Music Theory - Minor Keys
So far we've centered ourselves on the key of C Major and discussed all our chords and theory in terms of the major scale. Let's branch out to the minor scale.
The minor scale actually has 3 common variations: natural, harmonic, and melodic. We will only cover natural for now.
Contents
PreReqs
The Natural Minor Scale
The natural minor scale is basically exactly the same as the major scale, except the major 3rd, major 6th, and major 7th are all flatted, giving us minor 3rd, minor 6th, and minor 7th intervals from tonic. This changes the whole-half pattern as follows:
| m2 | M2 | m3 | M3 | P4 | d5 | P5 | m6 | M6 | m7 | M7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |||||
| Minor | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Major: w-w-h-w-w-w-h Minor: w-h-w-w-h-w-w
Relative Minor/Major
If you observed astutely, the whole-half pattern of major and minor is exactly the same; it just starts on a different note:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Major: w-w-h-w-w-w-h w-w-h-w-w-w-h
Minor: w-h-w-w-h-w-w
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
So if you take any major key and play a scale starting on the sixth note, you have a natural minor scale. For the key of C Major, the sixth note is A. A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A is the A Minor scale.
C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C
Major: w-w-h-w-w-w-h w-w-h-w-w-w-h
Minor: w-h-w-w-h-w-w
A B C D E F G A
When two keys share the exact same set of notes, they are called relative keys. For any major key, there is a relative minor and vice versa. A Minor is the relative minor of C Major.
A Minor Scale in Open Position
E---------------------------------------------- B---------------------------------------------- G-------------------0--2--0-------------------- D----------0--2--3-----------3--2--0----------- A-0--2--3-----------------------------3--2--0-- E---------------------------------------------- A B C D E F G A G F E D C B A
E-------------------------------------------0--1--3-/5-- B----------------------------------0--1--3-------------- G----------------------------0--2----------------------- D-------------------0--2--3----------------------------- A----------0--2--3-------------------------------------- E-0--1--3----------------------------------------------- E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A
Playing one octave is a little new, but looking at all the notes in open position is exactly the same as C Major. Focus on playing the single octave ascending and descending, familiarizing the yourself with the minor tonality.
Understanding Minor Tonality
Now, remember what we said about the major scale - the major 7th as the 7th note wants to lead into the tonic. When playing the major scale, it is as if the tonic is a gravitational force, pulling melody and harmony towards it. So how can we play the same set of notes but not get pulled towards that note? In many respects, we do get pulled to the major scale's tonic note; but because we are starting on the 6th note of the major scale, ascending we hit the 7th immediately, before a real tonality is established. Thus, we avoid the issue.
The major scale has a similar issue - playing ascending from the tonic note, we have a whole-whole-half pattern. The 3rd note definitely pulls us towards the 4th note via a half-step, the same way the 7th pulls us to the octave. But that whole-whole-half could easily be the 5th, 6th, 7th, and tonic of a different major key. We need more context to know and feel it.
Ultimately, in any scale that implies tonality, the strongest pull is towards the octave, regardless of the whole-half pattern used to get there. Beginning on the 6th note of the major scale establishes the 6th as the tonal center - thus it becomes the 1st note of the minor scale. This could be overridden if the melody or harmony demonstrated a goal of reaching the tonic note of the major key. Yet, without these things present, the minor scale has tonality and resolution on the tonic.
And remember, the scale itself isn't supposed to be a whole composition - it's simply the set of notes. Playing the scale ascending may not give us a euphoric resolution when we hit the tonic note, but a cleverly designed melody against a harmony that establishes the minor tonality will find a strong resolution on the tonic note.
The minor scale features a perfect 4th and perfect 5th, like the major scale, which assists in allowing it to establish its own tonality. The minor tonality may not be as strong as the major, but that's kind of the point. We want the minor key to sound different, to sound a little more tense, even when we reach the tonic note. The m3, m6, and m7 intervals are less harmonic than the M3, M6, and M7, making the key less "settling".
Diatonic Chords and Harmonic Function
Since the minor scale uses the same notes as its relative major scale, it contains the same chords. For A Minor we have Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, and G. However, for analysis, their roman numerals are changed to represent the scale degree of the minor key. For example, Am is now "i" instead of "vi". In terms of harmony, the chords of the minor scale function identically to the chords of the major scale that have the same scale degree, although they may lack as strong of the functions they exhibit in the major scale. The v - i is the same dominant - tonic resolution as V - I, just weaker.
| Chord in A Minor | Diatonic Chord Name | Parallel of | Harmonic Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am | i - Tonic | Tonic | |
| Bdim | ii° - Supertonic | Pre-Dominant | |
| C | III - Mediant | i | Dominant/Tonic |
| Dm | iv - Subdominant | Pre-Dominant | |
| Em | v - Dominant | Dominant | |
| F | VI - Submediant | iv | Tonic/Pre-Dominant |
| G | VII - Leading | v | Dominant |
What's worth pointing out is that the natural minor scale contains a m7 instead of a M7, which weakens the tension created by the dominant-function chords and thus weakens the dominant - tonic resolution.
Sample Progression
Am Dm/A Em Am i iv v i E--0------1------0------0-- B--1------3------0------1-- G--2------2------0------2-- D--2------0------2------2-- A--0------0------2------0-- E----------------0---------
Here's the archetypal tonic - subdominant - dominant - tonic progression.
And let's redo our bigger progression from C Major, except using the minor tonality:
Am C F Bdim C F Bdim Em Am i III VI iio III VI iio v i E-0-------------|-0---1---1------|-0---1---1----0-|-0---------- B-1-------------|-1---1---3------|-1---1---3----0-|-1---------- G-2-------------|-0---2---x------|-0---2---x----0-|-2---------- D-2-------------|-2---3---3------|-2---3---3----2-|-2---------- A-0-------------|-3-------2------|-3-------2----2-|-0---------- E---------------|----------------|--------------0-|------------
Homework
- Know that the minor scale consists of a tonic note and the M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, and m7 above.
- Know that the minor scale has its 3rd, 6th, and 7th flatted in comparison to the major scale.
- Know that the whole-half pattern of the minor scale is w-h-w-w-h-w-w.
- Know that the minor scale has the same pattern of notes as the major scale but begins of the 6th note of the major scale.
- Know that 2 keys with the same notes but different tonic notes are relative keys.
- Practice the A minor scale in open position, both one octave and all available notes
- Know the diatonic chords of the minor scale: i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI, VII.
- Know that the minor scale lacks the M7 leading tone that the major scale uses, diminishing the strength of dominant-tonic resolutions in harmony.
- Practice the above chord progressions, listening for the differences between the minor and major tonalities.