Harmony & Theory 4:

Unit 1
2014 Musicians Institute
 Harmony & Theory 4:
Unit 1
In this unit you will learn about:
The Harmonic Minor Scale
Its structure and differences compared to the Natural Minor Scale

Its Harmonization and common usage

the mi(ma7) chord Imi(ma7)
the ma7(#5) chord bIIIma7(#5)
the diminished7th chord VIIo7

and how the V7 is borrowed and used in other minor progressions

Combining Major and Minor Key Centers

Variations in Minor Harmony
Introduction

The relationship between melody and harmony is the same

whether we are dealing with major scales or minor scales.

However, when dealing with minor scale theory, we have seen

that there are variations in both melody and harmony that need
to be taken into consideration.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The Leading Tone
Let’s start by reviewing the Natural Minor Scale.
Unlike the major scale, in the Natural Minor Scale, the
distance from 7 to 8 is a whole-step,
C Natural Minor Scale

The key

b
signature is

b b
shared with
the minor
scale’s
relative
major scale.
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8

W H W W H W W

The seventh note in the Natural Minor Scale is a minor 7th, making a whole tone distance between the 7th
and 8th degrees. This 7th is commonly called the Subtonic.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The Leading Tone

Let’s look at a simple Ima - V7 - Ima progression.

…and let’s pay attention to the specific voicings of the chords.

C G7 C

1 3 1
5 b7 1 5
3 3
1 1
1

On the next slide, we’ll look a little deeper.

Variations in Minor Harmony
The Leading Tone
The importance of the leading tone is made clear when we analyze a V - I
progression in major.
I V7 I
C G7 C The 7th resolves to the
Look at tonic.
the voice 1 1 The root of V stays and
leading of 3
5 5 becomes the 5 of I.
each part. 3 b7 1 3
1 1 The b7 of V resolves to the 3
1 of I.
The root of the G7 resolves
to the root of the C.

In this example, using good voice leading, we see The other important voice leading note is the b7th of
the 3rd of the G7 (B) resolving up a half step to the G7 (F) resolving down a half step to the 3rd of C
the root of the C chord. (E).

These two half step movements along with the root movement in the bass form
a strong resolution of the V chord to the I chord.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The Leading Tone
In the C major scale, the leading tone is the B note.
This note is also the 3rd of our G7 and is one of our important notes in resolving
strongly to the C chord.

G7
b7
5
3
1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

It’s important to note, this is the V7 to I relationship which happens in all keys.

The example shows the simplest key to understand the concept, but…
Variations in Minor Harmony
The Leading Tone
Now let’s look at a V-I progression in C minor.

Imi Vmi7 Imi

Cmi Gmi7 Cmi The b3 of Vmi7 resolves to
Look at the tonic
the The root of Vmi7 resolves to

b
voice 1 1 the 5th of Imi.
leading b3
5 5
b b
of each b3 b7 1 b3 The b7 of Vmi7 resolves to
part. 1 1 the b3 of Imi.
1
The root of the Gmi7 resolves to
the root of the Cmi.

In our minor example, the half step movement that existed in the major example
is lost (the 3rd of the V7 resolving to the root in the I, as well as the b7th of the
V7 resolving to the 3rd of the I).
!
The Bb to C movement is now a whole step as is the F to Eb.
!
We therefore lose the urgency of resolution that was present in the major
example.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The Leading Tone
Raising the 7th degree of our Natural Minor Scale, which creates the Harmonic
Minor Scale, effects the change of our V chord from a minor 7th to the more
strongly resolving dominant 7th chord.
Gmi7
C Natural
b
Minor Scale b b
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8

W H W W H W W
G7
C Harmonic
b
Minor Scale b b ª ª
The formula for the
Harmonic Minor scale is: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 8
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 8
W H W W H A2 H. W H W W H Aug 2 H
 Variations in Minor Harmony
The Leading Tone
Let’s take one last look at our minor V - I progression with a dominant 7th
replacing the minor 7th as the V chord.

Imi V7 Imi
Cmi G7 Cmi The 3rd of V7 resolves to the
Tonic.
Look at
the voice 1 1 The root of V7 becomes the
3 5 of the Imi.
leading of 5 5
b b
b3 b7 1 b3
each part. The b7 of V7 resolves to the
1 1
1 b3 of Imi.
The root of the G7 resolves
to the root of the Cmi.

Now we have the strong leading tone resolution of the 3rd of G7 (B) resolving
up a half step to the root of the Cmi chord. The change of this one note makes a
significant difference in the strength of the V - I resolution.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The Leading Tone
As we have seen, by altering the leading tone of the Natural Minor Scale, we have
changed the chord quality of the V chord.
There are other harmonic changes brought about by the alteration of the leading
tone. Let’s examine each one.
Cmi7 Dmi7(b5) Ebma7 Fmi7 Gmi7 Abma7 Bb7

C Natural b
Minor Scale b b

! ! ! !
Cmi(ma7) Dmi7(b5) Ebma7(#5) Fmi7 G7 Abma7 Bº7

C Harmonic
b
Minor Scale b b ª ª ª ª
Imi(ma7) IImi7(b5) bIIIma7(#5) IVmi7 V7 bVIma7 VIIº7
Variations in Minor Harmony
The I Minor
The alteration of the leading tone which spawns the harmonic minor scale also
gives rise to some new chord qualities.
The first of these we shall examine is the I minor.

The leading tone of C Harmonic

Imi7 Imi(ma7) Minor is B natural.

Cmi7 Cmi(ma7)
b7
b ª
7

b b b b b 5b
5 5
b3 b3 b3 b3 b3 b3
b7
5 b b7
b b7
b 5
7
5 ª 7
ª 7
ª
b b
5 5
b3 b3
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

I in Natural Minor I in Harmonic Minor

We can see that the raising of the leading tone from the B flat to the B natural
has changed our Imi chord from a minor 7th to the more exotic sounding
minor(major 7th).
Variations in Minor Harmony
The I Minor
Cmi7 Cmi(ma7)

b7
b 7
5 ª
b b
5
b3 b3
1 1

Interval Formula
minor 7th minor(major7th)
root root
minor third minor third
perfect fifth perfect fifth
minor seventh major seventh
Variations in Minor Harmony
The I Minor
The minor(major7th) chord is sometimes considered an ineffective tonic
sounding chord because the major 7th sounds dissonant against the tonic note.

Cmi(ma7) The melody (C) clashes against the

major 7th (B) to create a dissonance.

This means the chord never fully resolves the way we expect of a tonic chord.

For this reason a minor triad, minor 7th or minor 6th chord is more often used
as the tonic chord when resolving in minor keys.
However, the minor(major7th) is often used within a minor key piece of music to
provide a more dark feeling or mood.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The I Minor
In each example the phrase begins with a mi(ma7) chord but ends differently
depending on the melody.

Ex. 1
In example 1 the
melody ends on the D,
the ninth of the chord.
This allows us to use
the mi(ma7) as the
melody will not be
dissonant with the
major 7th.

Ex. 2
In example 2 the
melody ends on a low
C, the root. We keep
the chord simple by
using a triad as more
color this low in the
range can become
muddy.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The I Minor
Ex. 3 In example 3 the melody
ends an octave higher but
again on the root note, C.
In this case we can add
some more color to our
chord. The Cmi(ma7)
chord would clash with
the root note so we use a
mi6 instead.

In example 4 we have a
progression of C minor
Ex. 4 chords. The mi(ma7) is
used as a passing chord
to allow the descending
notes. C, B, Bb, A, Ab, G.

Example 5 is the same

Ex. 5 progression as the
previous example but the
passing line is placed in
the bass for more
dramatic effect.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The VII Diminished
Because of the change in the leading tone, the root of the VII chord is raised a half
step. This fundamentally alters our chord.
bVII7 VIIo7
Bb7 Bo7

bVII7 in Natural Minor VIIo7 in Harmonic Minor

3
5
3
b7
3
b b3
b5
b3
bb7
b3
b
b7
5
3
b b7
5 b b7
b 5
bb7
b5
b3
b bb7
b5 b bb7
b b5
1
b 1
b 1
b 1
b 1
ª 1
ª 1
ª 1
ª
The Bb7 chord (bVII7) has its root raised
and becomes a Bo7 chord (VIIo7).
Variations in Minor Harmony
The VII Diminished
Bb7 Bo7

b b b7
5
dim7
b5

ª
3 b3
b 1 1

Interval Formula
Dominant 7th Diminished 7th
root root
major third minor third
perfect fifth diminished fifth
minor seventh diminished seventh

With the alteration of the root, it’s becomes more difficult to see the similarities in these two chords by
looking at their interval formula.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The VII Diminished
The VII diminished chord in practice is often used as a substitute for the V
dominant 7th chord.

G7 Bo7
The Ab would make the
Notice the 3rd, 5th and G7 sound like a G7(b9).

b
7th of the G7 chord are
the same as the root, 3rd
and 5th of the Bo7 chord.

The diminished 7th note of the Bo7 chord (Ab) would sound like a b9 note when
played over the G7.

The versatile nature of the diminished chord allows it to be named from any of
its inversions, making it a very useful substitution for the dominant 7th.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The VII Diminished
The diminished 7th chord is built using all minor 3rd intervals which makes its
structure symmetric.
Bo7

b
minor 3rd
minor 3rd
minor 3rd

Therefore when we invert the chord and move it through its 1st, 2nd and 3rd
inversions it retains the same structure of all minor 3rds. This means whatever
note is the lowest note of the diminished chord can be seen as its root note.
Bo7 Do7
D o7 FFo7o7 Abo7o7
Ab

b b
b bbb bbbbb bbbb b

All these chords share the same pitches. Don’t be fooled by the enharmonic note names.
 Variations in Minor Harmony
The VII Diminished
By using the harmonic run in the 2nd measure of the progression below, Do7, Fo7,
Abo7, and Bo7, it gives us a sound that can be considered equivalent to, or
functioning for G7(b9).

It can also be analyzed as IIo7, IVo7, bVIo7, or VIIo7

G7(b9)

Ex. 1

Analysis 1 IImi7(b5) #Imi7(b5) IImi7(b5) IIo7 IVo7 bVIo7 VIIo7 bVIo7 Imi6

Analysis 2 IImi7(b5) #Imi7(b5) IImi7(b5) V7(b9) Imi6

Variations in Minor Harmony
The bIII Major7(#5)
The leading tone changes one more chord in the minor scale. The bIII major chord.

The leading tone (B)

bIIIma7 bIIIma7(#5) becomes the #5 of the
Ebma7(#5) chord.
Ebma7 Ebma7(#5)

b ª
7 7
5 #5
3 3 3 3 3 3
7 7
b b b
7 7
ª ª ª
7 7
5 5 5 #5 #5 #5

b b b 1b b b b b
3 3
1 1 1 1 1 1 1

bIIIma7 in Natural Minor bIIIma7(#5) in Harmonic Minor

The bIIIma7(#5) chord is the least used of all the chords we have seen in the
harmonic minor scale, but it still has useful value.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The bIII Major7(#5)
Ebma7 Ebma7(#5)
7 7
5
b Aug5
3 ª
b b
3
1 1

Interval Formula
Major 7th Major 7th (#5)
root root
major third major third
perfect fifth augmented fifth
major seventh major seventh

This chord can be thought of in one of two ways: 1. As a major 7th chord with an augmented 5th, and 2. As
an augmented triad with a major 7th.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The bIII Major7(#5)
The bIIIma7(#5) is very seldom used because of its dissonant character and
when it is used it is done sparingly.
It can be used to substitute for ma7(#11) as both chords are altering what is
effectively the 5th of the chord. (The #11 = the b5)

Ex. 1

Compare the
cadence in
Ex. 2 these three
examples.
Examples 2 and
3 sound quite
similar in their
dissonance.
Ex. 3
Variations in Minor Harmony
The bIII Major7(#5)
Both examples 2 and 3 on the previous page leave our cadence feeling unresolved.
The examples below show how we can resolve them.

Ex. 1
The #5th resolves up
to the 6th of the Eb
chord.

Ex. 2
The #5th resolves
down to the 5th of
the Eb chord.

Ex. 3 The #11th resolves up

to the 5th of the Eb
chord.
Variations in Minor Harmony
The bIII Major7(#5)
On the previous page, one example, Ex. 2, seemed to contradict some of our
previous learning about the direction in which altered notes tend to want to
resolve (see Harmony and Theory 3, unit 8).

Ex. 2
The #5th resolves
down to the 5th of the
Eb chord.

According to our previous learning, raised notes have a tendency to resolve

upwards, and lowered notes tend to resolve downwards. However, in this
example, since we’re learning about the ‘diatonic’ harmony from the Harmonic
Minor Scale, we use the term ‘Ebma7(#5)’ referring to the bIIIma7.
 Variations in Minor Harmony
Minor Key Centers
The use of the leading tone to create a V7 and VIIo7 helps us in identifying minor key centers.
The C and Bb triads The A7 points us to the Dmi as
are from the D the tonic and implies the D
natural minor. harmonic minor scale.

Ex. 1

Examine Examples 2-4 and determine their key centers.

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Ex. 4
Variations in Minor Harmony
Minor Key Centers
Natural Minor Harmonic Min Nat Min
Imi bVIIma bVIma V7 Imi

Ex. 1
Natural Minor Harmonic Min Nat Min
Imi IVmi7 bVII7 VIIo7 Imi

Ex. 2
Nat. Harm. Nat. Mel. or Nat Min Harmonic Min Nat Min
Dor.
Imi Imi(ma7) Imi7 Imi6 bVIma7 V7 Imi

Ex. 3

Natural Minor Harmonic Minor Nat Min

Imi bVIma7 IImi7(b5) V7 Imi

Ex. 4
 Variations in Minor Harmony
Combining Major and Minor Key Centers
In the real world, songs often move through multiple key centers including both
major and minor scales.
Examine these progressions and write down their key centers and chord functions.

Ex.

Ex.
 Variations in Minor Harmony
Combining Major and Minor Key Centers

E Harmonic E Natural G
IImi7(b5 V Imi IImi V Ima

Ex.

G Nat. G Harm. G Nat. Bb C Harmonic C Natural

Imi IImi7(b5 V7 Imi IImi V7 Ima IVmi IImi7(b5 V7 Imi

Ex.
Variations in Minor Harmony
Summary of Learning
Construction of Harmonic Minor Scale
1 - 2 - b3 - 4 - 5 - b6 - 7 - 8

C Harmonic Minor Scale

b
b b ª
1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 8

W H W W H Aug 2 H

Print the following slide and write out the A Harmonic Minor scale, the G
Harmonic Minor scale, and the C# Harmonic Minor Scale.

After doing so, check your answers on the next slide.

Variations in Minor Harmony
Summary of Learning
Construction of Harmonic Minor Scale — Worksheet
A Harmonic Minor

G Harmonic Minor

C# Harmonic Minor
Variations in Minor Harmony
Summary of Learning
Construction of Harmonic Minor Scale — Answers
A Harmonic Minor

G Harmonic Minor

C# Harmonic Minor
 Variations in Minor Harmony
Summary of Learning
Chords within Harmonized Harmonic Minor Scale
Variant Chords from Harmonic Minor Scale
Write the names of the following root position chords.
Ex. 1a

Write the following chords on the staff in root position.

Ex. 1b
Bbmi(ma7) C#º7 Ebma7(#5) Ami(ma7) Dma7(#5) F#º7
 Variations in Minor Harmony
Summary of Learning
Chords within Harmonized Harmonic Minor Scale
Variant Chords from Harmonic Minor Scale
Answers to the previous exercises.
Ex. 1a
Cmi(ma7) Fº7 Abma7(#5) Eº7 Emi(ma7) Gma7(#5)

Ex. 1b
Bbmi(ma7) C#º7 Ebma7(#5) Ami(ma7) Dma7(#5) F#º7
 Variations in Minor Harmony
Summary of Learning
Chords within Harmonized Harmonic Minor Scale
Analyze the following chord progressions
Ex. 1a

Ex. 1b

Ex. 1c
 Variations in Minor Harmony
Analysis of the Previous Chord Progressions

Nat. Harm. Nat.. Harm. Natural Minor Harmonic Minor Natural Minor
Imi Imi(ma7) Imi7 VIIo7 Imi7 bVIma7 IImi7b5 V7 Imi7

Ex. 1a

Natural Minor Harmonic Minor Nat. Harm. Natural Minor Harmonic Minor
Imi7 IImi7b5 V7 bVIma VIIo7 bVII7 bVIma7 V7 Imi(ma7)

Ex. 1b

Harmonic Minor Natural Minor Db Major Harm. Natural Minor

IImi7b5 V7 Imi7 IImi7 V7 Ima7 VIIo7 Imi7

Ex. 1c
Variations in Minor Harmony
This is the Harmonized Harmonic Minor Scale in C Minor.

C Harmonic Minor Scale

Cmi(ma7) Dmi7(b5) Ebma7(#5) Fmi7 G7 Abma7 Bº7 Cmi(ma7)

ª
b
b b ª ª ª ª

Print the following slide and write the E, Bb, and C# Harmonic Minor Scales in 7th
chords on the staff and name each diatonic chord.
 Variations in Minor Harmony
The Harmonized Harmonic Scale.
Worksheet

E Harmonic
Minor Scale

Bb Harmonic
Minor Scale

C# Harmonic
Minor Scale
 Variations in Minor Harmony
The Harmonized Harmonic Scale.
These are the Harmonized E, Bb, and C# Harmonic Minor Scales.
Emi(ma7) F#mi7(b5) Gma7(#5) Ami7 B7 Cma7 D#º7 Emi(ma7)

E Harmonic
Minor Scale

Bbmi(ma7) Cmi7(b5) Dbma7(#5) Ebmi7 F7 Gbma7 Aº7 Bbmi(ma7)

Bb Harmonic
Minor Scale

C#mi(ma7) D#mi7(b5) Ema7(#5) F#mi7 G#7 Ama7 B#º7 C#mi(ma7)

C# Harmonic
Minor Scale
 Assessment #1

This concludes Unit 1 of Harmony Theory 4.

Your next step is to pass Assessment #1
before moving on to Unit 2.