tips & tricks for the rhythmically & harmonically-challenged
Analyses of Minor Key Songs
Jan 31st
Who would have thought that the coming Chinese New Year has brought some inspiration to my current blog post! Well, to be specific it’s the little ditty which I know only as “Gong Xi, Gong Xi, Gong Xi Ni-ah! Gong Xi, Gong Xi, Gong Xi Ni!”
And the reason I’m writing about this is because it’s in minor key! Have a look at my transcribed lead sheet with a lightly jazzed up chord progression:
And here’s a little jazzy rendition of the piece:
A quick scan and listen to the song will uncover that the melody is clearly from the harmonic minor scale and so are the accompanying chords. So we can safely say that this piece is a classic example of a song composed in the harmonic minor key. It’s also very interesting to note that a supposedly festive and celebratory tune is written in a minor key, which is usually reserved for a more solemn and darker mood.
Chords used are the Imi (Ami), IVmi7 (Dmi7), IImi75b (Bmi7b5), V7 (E7) and bVIma7 (Fma7). These are actually very common chords in pop and simple jazz tunes. The major key equivalent would be I, IVma7, IImi7, V7 and VImi7. When looked from this perspective, learning chords and chord progressions in minor keys are not that daunting, right?
Let’s look at another song in minor key: Oasis’ “Wonderwall” (Sheet music and video clip used here are for educational purposes only.)
The original key of this piece is F#minor, specifically in F# Natural Minor. All the melody notes and chords are generated from this scale. The chord progression is in 2-bar phrases and these are repeated a number of times.
Here are the chord phrases used:
Intro:Imi-bIII-bVII-Imi (x4)
Pre-Verse: Imi-bIII-bVII-Imi (x3)
bVIma7-bVII-Imi
Verse 1/2: Imi-bIII-bVII-IVmi (x4)
Pre-Chorus: bVI-bVII-Imi (x2)
bVI-bVII-bIII-Imi-IVmi
Chorus: bVI-Imi-bIII-Imi (x3)
bIII-bIII6 (1st ending)[Repeat from Verse 2]
bIII-Imi (2nd ending)
bVI-Imi-bIII-Imi (x5)
bVI-Imi-bIII-Imi (x7)
bVI-Imi-bIII-Imi
So far, both pieces have remained within the appropriate minor scales.
Finally, let’s take a look at a minor composition that employs the natural and melodic minor keys. (Lead sheet and short music clip here for educational purposes only.)
I play a simple ballad arrangement here so that you can hear the movement of the chords and main minor melody line:
The song is in the key of E minor. Just by looking at the melody of the song, we can see that it uses a combination of the scales of E natural minor (second line, 1st bar melody notes C & D) and E melodic minor (second line, 3rd bar melody notes C# & D#).
But because jazz standard tunes can usually be broken down to II-V-I chord progressions, the first four chords, i.e. Ami7-D7-Gma7-Cma7 actually form the IImi-V7-Ima7-IVma7 of Key of G major (the relative of E minor); and the F#mi7b5-B7-Emi is the IImi7b5-V7-Imi of Key of E minor. Hence, you hear the fluidity of the melody notes moving from natural minor (or related major) to melodic minor and back and forth.
So learn up all three minor scales and their diatonic chords and play some great music today!
Popularity: 31% [?]
Piano Staircase
Jan 26th
What a wonderful idea! Get people to take the staircase rather than riding on the escalator by making it fun — and what can be more fun than playing the piano! 
Now, if only we have this in Singapore!
Popularity: 13% [?]
What Are Chord Families?
Jan 21st
Chords are an essential element in playing any contemporary music style. Hence, a firm understanding and grasp of modern harmony is very important in order to be able to play a jazz or pop piece convincingly.
However, it seems like there are so many chords and chord types that it begins to get very confusing, if not difficult to remember and perform instantaneously. This is where the study of chord families comes in. We use chord families to categorize chords by their quality and how they function. Essentially, there are three main chord qualities, i.e. major, minor, and dominant, which are grouped into nine different families.
Major chord families contain all the major types that function as chord I in a major key. This also includes its substitutes, i.e. IIImi and VImi. For example, in the key of C, these chords are C, Emi and Ami. And, of course, the chord types can be anything from C major triad, Cma7, Cma9, to Cma7(#11).
The first minor chord family consists of minor types that function as chord II in a major key. This includes its substitute, i.e. IV. For example, in the key of C, the two chords are Dmi and F. Again, all types are included here, e.g. Dmi7, Dmi11, etc.
The first dominant chord family comprises the primary dominant of the major key and its substitute VII. So in the key of C, this will be the G7 and Bdim. The chord types can range from G7, to G7sus4, to G13.
The second minor chord family is made up of chord I in a minor key area and its substitutes, i.e. chord III and VI (chord quality depending on which minor scale). Hence, in the key of C Natural Minor, these chords are Cmi7, Ebmaj7 and Abmaj7. Chord types include anything from Cmi(add9) to Cmi13.
The third minor chord family consists of the minor chord that functions as the IImi7b5 in a minor key. This also includes its substitute IV. So in the key of C Harmonic Minor, the chords are Dmi7b5 and Fmi7. Again, all the chord types are available.
The second dominant chord family is in the minor key area and includes the dominant seventh with a raised 11th. Hence, in the key of C Melodic Minor, this will be the F7#11 chord, or F9#11, or F13#11, and even F7b5.
The third dominant chord family covers the dominant seventh with an altered ninth, i.e. V7b9 or V7#9, in a minor key. In the C Harmonic Minor key, this will be either the G7b9 or G7#9 chord and their other bigger types.
The final dominant chord family comprises the dominant seventh with all the altered tension notes including the flatted 13th. In the key of C minor, this can be a G7b13, or G7(#11,b13), or G7(b9,b13), etc. As long as the dominant seventh chord contains an altered 13th note it falls into this family.
And, finally, the diminished chord family contains the diminished seventh chords. This is closely related to the third dominant chord family as its upper structure. For example, the upper structure starting on the 3rd note of G7b9 forms the Bdim7. However, this particular chord always functions as a passing chord, so it does not have the prominence of the G7b9 family.
You will find that the nine chord families above will cover all the available chords in music. This makes the study of chords much easier to understand and relate to. Don’t worry about the hundreds of chord types and qualities. So as long as you can break a chord down to its basic function, it will definitely fall into one of the category of chord families mentioned above.
I have been teaching piano for more than 20 years. Although classically-trained, I have always loved contemporary music. I grew up in a household filled with all types of music, from classical to jazz, Pavarotti to Sinatra, Goldberg to Grusin, pop, rock, etc. Currently residing in Singapore, I conduct private piano lessons in pop and jazz music to students of all ages, ranging from music enthusiasts, piano teachers to professional musicians. I also write a blog especially for pianists who find themselves rhythmically and harmonically challenged, and also on other interesting music and piano-related stuff.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicole_H._E._Lee
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Popularity: 17% [?]
Free E-book Almost Ready!
Jan 19th
Hi Everyone,
After taking quite a long break from blogging, I hope to get back on track and get at least a post out before Chinese New Year — oh dear, another long holiday!
More important, I’m happy to announce that my free 30-page e-book Seven Ways to Become a Better Pop/Jazz Pianist is almost ready for distribution. Those of you who have signed up for the e-book, I will be contacting soon to give you details on how to download your personal copy. For those who have not done so yet and who have yet to click on the confirmation link, let me take this opportunity to remind you to do so.
Meanwhile, happy reading and practicing!
Popularity: 9% [?]
Meet the Major Scale’s Little Cousins…
Dec 16th
… the Minor scales!
They might be named “minor,” but there is nothing small or insignificant about the minor scales, which are closely related to the major scales. In fact, without the flavor of the three main minor scales and their diatonic chords, the music we know today will be quite bland and one dimensional. Jazz music especially relies on the minor scales a lot for its chromaticism or color.
In contemporary music, there are altogether three types of minor scales, i.e. Natural, Melodic and Harmonic. Each of these scales are as important as the other in terms of its scale as melody sources and its diatonic chords as rich harmonic sources.
Natural Minor Scale and its Diatonic Triads
By starting on the sixth degree of a major scale and playing every note until it reaches the next octave of the same note, we form the natural minor scale. This is the purest form of the minor scale. The other two are variations of this.
Diatonic-Triads-of-A-Natural-Minor
Chords I, IV and V are minor; III, VI and VII are major; and chord II is diminished.
Harmonic Minor Scale and its Diatonic Triads
The major scale is also famously known for its DO-RE-MI-FA-SO-LA-TI-DO (these are the solfege names of the scale notes) — thanks to the popular song “Do-Re-Mi” from the wonderful musical The Sound of Music. Try this: Sing out loud the first five notes, i.e. DO-RE-MI-FA-SO, your ears will naturally be drawn to complete the rest LA-TI-DO! This demonstrates that our ears have been influenced by the natural and organic sound of the major scale and how it completes itself. Notice how the seventh degree of the scale, i.e. TI has an especially strong pull back to the first note.
Now, if we take the natural minor scale and try to end the scale with the same strong TI-DO sound, this will form the harmonic minor scale. Observe how the unique sound of the harmonic minor scale comes from the movement from the sixth degree to the seventh, LE-TI (a span of three halfsteps).
Diatonic-Triads-of-A-Harmonic-Minor
We have an interesting mix of chord qualities from the harmonic minor scale. Chords I and IV are minor; V and VI are major; II and VII are diminished; and chord III is augmented. As you can see this scale actually contains all the four basic triad types, i.e. major, minor, augmented and diminished.
Melodic Minor Scale and its Diatonic Triads
Moving along, we can further smoothen the movement of the sixth to the seventh degree in harmonic minor by changing the LE to LA, essentially reverting to the LA-TI-DO sound of the major scale. Doing this will create the melodic minor scale.
Diatonic-Triads-of-A-Melodic-Minor
The melodic minor scale also contains all the four basic triad types. Chords I and II are minor; III is augmented; IV and V are major; and chords VI and VII are diminished.
Notice the first five notes of all three minor scales are the same. They differ only in the sixth and seventh degrees. So if you put all the available notes together, you actually form a composite minor scale.
Composite Minor Scale
A song in minor will use any or all of the three minor scales at one time, so the composite scale is very useful.
Compiling all the available diatonic triads from all three minor scales is just as important.
| Chord/Scale | Natural Minor | Harmonic Minor | Melodic Minor |
| I | Ami | Ami | Ami |
| II | Bdim | Bdim | Bmi |
| III | C | C+ | C+ |
| IV | Dmi | Dmi | D |
| V | Emi | E | E |
| VI | F | F | F#dim |
| VII | G | G#dim | G#dim |
Now, break it down further by chord degree and you will find a few chord qualities for each.
| Chord Degree | Chord Qualities |
| I | Ami |
| II | Bdim, Bmi |
| III | C, C+ |
| IV | Dmi, D |
| V | Emi, E |
| VI | F, F#dim |
| VII | G, G#dim |
This is a lot of information to digest. In the next article, I’ll take a look at a minor piece or two and put all these together!
Popularity: 48% [?]
