Chords in C harmonic minor

Cm · D° · E♭+ · Fm · G · A♭ · B°

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 19 · Harmonising the scale.

The chords in C harmonic minor

  1. iCmCmMaj7
  2. ii°D°Dm7♭5
  3. III+E♭+E♭+maj7
  4. ivFmFm7
  5. VGG7
  6. VIA♭A♭maj7
  7. vii°B°B°7

The chords of C harmonic minor are Cm, D°, E♭+, Fm, G, A♭ and B°. With a seventh added they become CmMaj7, Dm7♭5, E♭+maj7, Fm7, G7, A♭maj7 and B°7.

If you stack every other note of C harmonic minor, starting from each degree in turn, these are the chords you get. Nobody chose them: each one is built from the scale's own notes, arranged in thirds.

Every chord, where it lives

iCmii°D°III+E♭+ivFmVGVIA♭vii°B°
Open151♭31♭3♭51151♭3135♭51
Fret 1151♭31♭3♭3♭5113♯51151♭313515
Fret 22fr1♭5♭312fr13♯52fr131352fr1♭51♭3
Fret 33fr151♭33fr1♭51♭33fr133♯513fr1♭351513fr15133fr13135
Fret 44fr1♯513♯54fr1♭3♭3514fr15134fr1♭31♭5
Fret 55fr1♭35155fr1♭51♭35fr151♭3515fr1351515fr1♭3♭3♭5
Fret 66fr1♭3♭356fr1♯5136fr151♭36fr135151
Fret 77fr151♭357fr1♭31♭57fr1313517fr1♭51♭3
Fret 88fr151♭38fr1♭3♭3♭58fr13♯518fr151♭38fr15138fr131351
Fret 99fr13♯59fr15139fr1♭31♭5
Fret 1010fr1♭3515110fr1♭51♭310fr133♯510fr1♭351510fr151310fr1♭3♭3♭51
Fret 1111fr1♭3♭35111fr1♯513♯511fr1♭3♭3511fr151311fr1♭5♭31

The grid places seven chords across twelve home frets on 6-string bass. Every chord is within reach from fret 1 and fret 10.

Read down a column to find one chord all over the neck. Each shape appears once, in the row for the fret it starts on. The line in the margin marks the rows your hand covers from a position where every chord of the key is within reach. In this key those positions are fret 1 and fret 10.

Shapes for each chord

Cm i
151♭3151♭3♭3151♭31♭3
D° ii°
1♭3♭511♭3♭51♭3♭3♭513fr1♭51♭3
E♭+ III+
4fr1♯513♯513♯513fr133♯512fr13♯5
Fm iv
151♭3151♭33fr1♭351511♭3
G V
13513135fr135151
A♭ VI
135156fr13515113513fr13135
B° vii°
♭51♭51♭3♭5♭51♭5♭3

These are the most playable shapes for each chord, starting from the lowest position. Every shape fits within the reach of one hand, so none of them needs a finger you do not have.

Progressions in C harmonic minor

Three chord
  1. iCm
  2. ivFm
  3. VG
CmiFmivGVCCBE♭FDGA♭G−1+2−3+1−1

One of the six lines between these chords is flat: that note belongs to both chords, so it stays where it is. No voice moves more than three semitones.

Every one of these chords comes from C harmonic minor.

Axis
  1. iCm
  2. VG
  3. VIA♭
  4. ivFm
CmiGVA♭VIFmivCBCCE♭DE♭FGGA♭A♭−1+1−1+1+2+1

Three of the nine lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than two semitones.

Every one of these chords comes from C harmonic minor.

Doo-wop
  1. iCm
  2. VIA♭
  3. ivFm
  4. VG
CmiA♭VIFmivGVCCCBE♭E♭FDGA♭A♭G−1+2−3+1−1

Four of the nine lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than three semitones.

Every one of these chords comes from C harmonic minor.

ii–V–I
  1. iiø7Dm7♭5
  2. V7G7
  3. imaj7CmMaj7
Dm7♭5iiø7G7V7CmMaj7imaj7CBBDDCFFE♭A♭GG−1−2−2−1

Four of the eight lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than two semitones.

These are the third and the seventh of each chord on their own. Together they decide whether a chord is major, minor or dominant, which is why they are called guide tones. If you play only these two notes, you can still hear the chords change. If you play only the root and the fifth, you cannot. Two of the four lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than two semitones.

Dm7♭5iiø7G7V7CmMaj7imaj7CBBFFE♭−1−2

Every one of these chords comes from C harmonic minor.

Rhythm changes
  1. imaj7CmMaj7
  2. VImaj7A♭maj7
  3. iiø7Dm7♭5
  4. V7G7
CmMaj7imaj7A♭maj7VImaj7Dm7♭5iiø7G7V7CCCBE♭E♭DDGGFFBA♭A♭G−1−1−2−3−1

Seven of the twelve lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than three semitones.

This diagram again follows only the guide tones, the third and seventh of each chord. Two of the six lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than four semitones.

CmMaj7imaj7A♭maj7VImaj7Dm7♭5iiø7G7V7E♭GFFBCCB+4−2+1−1

Every one of these chords comes from C harmonic minor.

Twelve-bar blues
  1. I7C7
  2. I7C7
  3. I7C7
  4. I7C7
  5. IV7F7
  6. IV7F7
  7. I7C7
  8. I7C7
  9. V7G7
  10. IV7F7
  11. I7C7
  12. V7G7
C7I7F7IV7C7I7G7V7F7IV7C7I7G7V7CCCDCCDEE♭EFE♭EFGFGGFGGB♭AB♭BAB♭B+2−2+2−1+1+1−2+1+1−2+2−2+2−1+1+1−2+1+1

Five of the 24 lines between these chords are flat: those notes belong to both chords, so they stay where they are. No voice moves more than two semitones. The progression lasts twelve bars, but a repeated chord is not a change, so the ladder shows only the six places where the harmony moves.

This diagram again follows only the guide tones, the third and seventh of each chord. None of the twelve lines between these chords is flat, so every voice moves at every change. No voice moves more than two semitones. The progression lasts twelve bars, but a repeated chord is not a change, so the ladder shows only the six places where the harmony moves.

C7I7F7IV7C7I7G7V7F7IV7C7I7G7V7EE♭EFE♭EFB♭AB♭BAB♭B−1+1+1−2+1+1−1+1+1−2+1+1

Two of these chords go outside C harmonic minor, borrowing E, B♭ and A (C7, F7). No single key contains all of them. Every one is a dominant seventh, and a dominant seventh pulls towards the chord whose root is a fifth below its own, one step anticlockwise on the circle (C7 → F, F7 → B♭, G7 → C). A chord drawn dashed, here and on the circle, goes outside the key.

There are six progressions in C harmonic minor, including Three chord (Cm Fm G) and Axis (Cm G A♭ Fm).

Each row is one progression. It is written first in roman numerals, which name each chord by the degree of the scale it is built on, and then as the chords those numerals stand for in this key. A dashed outline means the chord borrows a note that C harmonic minor does not contain. Under each progression, a diagram follows every note from one chord to the next. A flat line is a note that stays where it is, and a sloped line is labelled with the number of semitones the note moves.

C harmonic minor on the circle of fifths

—1♯2♯3♯4♯5♯6♯5♭4♭3♭2♭1♭CAmGVEmD°ii°BmAF♯mEC♯mB°vii°G♯mF♯D♯mD♭B♭mA♭VIFmivE♭+III+CmiB♭GmFDmC HarmonicMinor3♭

Each step clockwise around the wheel moves up a perfect fifth and adds a sharp to the key signature, or takes a flat away. The small numbers around the rim show each key's signature. C harmonic minor has three flats in its key signature. Its B is not part of the signature, so it is written as an accidental each time it appears.

Why the chords land where they do

The two rings work in pairs. Each minor key on the inner ring is the relative minor of the major key just outside it: the two are built from the same seven notes and share a key signature. C major and A minor are one such pair.

Its two major chords, G and A♭ (the V and VI), sit five steps apart on the outer ring rather than side by side. The raised seventh, B, is what breaks up the block a major key has. Its two minor chords, Cm and Fm (the i and iv), sit together on the inner ring. That accounts for four of the seven chords, and no single block contains them.

The other three chords sit apart and are outlined on their own. D°, the ii°, is one step from the nearest chord in the group. E♭+, the III+, shares a spoke with Cm. B°, the vii°, is three steps from the nearest chord in the group.

The wheel is still a map of harmonic distance, but this scale covers more of it than a major key does. Chords that sit close together sound as though they belong to one key, while each of the three that sit apart sounds like a departure. That sense of movement is a large part of this scale's character.

One step, on the neck

On the guitar, a perfect fifth is a shape you already know: the power chord. Play a root, then the note two frets higher on the next string up. Here it starts on C.

BEADGC123456CGD

Now think of it as a chain. The G you are already fretting is the fifth of C, and it is also the root of the next chord clockwise. Play the same shape starting from G and you reach D. C → G → D is two steps around the wheel, and the same movement repeated up the neck.

Every pair of strings in this tuning is a fourth apart, so the shape stays the same wherever you play it.

C harmonic minor has three flats in its key signature. Its B is written as an accidental. Four of its chords sit close together on the circle of fifths, and three sit apart.

Four of C harmonic minor's seven chords sit near each other on the wheel, and three sit apart.