Chord Scales - Part 3: More Scales
(12 Apr 03)
Modes Within Harmonic Minor
Just as we did with chords, we now examine and analyze the scales starting on every note of Harmonic Minor. Note that all scales are set in relation to the modes we have already learned within the Major Scale (Ionian, Dorian, etc...). These names are just slightly adjusted to fit their harmonic purpose in Harmonic Minor.
Another abbreviation I included below is HM followed by a number, e.g., HM1, HM2, HM3, etc.... This stands for Harmonic Minor starting on the first, second, third, etc... note of the scale. To make it clearer, I included all 7th chords and their tensions.
1, b3, b5, b7 spell out a m7b5 chord. Therefore, the scale has to be some kind of Locrian. Now let's take a look at the tensions. The Locrian we have learned in context with a major scale has the tension b9, 11, and b13. The scale above has a M13 instead of a b13. This difference is incorporated in the name of the scale.
I think you see how this works. The scale above is closest related to a major scale, i.e., Ionian with an augmented fifth.
This scale is also referred to as Harmonic Dominant, Phrygian Major and HM5 (I am sure these are not all of them ), with Mixolydian b9 b13 being the most precise description to satisfy the dominant function of the chord.
Diminished has it's own story altogether. I will have to talk about it some other time to explain it in full. There are different approaches depending on the harmonic function of the chord. Don't worry too much about this now - just memorize the fact that this is our first scale that can be used over a diminished chord.
Second Time Out
Now that you have an overview of what Harmonic Minor is about, I'd like to spend a little time putting this whole thing into a useful perspective.
Not all of the Harmonic Minor chords and modes are useful in a musician's daily life.
When I started out I was very interested in music theory. I wanted to know and understand all the terms, scales, chords, etc... that I found in books and magazines.
As a result I own about 15 harmony books covering Classic to Jazz (You call that crazy?). Each of these books showed me music theory in a slightly different way, according to the authors perspective.
And believe me when I tell you that it took some time until I developed my own view of this material. The thing is that when you learn about a topic for the first time everything seems to be equally important. Then time and practice shows the "real face" of the material.
Below I will try to demonstrate which of the Harmonic Minor modes are important in relation to the chords - don't get me wrong, you should know all of them, but from a playing, composing, arranging point of view we can set some preferences.
Another thing, please do not learn the modes by memorizing HM1, HM2,etc... This doesn't help you at all - important are the chords and the modes that express what intervals, and therefore notes, are within a scale.
The Attempt to an Harmonic Minor Overview
Second Exercises
1) Write out the Harmonic Minor scale from the notes below.
d:
g:
f:
e:
2) List all chords and scales for C Harmonic Minor. Include the chord symbol, tensions, and the scale.
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