By Rhys Lett

Minor Scale Chords – Triads

There are three minor scales used in our music system. As our music system evolved over time so did the minor scale. They are called the Natural minor, Harmonic minor and Melodic minor. Each will create their own minor scale chords sequences. Knowing which chords come from each scale helps you identify what key (scale) the song is created from. We will help you understand the chords in each scale and show examples

Need some help with your music theory? Book lessons with the Eastern Suburbs School of Music by clicking the Enquiry tab on the right side of this page.

A reminder of the difference of each minor scale. I will use the note A as our starting point for each scale. Visit our post about the different minor scales here if you are unfamiliar with the three minor scales of our music system.

Natural Minor = A B C D E F G

Harmonic Minor = A B C D E F G#

Melodic Minor = A B C D E F# G#

As each scale contains slightly different notes they will produce different chords. To understand how we create chords from scales visit our previous article about making chords by clicking here.

Natural Minor – Minor Scale Chords

The natural minor scale contains all the same notes as its major scale partner. For example the notes of C major are EXACTLY the same as A natural minor. If the notes are the same, the chords will be the same. The chords of the natural minor are as follows:

1. Minor
2. Diminished
3. Major
4. Minor
5. Minor
6. Major
7. Major

In G natural minor you would have these natural minor scale chords being created:
G minor / A diminished / Bb major / C minor / D minor / Eb major / F major.

Harmonic Minor – Minor Scale Chords

Harmonic minor contains one different note to natural minor scale. We raise the 7th note of natural minor by one semitone to create harmonic minor. This means the chords made by this scale will be different. For harmonic minor we end up with this sequence of chords:

1. Minor
2. Diminished 
3. Augmented
4. Minor
5. Major
6. Major
7. Diminished 

In G harmonic minor you will end up with this sequence of chords:
G minor / A diminished / Bb augmented / C minor / D major / Eb major / F diminished.

Of interest in this scale is the 5th chord is now Major. When extended past the three note major chord we create a dominant 7th. This was of great interest to composers that started using this scale as it creates greater pull towards the root note of the scale.

Melodic Minor – Minor Scale Chords

Melodic minor has two different notes when compared to natural minor. It also has one note difference in comparison to harmonic minor. This means chords will also be different to both of these scales.

1. Minor
2. Minor
3. Augmented
4. Major
5. Major
6. Diminished
7. Diminished

In G melodic minor you will end up with this sequence of chords:
G minor / A minor / Bb augmented / C major / D major / Eb diminished / F diminished.

Summary

The most commonly used minor scale in contemporary music is still the natural minor. It is important to be aware of the harmonic and melodic minor to create melodies, chords patterns or solos using richer sounds. Extending these chords to sevenths (four note chords) also creates even more interesting sounds. We will detail what 7th chords get created by the various minor scales in a following article.

Got more questions? Feel free to ask by contact us on the form below: