Module 3: Theory II: seventh chords and the ii–V–ILesson 4intermediate⏱ 75 min + two weeks of daily cycle practice

Minor-key harmony and the minor ii–V–i

Harmonise the harmonic and melodic minor scales in sevenths, understand where the iiø7–V7b9–i comes from and why the b9 and b13 belong to it, play line clichés, and take the minor ii–V–i through all twelve keys.

Why minor needs its own lesson

A major key has one scale and seven chords. A minor key has three scales, and jazz borrows chords from all of them at once. That is not a complication to be endured; it is what makes minor-key tunes sound the way they do. The ii chord is half-diminished, the V chord carries extra tension (a flat 9th, often a flat 13th), and the tonic chord can be a m6, a mMaj7 or a m7 depending on the bar. A large share of the repertoire is in minor or passes through minor keys, and the minor ii–V–i is the second most common progression after its major cousin. You met the three minor scales in The three minor scales; now you will harmonise them.

Three scales, three sets of chords

Here are the diatonic sevenths of A minor built from each of the three minor scales. Read them side by side and look for what changes.

Natural minor

The first table is simply the relative major renumbered (lesson 2). Its weakness is on degree 5: a minor seventh chord with no tritone, so no pull home. Natural minor also gives us two chords that jazz loves: bVImaj7 and bVII7, the "backdoor" sounds that you will study in Module 11.

Harmonic minor

Raise the 7th degree of the scale by a half step and the chord on degree 5 becomes a true V7, with the tritone and the pull. The tonic becomes i(maj7), a minor-major seventh, and the chord on degree 7 becomes a fully diminished seventh (vii°7). The ii chord is still half-diminished (iiø7), because degrees 2, 4, 6 and 1 of harmonic minor are the same as in natural minor. This is the scale that gives minor keys their cadence; almost every minor ii–V–i uses the V7 from harmonic minor.

Melodic minor

Raise the 6th as well and you get melodic minor, the "jazz minor". Its tonic chord is again i(maj7), and because the 6th degree is now major, a i6 chord (m6) is also available: that is why m6 and mMaj7 are the two standard tonic sounds in minor. Melodic minor also turns the ii chord into a plain ii7 and the IV chord into a dominant IV7, two sounds you will meet in Module 9 when you study the melodic-minor modes. For now, the thing to take from it is the pair of tonic chords.

The minor ii–V–i

Take degrees 2, 5 and 1 from the harmonic-minor table and you have the minor cadence: iiø7 – V7 – i. In A minor the chords are below; the engine shows the notes.

Compare this with the major ii–V–I in lesson 3. The ii chord's 5th has dropped a half step (half-diminished instead of minor). The V7 is the same quality as in major. The tonic is minor, with a major 7th or a 6th. The root motion (down a 5th, down a 5th) and the guide-tone logic are identical to the major version: the 7th of iiø7 falls a half step to the 3rd of V7, the 3rd of iiø7 stays as the 7th of V7, the 7th of V7 falls a half step to the 3rd of i, and the 3rd of V7 rises a half step to the root of i (or stays as the 7th of i(maj7)).

Where the b9 and b13 come from

On a chart the dominant of a minor key is usually written V7b9 (or V7b9b13, or V7alt, or simply V7 with the tensions understood). The b9 and b13 are not added from outside: they are the two notes of the harmonic minor scale that are not already in the plain V7 chord. In A harmonic minor, look at the table: the scale's 6th degree (the root of the bVImaj7 chord) sits a half step above the root of E7, which makes it the b9 of E7. The scale's 3rd degree (the root of the bIII chord) sits a half step above the 5th of E7, which makes it the b13. Build E7 with those two notes and you get the full minor-key dominant:

So a V7b9b13 in minor is nothing more than "the dominant chord with the rest of the harmonic minor scale piled on top". Playing the b9 and b13 in your lines or voicings announces a minor resolution before the i chord arrives. Which scales fit these chords is the subject of Module 9, but the table below (generated from the engine) shows the first choices and confirms that every chord tone is covered:

Playing the minor ii–V–i

Arpeggios in one position

\tempo 80
.
\ts 4 4
:8 2.5{ch "Bm7b5"} 5.5 3.4 2.3 4.3 2.3 3.4 5.5 | 2.4{ch "E7b9"} 1.3 4.3 3.2 6.2 3.2 4.3 1.3 |
5.6{ch "Am6"} 3.5 2.4 4.4 2.3 4.4 2.4 3.5 | :1 (5.6 4.4 5.3 5.2){ch "Am6"} |

Guide tones

The two-note guide-tone pairs, this time on strings 3 and 2 so that the i chord lands on its 3rd and 6th. One voice moves at each change, just as in major; the top voice falls by half steps all the way.

\tempo 72
.
\ts 4 4
:1 (7.3 10.2){ch "Bm7b5"} | (7.3 9.2){ch "E7"} | (5.3 7.2){ch "Am6"} | (5.3 7.2) |

Four-note shapes

Here are root-position library shapes for the chords of the minor ii–V–i in A, with both tonic sounds. Play iiø7–V7–i6 and iiø7–V7–i(maj7) and listen to the difference between the two tonics.

A chord-tone line in D minor

An original four-bar line over a minor ii–V–i in D minor, chord tones only, with the b9 of the dominant on the strong beat where it makes the most difference. Every note belongs to the chord in force.

\tempo 96
.
\ts 4 4
:8 2.4{ch "Em7b5"} 5.4 3.3 3.2 5.2 3.2 3.3 5.4 | 2.3{ch "A7b9"} 6.3 5.2 3.1 6.1 3.1 5.2 6.3 |
3.2{ch "Dm6"} 4.3 2.3 3.4 :2 5.5 | :1 (5.5 7.4 4.3 6.2) |

Line clichés

A line cliché is a chromatic line moving inside a chord that otherwise stays put. The most common one in minor runs from the root down through the major 7th and the minor 7th to the 6th: i – i(maj7) – i7 – i6. The chord symbols change every bar but the harmony is really one tonic chord with a moving inner (or top) voice. You will see it written out as four chords on charts, and you should recognise it instantly as one sound.

\tempo 66
.
\ts 4 4
:1 (0.5 2.4 2.3 1.2 5.1){ch "Am"} | (0.5 2.4 2.3 1.2 4.1){ch "AmMaj7"} | (0.5 2.4 2.3 1.2 3.1){ch "Am7"} | (0.5 2.4 2.3 1.2 2.1){ch "Am6"} |

Two things to practise with it. First, play it and then continue to the iiø7 and V7b9 of the key so you hear the cliché as a way of filling four bars of i before the cadence; many minor-key tunes open exactly like this. Second, put the moving line in the bass instead of on top (root, major 7th, minor 7th, 6th on the 5th and 6th strings under a static minor shape); you will meet that version in walking-bass chord melody in Module 13.

The minor ii–V–i in all twelve keys

As in major, the three chords follow the key: iiø7 a whole step above the tonic, V7 a perfect 5th above, and the tonic minor. The table gives every key with the tonic written as i(maj7); on a real chart you may see the same tonic as m6, m7 or simply "m".

Work the cycle of fourths with this exactly as you did in lesson 3. The chain is slightly less automatic than in major because the i chord does not become the V of the next key; think of each new tonic as a perfect 4th above the last and build iiø7 and V7 from it.

Exercises

1. Three tables, one key. Pick a minor key and write out the diatonic sevenths of its natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales from memory. Check them against the engine tables (use the chord dictionary or transpose the A minor tables). Do a new key each day.
2. Guide tones. Play the two-note guide-tone pairs through the minor ii–V–i in A, D, G, C and E minor, on strings 3–2 and again on strings 4–3. Say "moves" or "stays" for each voice.
3. Arpeggios with the b9. Play the A minor arpeggio example, then transpose it to D minor (up five frets) and E minor (up seven frets, or down five). Then play it with the b13 instead of the b9 on the dominant.
4. Cliché to cadence. Play the line cliché for four bars, then iiø7 for a bar, V7b9 for a bar, and i6 for two bars. Repeat in D minor and G minor using the shapes from the chords block moved to the new roots.
5. Listen. Find three minor-key standards on the repertoire list and identify the minor ii–V–i in each, using the numerals above. Note whether the tonic is written as m6, mMaj7 or m7.

Quiz