Minor Chords

Without retracing too much ground, we'll continue on into the domain of minor chords. Perhaps the most noticeable in transformations of the perception of minor chords came about through the popularity of modal jazz in the 60's. Both So What and Impressions used long stretches of the dorian mode in their song forms, effectively destroying the notion of the minor 7 chord as the subdominant – as in a ii->V->I progression -- or as a tonic minor – which tends to be built in the aeolian mode and is reinforced by V->i cadences. The end result is a sort of harmonic wallpaper that lacks an origin or destination. This effect extends far earlier than this modal music though: from its beginnings, blues has always been based on progressions of unresolved dominant chords.

The following list provides a number of extended minor chords. As before, these can be used as substitutes for any other minor chords in both composition and accompaniment.

Minor Triad – C Eb G

What was said for the major triad remains true for the minor triad. In short, the purity of a triad can create a strong effect when surrounded by extended and chromatic chords. The first movement of Messiaen's Vision de l'Amen for two pianos contrasts tritone-based chords – actually, similar to the voicing Herbie Hancock would use in the 60's – and minor triads to create one of his trademark mystical settings.

Minor 9th – C Eb G Bb D

Since the recordings of Bill Evans and his rise in popularity, the minor 9th chord may have effectively replaced the minor 7th chord for many harmony players; for guitars players especially, the ease of fingering 9th chords makes them by far the most common minor chord substitute. It's a lush, introverted sound that adds color without using any chromatic inflections.

Minor 11th – C Eb (G) Bb D F

The basic extended chord family stretches on the 11th for minor chords. While Major 11th chords are theoretically possible to create, the interval of the fourth (that is, between the root and the 11th) proves to be too dissonant to use practically. As it pertains to the voicing of minor 11th chords, it is common to drop the fifth of the chord: G in the case of C-11. Perhaps due to the number of tones from the major scale represented, the effect generated by the minor 11th chord is one of ambiguity; in fact, a simple respelling can show the chord to be a sus chord suspended over its fifth (Fsus4/C in this case). Though there's certainly nothing wrong with this effect, in order to maintain a sense of harmonic contrast and movement, the chord should be used judiciously.

Minor 6th – C Eb G A

The first modal chord on this list, this chord belongs to the dorian mode. Its dissonant effect is created by the interval of a tritone between the third and the sixth of the chord. It appeared frequently in dance band music of the 60's and before, though in jazz, the ninth of the chord is generally added as well. As a point of interest, the chord is an inversion of the half-diminished chord (in this case, A-7b5/C) and the creative composer can make use of this relationship.

Minor 6/9 – C Eb (G) A D

The minor equivalent of the 6/9 chord, this minor chord is built by fourths rather than thirds, with a tritone between the third and the sixth. It came to prevalence in jazz through the piano playing of Herbie Hancock and the writing of Wayne Shorter during the time period of the Miles Davis Second Great Quintet. Like the minor 6 chord, this chord belongs to the dorian mode, though it has a darker sound quality to it than the standard 6 chord.

Minor 9b6 – C Eb Ab D

Here's a chord that occurs extremely rarely in the jazz literature (to my knowledge, only Wayne Shorter's Iris and Teru call for similar chords. It does appear as a suspension in Israel). Its interval of a minor sixth allow it to be considered as a chord that invokes the natural minor mode, something rarely done in a modal sense in jazz music. Like some of the other chords in this list though, placement and use of this chord must be carefully considered due to its similarities to other chordal structures. Leaving out the ninth would create a major triad (Ab in this case), and even in its full voicing, the chord resembles a major lydian chord.

Minor-Major 7 – C Eb G B

The 7th chord of the melodic minor scale, this chord occurs frequently in latin music. It functions as a tonic minor, though ending a piece on the chord may be questionable (or not, it's really up to your taste and the setting).

As before, playing these chords on the piano is far more important that any text concerning them. The variety of sounds and voicings can't honestly be described in any short amount of time.