1st point, the internet is hardly ever right - that is why I demand sources other than wikipedia.
Second, I did not give the 7th chords, so it looks like your prof is giving you the jazz slant.
Thirdly, there is only one basic reason why we have V[sup]7[/sup] in the minor - it was adopted to ensure that a perfect cadence in the minor (V-i) was convincing and had the same degree of finality that a perfect cadence in the major had. To make it so, that meant raising the 7th note of the natural minor.
So, if my intent is to build a scale of minor chords, and minor chord scales is nothing more than an amalgamation of all three minor scales, then how do I even attempt to go about doing this since according to the internet, my textbook, and my professor, there is no "right way" just many different "preferred" ways. My goal is to learn this stuff and apply it not only in a careful, and intelligent manner, but also an effortless manner befitting of the time spent understanding it.
Each of the scale types are, to a degree, mix and match. However, the variance in chords is down to three considerations:
1
Have a Major chord for chord 5 leading to a dominant 7th being available for cadential work and other situations. This is why
ALL chord work for the minor in diatonic harmony is based in the Harmonic Minor Scale.
2
Have material that works melodically - i.e. is pleasing to the ear - this is the reason for the existence of the Melodic Minor Scale with its attendant rules about ascending notes and descending notes - ascending the notes 6 and 7 are as if they were part of the tonic major scale; descending these notes are treated as they were members of the tonic natural minor scale. The rules are actually a little more complicated than that - assume A melodic minor is our scale for the following (the subscript numbers following each note indicate the octave relative to middle C as C[SUB]3[/SUB]):
F[SUB]3[/SUB]-E[SUB]3[/SUB]-G[SUB]3[/SUB]-F[SUB]3[/SUB]-E[SUB]3[/SUB]-D[SUB]3[/SUB] ~ [SUP]b[/SUP]6-5-[SUP]b[/SUP]7-[SUP]b[/SUP]6-5-4 ~ Each instance of 6 and 7 is declared to be descending because the note following it is below it
F[SUB]3[/SUB]-E[SUB]3[/SUB]-G[SUB]3[/SUB]-F[SUP]#[/SUP][SUB]3[/SUB]-A[SUB]3[/SUB]-D[SUB]3[/SUB] ~ [SUP]b[/SUP]6-5-[SUP]b[/SUP]7-6-1-4 ~ The second instance of 6 is declared to be ascending to because it is followed by A the above it.
F[SUP]#[/SUP][SUB]3[/SUB]-G[SUB]3[/SUB]-E[SUB]3[/SUB]-F[SUP]#[/SUP][SUB]3[/SUB]-G[SUP]#[/SUP][SUB]3[/SUB]-A[SUB]3[/SUB] ~ 6-[SUP]b[/SUP]7-5-6-7-1 ~ F# is always ascending as it moves to the note above it, the first G is descending and the second G is ascending.
3
You are using the Jazz minor - which is based on the Melodic Minor but is the same ascending and descending and brings it's own harmony with it.
So could you please show me what chords make up the "generic" minor scale chords if the way that I learned it using the aeolian mode which apparently no one who understands this shit worth a lick likes to use despite it ABSOLUTELY MAKING SENSE in relation not only to the Major scale, but everything else i've learned about theory thus far.
The issue with the natural minor scale is that it is essentially the major scale in drag. So most folks call it the major and are done with it. However, as a mode of the major scale, it brings with it required patterns of chord progressions, the most common being the substitution of the Perfect cadence by the following modal cadence: [SUP]b[/SUP]VII-i ~ G-Amin ~ G-B-D -> A-C-E; which for those tuned to the major scale is actually the deceptive cadence.
I'm just trying to figure out one consistent method for building a minor chord scale so that I can move on. I'm reading your chart, Bandcoach, but I just cannot get my head around how we determine which chords to cherry pick from each to build our minor chord scales.
The chart/table shows the scale degrees with an example of each note based on A minor in the first two columns.
It then shows the Natural minor chord scale and an example of each chord within A minor in the next two columns.
It goes on to describe the Harmonic and Melodic minor scales in similar fashion.
It is not like a colour picker where you can choose what to use from each column; rather it is meant simply to show the construction of each scale and what chords can be generated from them - look closely at each column; you will see that some notes do not exist within specific scales.
My brain can't make sense of why you would introduce a chord into your scale that is CLEARLY not diatonic to it. For example, following your chart and the minor chord scale I was given:
i A C E
iib5 B D F
III C E G
iv D F A
V E G# B
VI F A C
VII G# B D
now, obviously, we have a problem here, so I assume we make the III chord augmented since we've raised the 7th degree everywhere else, lets be consistent, right? So that III chord is now III+ (C E G#). So you see, following this logic, i'm wasting time building a chord scale I was NEVER TAUGHT TO USE.
Look, I know i'm coming off frustrated, but i've been plugging away at this since 10 am this morning and still am not anywhere close to understanding how to build a minor chord scale.
I've emailed my instructor, but he has yet to get back to me about this topic.
Simple answer is that there are four minor chord scales, as described above.
You cannot cherry pick what you want to use and not use in your minor scale harmonisation if you are going to be true to the scale you have chosen to work within.
Each of the minor scales serves a different purpose:
Natural is strictly modal in application and practice. You can use this for melodic material but rarely ever use it for harmonic material in strict diatonic practice. Based on what you have written previously, this means your prof is sticking the natural minor scale in his teaching.
Harmonic is about providing a link to the tonic major form of the perfect cadence, V-i. It is strictly a harmonic (chord generating) scale.
Melodic is about providing melodic direction cues and variety in melodic nuances, that while not directly available in the major, are possible with the use of chromatic tones added to the melody (not to be confused with modulation tones). it used over the harmonic minor generated chords.
Jazz minor is about letting jazzers play like they are almost in the major (i.e. there is only one note different [SUP]b[/SUP]3).
