Guitar Chords Of Melodic, Harmonic and Natural Minor Scales.

Harmonization of Minor Scales On Guitar - Natural, Melodic and Harmonic Minor

By Stef Ramin On 2023-08-03 4

Harmonization of minor scales involves creating chords by stacking thirds on each note of the scale.

There are three common types of minor scales: natural minor, melodic minor, and harmonic minor.

This guitar lesson explore each one and explain how to harmonize them on guitar.

Chords Of The Natural Minor Scale

The natural minor scale is derived from the major scale by starting on the sixth scale degree (also called the Aeolian mode).

For example, if we take the C major scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C) and start from the sixth degree (A), we get the A natural minor scale (A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A).

This is the relative minor of C major.

To harmonize the natural minor scale, we build chords by stacking major or minor thirds on each note of the scale.

The chord qualities follow this pattern:

i - ii° - III - iv - v - VI - VII

In the key of A natural minor, the triad chords would be:

Am - Bdim - C - Dm - Em - F - G

The Seventh chords would be:

Am7 - Bm7b5 - Cmaj7 - Dm7 - Em7 - Fmaj7 - G7

Chord	Triad Chord Names	Triad Formula	Seventh Chord Names	Seventh Formula
i	A minor	A - C - E	A minor 7	A - C - E - G
ii°	B diminished	B - D - F	B half-diminished	B - D - F - A
III	C major	C - E - G	C major 7	C - E - G - B
iv	D minor	D - F - A	D minor 7	D - F - A - C
v	E minor	E - G - B	E minor 7	E - G - B - D
VI	F major	F - A - C	F major 7	F - A - C - E
VII	G major	G - B - D	G dominant 7	G - B - D - F

The exercise below show how to play the chords of the natural minor scale on the same string set (2345), thus covering the whole guitar neck.

These are basic chords (drop 2).

Don't hesitate to develop it using different chord voicings, in different keys, everywhere on the neck.

The possibilities are numerous.

Chords Of The Melodic Minor Scale

The melodic minor scale (or jazz minor scale) is the same as the natural minor scale but with the raised 6th and 7th degrees.

For example, in A melodic minor, the scale would be: A-B-C-D-E-F#-G#-A.

To harmonize the melodic minor scale, we use the following chord qualities:

i - ii - III+ - IV - V - vi° - vii°

In the key of A melodic minor, the triad chords would be:

Am - Bm - C+ - D - E - F#dim - G#dim

The seventh chords would be :

AmMaj7 - Bm7 - Cmaj7#5 - D7 - E7 - F#m7b5 - G#m7b5

Chord	Triad Chord Names	Triad Formula	Seventh Chord Names	Seventh Formula
i	A minor(maj7)	A - C - E	A minor(maj7) 7	A - C - E - G#
ii	B minor(7)	B - D - F#	B minor7	B - D - F# - A
III+	C augmented	C - E - G#	C major 7#5	C - E - G# - B
IV	D major	D - F# - A	D dominant 7	D - F# - A - C
V	E major	E - G# - B	E dominant 7	E - G# - B - D
vi°	F# diminished	F# - A - C	F# half-diminished	F# - A - C - E
vii°	G# diminished	G# - B - D	G# half-diminished	G# - B - D - F#

The following exercise show how to play the chords of the melodic minor scale on the guitar neck, horizontally, on the same strings.

Chords Of The Harmonic Minor Scale

The harmonic minor scale is derived from the natural minor scale by raising the 7th degree.

For example, in A harmonic minor, the scale would be: A-B-C-D-E-F-G#-A.

To harmonize the harmonic minor scale, we use the following chord qualities:

i - ii° - III+ - iv - V - VI - vii°

In the key of A harmonic minor, the triads would be:

Am - Bdim - C+ - Dm - E - F - G#dim

The seventh chords would be:

AmMaj7 - Bm7b5 - Cmaj7#5 - Dm7 - E7 - Fmaj7 - G#dim7

Chord	Triad Chord Names	Triad Formula	Seventh Chord Names	Seventh Formula
i	A minor	A - C - E	A minor(maj7)	A - C - E - G#
ii°	B diminished	B - D - F	B half-diminished 7	B - D - F - A
III+	C augmented	C - E - G#	C augmented major 7	C - E - G# - B#
iv	D minor	D - F - A	D minor 7	D - F - A - C
V	E major	E - G# - B	E dominant 7	E - G# - B - D
VI	F major	F - A - C	F major 7	F - A - C - E
vii°	G# diminished	G# - B - D	G#dim7	G# - B - D - F

Here are the seven chords of the harmonic minor scale.

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Comments

1 Andy On 10/03/2025

Hi,
Chords Of The Natural Minor Scale
B half-diminished 7
Seventh Formula
B - D - F - A (Not Ab)

Best regards
Andy

jazz-guitar-licks On 11/03/2025

Thanks for spotting this typo.
Stef
2 Andy On 18/12/2024

Hi

In the harmonic minor section, before the chord diagram, the headline is wrong. 'It says Here are the seven chords of the melodic minor scale.'
It should be 'harmonic minor'.

Best regards
Andy

jazz-guitar-licks On 19/12/2024

Thanks Andy for spotting this typo.
It's corrected
Stef

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