5.4 Summary

Minor harmony is a very important concept, especially when trying to write a song with a specific sound that one can’t get using a major home base. Below is a summary of some of the key points in the chapter.

The minor scale leads to a new sonic space in which to explore. Its differences with the major scale lead to a different set of basic chords and scale degree relationships.
Many of the concepts in major, for example, “one” as the tonal center and cadencing with “five,” translate directly to minor; however, not all progressions that sound good in major can be directly converted to minor.
The minor scale is a shifted version of the major scale. Because of this, most of the techniques and chord tendencies you’ve learned from major can be “translated” into minor.
The major scale that contains the same notes as a particular minor scale is known as the relative major. For example, C major is the relative major of A minor, since both scales use only the white keys on the piano.
Some progressions from major show up in minor, and sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a song in major or minor. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind the relationship between the two scales. Playing around between the relative major and minor is a powerful songwriting technique used in many popular songs.

Check for Understanding

What three scale degrees are different between the major and minor scales?

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3, 6, and 7

Check for Understanding

Answer the following questions about chord quality in major and minor.

Which basic chord in major has a diminished quality?

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vii°.

Which basic chord in minor has a diminished quality?

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ii°.

Which basic seventh chord in minor has a dominant seventh quality?

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VII⁷.

Which three basic seventh chords in major have minor seventh quality?

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ii⁷, iii⁷, and vi⁷.

Which two basic seventh chords in minor have major seventh quality?

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III⁷ and VI⁷

Check for Understanding

Consider the following excerpt from the theme from the motion picture The Rock by Hans Zimmer.

Theme from motion picture The Rock by Hans Zimmer

What is the function of the chord III⁶₄? Hint: What is the corresponding major progression of III⁶₄ → VII?

Show Answer

III⁶₄ → VII in minor corresponds to the progression I⁶₄ → V in major.

Recall that the I⁶₄ is called a cadential 64 and has a very specific function in major as a “pre-cadence chord,” having a strong tendency toward V, which in turn cadences to I:

I⁶₄ → V → I

In minor, the corresponding progression would be

III⁶₄ → VII → III

However, since VII also cadences to i, the tonal center of minor progressions, Zimmer uses i as the target of VII instead of III. This is a clever way of adapting a common major chord progression for use in minor.

Next Chapter: Modes And Modal Mixture