Notes on Major/Minor chord progressions
Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:06 pm
These comments are based on the posting of the song "A Very Minor Affair" by Jim RR. Jim said he didn't realize what a mine field he was getting into.
In this board it seems most people are concentrating on the basic blues scale - which is great. That has worked for most of the worlds best players and in almost any blues song, but there will be times when you want to branch out.
Jim's song - a very minor affair is appropriatley named because it is all minor chords.
Now, if you don't know this I want you to think about it. What makes a blues scale sound bluesy is that you are taking the MAJOR notes of the scale and dropping them a half-step to turn them into minor intervals. This is especially true if the 3rd step of the scale, but also the 5th and 7th.
A major chord in key of C is: C E G (and if you want to add the major seventh you add B). A major seventh chord is a very "muzak" sounding chord you rarely hear in blues. It is a Burt Bacharach chord. Here are samples:
1 -----0------------0---------5-------------x----------8--------------------------------------------
1 -----0------------1---------7-------------5---------10--------------------------------------------
1 -----0------------2---------6-------------6----------9--------------------------------------------
1 -----2------------3---------7-------------6---------10--------------------------------------------
1 -----3------------3---------5-------------x----------8-------------------------------------------
1 -------------------------------------------5--------------------------------------------------
-----Cmaj7----Fmaj7----DMaj7-------Amaj7-----FMaj7
The major scale is easy - all white keys on a piano C D E F G B A
Now - forget that - and lets take a look at a BLUES scales in key of C
C Eb F G Bb C
1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------8-------11--------
1 -----------------------------------------------------------------8----11------------------------
1 ----------------------------------------------------8----10-------------------------------------
1 ------------------------------------8-----10----------------------------------------------------
1 --------------------8------10-------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ------8-----11----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from this: CDEFGBA to this C Eb F G Bb C you have made flat the THIRD note in the scale ( E to Eb) and the seventh ( B to Bb ). Then in blues you ADD in the famous blue note Gb (you don't replace G with Gb, you add in Gb but also still play G). So you have flatted the chord tones of the scale - the III, V and VII notes of the scales ( E G B ). Note: you don't make the root flat, it is the root, the note of the key you are playing.
With this blues scale you can play over a typical I IV V blues pattern.
BUT there are time when the "typical" I IV V pattern is not so typical because some of the chords get changed. IN "A very minor affair" the chords in the song are A-minor (I-minor) to D-minor (IV-minor) with a surprise FMaj7 (and I said you never hear that in blues) leading into the V chord. Sometimes the V chord is minor in the song, and sometimes it is major (that would be either E-major or E-minor).
When the five is minor the notes are E G B D, when it is major (or more specifically dominant which is what we call a major chord with a flatted seventh) the notes are E G# B D. In Blues we play the dominant V chord 99.99% of the time, remember that. But this song also has a V-minor (it has both minor and dominant).
Herein lies one of the great debates of Blues - and where a lot of personal style comes in - do you stick just to the Blues scale? (you certainly can) or do you adapt your playing to reflect the chord substitutions in a song like "A Very Minor Affair) - you can do that as well.
Great guitar players do both, to be honest. They will play for a bit in simple blues notes, and then they will change it up and go more with the scales called for by the actual chords.
A great guitarist will hear all of these nuances and know what chord he is on all the time. He will try to find ways to make the unusual notes fit to give his playing more interest.
Lets take look at the notes in the chords in a very minor affair:
A-minor: A C E G
D-minor: D F A C
FMaj7: F A C E
E-minor: E G B D
E7 ( V-dominant7) E G# B D
If you look at the common notes here and add them up (to find your scale) you see A B C D E F G A
- all the notes of the blues scale in A ( A C D E G ) but there is a surprise in there: the F is not normally played in the typical 1st position blues guitar, most guitarists head for F#, as in this blues licks:
A B C
E F# G
C D
G A
or
1 -----------------------------------------------5----7---8------------------------------------------
1 ------------------------------5---7----8--------------------------------------------------------
1 -------------5----7----8------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ------7---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------1-----m3---4----b5-----5--M6 --m7-----1---2---m3 (in this case I used M for Major, and m for minor).
That 6, or F# ( 2nd-string 7th-fret) is where you get hung up here, the scale and chords call out for the f natural (2nd-string 6-fret). That is the note in the D-minor chord and the Fmaj7. So the "extended blues" scale becomes:
1 -----------------------------------------------5----7---8------------------------------------------
1 ------------------------------5---6----8--------------------------------------------------------
1 -------------5----7----8------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ------7---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------1-----m3---4----b5-----5--m6---m7-----1---2---m3
Therein lies the rub - you CAN'T play the F#, it just sounds wrong. You can leave that note out though, or you can work in the F-natural. It is up to you and your ability to make it sound good.
I think that is enough for one post. Many of you already know this, but if you don't then I suggest you start trying to think along these lines of "what notes are in the scale for the chord I am playing? Some songs actually change scales depending on which chord you are on, while others let you stay in the same scale for the whole song. Which is better? Whatever your listeners like more....
"A Minor Affair" does change scales, the F# never works (as it normally does in regular Major blues progressions) PLUS you have to watch for the E7 chord (V dominant 7 ) because it has a g#. G# (The major 7th of the scale we are in, A-minor) is actually a very cool note to toss into any blues progression but you only get one chance - at the end of the turnaround on the last V7 chord before the i IV V pattern starts again.
One last thing, I tried playing to these chords and the bends ( 4 to 5 ) just sound wrong, and I am not sure why. The song just sounds SO minor that when I try to use that E-note the suggestion of the DOMINANT V chord is just too much for the ear. An interesting thing, very unusual.
i edited this to make the distinction between major and minor intervals more distinct under the tabs.
In this board it seems most people are concentrating on the basic blues scale - which is great. That has worked for most of the worlds best players and in almost any blues song, but there will be times when you want to branch out.
Jim's song - a very minor affair is appropriatley named because it is all minor chords.
Now, if you don't know this I want you to think about it. What makes a blues scale sound bluesy is that you are taking the MAJOR notes of the scale and dropping them a half-step to turn them into minor intervals. This is especially true if the 3rd step of the scale, but also the 5th and 7th.
A major chord in key of C is: C E G (and if you want to add the major seventh you add B). A major seventh chord is a very "muzak" sounding chord you rarely hear in blues. It is a Burt Bacharach chord. Here are samples:
1 -----0------------0---------5-------------x----------8--------------------------------------------
1 -----0------------1---------7-------------5---------10--------------------------------------------
1 -----0------------2---------6-------------6----------9--------------------------------------------
1 -----2------------3---------7-------------6---------10--------------------------------------------
1 -----3------------3---------5-------------x----------8-------------------------------------------
1 -------------------------------------------5--------------------------------------------------
-----Cmaj7----Fmaj7----DMaj7-------Amaj7-----FMaj7
The major scale is easy - all white keys on a piano C D E F G B A
Now - forget that - and lets take a look at a BLUES scales in key of C
C Eb F G Bb C
1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------8-------11--------
1 -----------------------------------------------------------------8----11------------------------
1 ----------------------------------------------------8----10-------------------------------------
1 ------------------------------------8-----10----------------------------------------------------
1 --------------------8------10-------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ------8-----11----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from this: CDEFGBA to this C Eb F G Bb C you have made flat the THIRD note in the scale ( E to Eb) and the seventh ( B to Bb ). Then in blues you ADD in the famous blue note Gb (you don't replace G with Gb, you add in Gb but also still play G). So you have flatted the chord tones of the scale - the III, V and VII notes of the scales ( E G B ). Note: you don't make the root flat, it is the root, the note of the key you are playing.
With this blues scale you can play over a typical I IV V blues pattern.
BUT there are time when the "typical" I IV V pattern is not so typical because some of the chords get changed. IN "A very minor affair" the chords in the song are A-minor (I-minor) to D-minor (IV-minor) with a surprise FMaj7 (and I said you never hear that in blues) leading into the V chord. Sometimes the V chord is minor in the song, and sometimes it is major (that would be either E-major or E-minor).
When the five is minor the notes are E G B D, when it is major (or more specifically dominant which is what we call a major chord with a flatted seventh) the notes are E G# B D. In Blues we play the dominant V chord 99.99% of the time, remember that. But this song also has a V-minor (it has both minor and dominant).
Herein lies one of the great debates of Blues - and where a lot of personal style comes in - do you stick just to the Blues scale? (you certainly can) or do you adapt your playing to reflect the chord substitutions in a song like "A Very Minor Affair) - you can do that as well.
Great guitar players do both, to be honest. They will play for a bit in simple blues notes, and then they will change it up and go more with the scales called for by the actual chords.
A great guitarist will hear all of these nuances and know what chord he is on all the time. He will try to find ways to make the unusual notes fit to give his playing more interest.
Lets take look at the notes in the chords in a very minor affair:
A-minor: A C E G
D-minor: D F A C
FMaj7: F A C E
E-minor: E G B D
E7 ( V-dominant7) E G# B D
If you look at the common notes here and add them up (to find your scale) you see A B C D E F G A
- all the notes of the blues scale in A ( A C D E G ) but there is a surprise in there: the F is not normally played in the typical 1st position blues guitar, most guitarists head for F#, as in this blues licks:
A B C
E F# G
C D
G A
or
1 -----------------------------------------------5----7---8------------------------------------------
1 ------------------------------5---7----8--------------------------------------------------------
1 -------------5----7----8------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ------7---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------1-----m3---4----b5-----5--M6 --m7-----1---2---m3 (in this case I used M for Major, and m for minor).
That 6, or F# ( 2nd-string 7th-fret) is where you get hung up here, the scale and chords call out for the f natural (2nd-string 6-fret). That is the note in the D-minor chord and the Fmaj7. So the "extended blues" scale becomes:
1 -----------------------------------------------5----7---8------------------------------------------
1 ------------------------------5---6----8--------------------------------------------------------
1 -------------5----7----8------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ------7---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------1-----m3---4----b5-----5--m6---m7-----1---2---m3
Therein lies the rub - you CAN'T play the F#, it just sounds wrong. You can leave that note out though, or you can work in the F-natural. It is up to you and your ability to make it sound good.
I think that is enough for one post. Many of you already know this, but if you don't then I suggest you start trying to think along these lines of "what notes are in the scale for the chord I am playing? Some songs actually change scales depending on which chord you are on, while others let you stay in the same scale for the whole song. Which is better? Whatever your listeners like more....
"A Minor Affair" does change scales, the F# never works (as it normally does in regular Major blues progressions) PLUS you have to watch for the E7 chord (V dominant 7 ) because it has a g#. G# (The major 7th of the scale we are in, A-minor) is actually a very cool note to toss into any blues progression but you only get one chance - at the end of the turnaround on the last V7 chord before the i IV V pattern starts again.
One last thing, I tried playing to these chords and the bends ( 4 to 5 ) just sound wrong, and I am not sure why. The song just sounds SO minor that when I try to use that E-note the suggestion of the DOMINANT V chord is just too much for the ear. An interesting thing, very unusual.
i edited this to make the distinction between major and minor intervals more distinct under the tabs.