’s start with this recording this one: Cm – F7 – G7 – G7 If it were an altered dominant, G7(#5), the melodic minor scale most suitable would be that of G sharp. The “modal” pseudo-triads are built as follows: Some of these triads show up in my song “Sum Triads,” based on the triads of the C Melodic Minor Scale. In our example, G7 is an unaltered dominant. This makes it easy to identify the third, fifth, seventh, and extensions. The gravy train is over. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. What You Learn. To make things easy to conceptualize, we’ll cover the chords of the specific C Melodic Minor Scale. Compare the differences in the others: For example, A harmonic minor contains a Bdim chord, while A melodic minor has Bm. Adjust the "start fret" option to further highlight a finger pattern for playing the selected scale in a different position on the fretboard. You can play the C melodic minor over a C minor major 7. I’ve tried to simplify these chords as much as possible. Since the applications are numerous, we will address the most common ones here. But which melodic minor scale? Diatonic Chords of the Melodic Minor Scale. Before we continue, it is worth noting that the sound of the melodic minor scale requires a little more effort in its use than the scales we were used to up to now. It’s not often that we build chord progressions out of the Melodic Minor Scale, but learning its chords will prove to be invaluable in your study of theory, I promise you! How to Build. Well, it wouldn’t be considered “functional harmony,” but the chord progressions would certainly sound interesting. Each scale contains a vast number of possible chords created by combining the available notes. Stacking 2 major thirds creates the augmented triad, and if we stack another major third, we reach our octave. Compare them: Notice how the only difference is in the sixth degree (in this case, the F note). So, what makes a major and minor chord different from each other is the third. That’s all the modes of the melodic minor and the different chords you can play over them. The Natural Mi… We will only cover triads and seventh chords here. Major has a major third, while Melodic Minor has a minor third. The roman numeral for number 5 is ' V' and is used to indicate this is the 5th triad chord in the scale. In the chord tables above, I’ve added the degree numbers in Roman numerals. I’ll add that song here: Check out the entire Fine Dining With An Octopus album here . To write them all out would be tedious, and honestly, most of these rarely ever get used. + 35 four-note chords What Exactly Is It? Both the harmonic and melodic minors outline a m-maj7 i chord, for example Am-maj7 (“A C E G#”) in A minor. Creating chord progressions and using these as a key center can be done but as you can see there is not much there to build a cohesive diatonic chord progression with. I’ve colour matched chords that are the same but with a different voicing. When thinking diatonically in functional harmony, we harmonize and build chords based on the Diatonic Scale (Major Scale and its modes). Let’s see how many tertian chords are in the Melodic Minor Scale, starting on each of its scale degrees. This will a yield a cool new sound you can add to your improvisations. And it's seven semitones, a "perfect fifth". The melodic minor scale is the least common of the 3 but is used by jazz musicians and film composers. The roman numeral for number 7 is ' vii' and is used to indicate this is the 7th triad chord in the scale. This doesn't necessarily mean they're unusable and it's worth noting the chord differences between the minor scales because minor keys are often made from a combination of the minor scale variations. This supertonic 7th chords root / starting note is the 2nd note (or scale degree) of the A melodic minor scale. These thirds can be either major (interval of 4 semitones) or minor (interval of 3 semitones). The Melodic Minor, on the other hand, includes all 4 triads. As we can see above, there are some notes in the scale that yield multiple triads. Look it up on Youtube. What tone? But the applications don’t stop there. Melodic minor more closely aligns with other modes. The melodic minor scale is one of the most widely used scales in jazz. Before we continue, it is worth mentioning that there are two melodic scales: the real melodic and the classical melodic. Chords In The Key Another interesting note about augmented triads is that if there is 1 augmented triad in a scale’s harmonization, there are automatically 2 more! To better build chords out of the Melodic Minor, I’ll write its modes. One of the most important scales you can learn as a modern guitarist is melodic minor. 3 Melodic Minor Exercises That Will Change Your Guitar Playing. So say we have a B augmented7 chord, any mode of the C Melodic Minor Scale will work well with it. Here, the modes are written again with the Roman numerals instead of numbers. This one note difference may not seem like a big deal. That is, it has a shape on the way up that is different from the shape on the way down. Each mode is built starting on a different scale degree of the Scale itself. Yes, C melodic minor over the B7 = B altered scale. The A melodic minor chord ii 7 is the B min 7 chord, and contains the notes B, D, F#, and A. So at this stage, in which we will show some usage contexts for this scale, understand that more important than knowing where to apply them is to actually have several licks memorized and well practiced. The Major Scale yields 3 major, 3 minor, and 1 diminished triad, and only 1 triad per note. In order to reduce this distance, an intermediate note was added to bring the sixth degree closer to the seventh. Okay? Really quickly, just to recap. + 21 five-note chords This would make the sound of the harmonic scale more melodic, giving rise to the so-called melodic minor scale. The most common diatonic chords are built by stacking thirds to build triads or seventh chords. We have already studied the harmonic minor scale and we saw that it has a “long” distance between degrees 6 and 7 (3 semitones). As with most of our common heptatonic scales, the 5th degree of the Melodic Minor Scale offers a dominant seventh chord, making the perfect cadence of V7-i. They are indeed triads of the C Melodic Minor Scale but don’t have the “proper” third and fifth scale degrees according to their mode. A mode’s scale degrees are in reference to its new starting point. E♭, G, and B augmented triads all share the same exact 3 notes. The roman numeral for number 2 is ' ii', and is used to indicate this is the 2nd chord in the scale. From B to D, the distance is three semitones. The melodic minor scale is one scale degree removed from the Dorian mode (which has a flat third, a natural sixth, and a flat seventh) and … The context in which the melodic minor scale most often appears is over a dominant chord. See what you come up with, there are definitely some awesome chords I have failed to mention. For example, if the G7 chord were to resolve in Cm, the C minor melodic scale would be more advisable instead of the D minor melodic scale. Note that these are examples of seventh chords and do not cover most of the 4-note chords that are possible. Over the parent scale, the root scale, there’s the regular C melodic minor. Grab your looper or a backing track and try playing some melodic minor shapes over some chord progressions. The C melodic minor chord vii o is the B diminished chord, and contains the notes B, D, and F. This subtonic chord's root / starting note is the 7th note (or scale degree) of the C melodic minor scale. So with this primer, let’s get into the meat of this article! For example, the altered G scale is the melodic minor scale of G sharp. Tbh though, in that song, over the E minor in the key of E minor… you can get away with a lot. That’s only because we’re keeping tertian harmony in mind and only using minor and major third intervals to build our chords. Try Free Today. As we noted before, there is only a one note difference between the Melodic Minor and the Major scale. 1. And that practicality shows up in soloing, composition, and general thinking of chord-scale relationships. Nothing prevents you from playing the D minor melodic scale in this case too (the dominant chord allows many “daring” options), but the C minor melodic scale would be more advisable for the simple fact that the G7 chord belongs to the key of C minor melodic. Please see below: This scale is used by musicians who don’t like the flavor of the melodic minor on the way down and prefer to use it only on the way up. 35 three-note chords These are the scales that we’ll cover: 1. The key generated by the A minor melodic scale is as follows: More generally, the melodic minor key is formed by: Im(M7) – IIm7 – bIIImaj7(#5) – IV7 – V7 – VIm7(b5) – VIIm7(b5).

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