• These melodic minor chords will have you sounding like a pro…

    in Chords & Progressions,Scales

    In this exercise, I taught you the melodic minor scale.

    It was around the time we were talking heavily about minor concepts.

    We studied:

    So in this lesson, I want to introduce you to the chords that are naturally created by the melodic minor scale.

    But first, let’s review…

    The melodic minor scale is basically the regular natural minor scale with a raised 6th and 7th tone.

    So if you already know how to play your regular C minor scale, simply raise the 6th and 7th notes of the scale and there’s your C melodic minor scale!

    Easy!

    C minor

    C D Eb F G Ab Bb C

    The 6th and 7th tones are “Ab” and “Bb.”

    Raise em’!

    So “Ab” becomes “A” and “Bb” becomes “B.”

    C melodic minor

    C D Eb F G A B C

    By golly… want to know an even easier shortcut?

    I think it’s just easier to think of a melodic minor scale as a MAJOR scale with a flatted third note.

    In other words, you just find your third tone in the C major scale and lower it a half step.

    C major

    C D E F G A B C

    Which gives you…

    C D Eb F G A B C

    So whichever way you like best is up to you. But either way, here’s your C melodic minor scale:

    C D Eb F G A B C

    But this is all review…

    Let’s play the chords of this scale, shall we?

    Just like any other scale, all we do is play block chords on each tone of the scale, skipping every other note.

    So on C, we play “C + Eb + G” (again, all I did was take C and skip every other note of the scale until I had a 3-toned chord).

    If you do that with the rest of the scale tones, you’ll get:

    C + Eb + G
    D + F + A
    Eb + G + B
    F + A + C
    G + B + D
    A + C + Eb
    B + D + F

    Now, let’s analyze those chords to see what we’re playing here…

    C + Eb + G = C minor
    D + F + A = D minor
    Eb + G + B = Eb augmented
    F + A + C = F major
    G + B + D = G major
    A + C + Eb = A diminished
    B + D + F = B diminished

    So basically, the chords that correspond to each tone of the melodic minor scale are as follows:

    1st tone – minor
    2nd tone – minor
    3rd tone – augmented
    4th tone – major
    5th tone – major
    6th tone – diminished
    7th tone – diminished

    Compared to the chords of the harmonic minor scale:

    1st tone – minor
    2nd tone – diminished
    3rd tone – augmented
    4th tone – minor
    5th tone – major
    6th tone – major
    7th tone – diminished

    … and major scale:

    1st tone – major
    2nd tone – minor
    3rd tone – minor
    4th tone – major
    5th tone – major
    6th tone – minor
    7th tone – diminished

    So there you have it!

    The triads of the melodic minor scale (and believe me, they’re used a lot… we’ll talk about their application in future posts. But for now, play around with them and see what you come up with!)

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    Hear and Play Chords 102: The Power of Seventh Chords

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    • How to form various types of seventh chords and why they are so important in playing by ear.
    • Why seventh chords are the foundation of many more extended chords like ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, and altered voicings.
    • The power of the "magic 3rd & 7th" and how manipulating them can help you to instantly play dozens of chords in all twelve keys… very easily!
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    Until next time —

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    Hi, I'm Jermaine Griggs, founder of this site. We teach people how to express themselves through the language of music. Just as you talk and listen freely, music can be enjoyed and played in the same way... if you know the rules of the "language!" I started this site at 17 years old in August 2000 and more than a decade later, we've helped literally millions of musicians along the way. Enjoy!




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