Jazz Piano Lesson: Harmonic Minor 2 5 1 Modes

Lesson Goal: To quickly internalize the Harmonic Minor 2 5 1 modes in all keys… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…

Table of Contents

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Prerequisites

Basic music reading skills… the LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.

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Study, Practice, & Performance Tips

1. Your goal is not to merely memorize this, but to study and practice it until you internalize it using all four musical intelligences: ears, intellect, eyes, and muscles.
2. Every time you practice something, you are programming your brain. So always play accurately.
3. Practice with a Click Track or a Rhythm Track. Doing so will give you immediate feedback on any rhythmic misconceptions or places where your timing gets sloppy.
4. Record Yourself. Always. Listen to the playback immediately. And ask yourself: Is that what you intended to play?”
5. If anything feels tense or awkward, stop immediately and experiment with alternative fingerings or choreography.
6. Play this in other keys you expect to play in. By the way, once you see the patterns (which is guaranteed if you know your scales and chords) finding the notes in other keys will be a piece of cake!
7. If you feel stuck or overwhelmed, realize that anything can and will be mastered if you slow things down or break things down to small enough pieces.
8. All of this might sound like a lot of work, but it’s not nearly as much as you think. Because even though it takes time to talk about all these things, in practice they can all be done simultaneously!

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Benefits of Learning the Harmonic Minor 2 5 1 Modes…

1. You will develop the ability to recognize a minor 2 5 1 by ear.
2. You will develop the ability to recognize a minor 2 5 1 when you see the chord symbols in a chart.
3. You will develop the skill to play a variety of minor 2 5 1 chord voicings and rhythms (comping).
4. You will develop the skill to improvise melodic lines over a minor 2 5 1 in a variety of styles and rhythms (soloing).

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Harmonic Minor 2 5 1 Modes, C Minor

One way to conceive of the iiø7-V7-i chord progression is as three sets of “chord-mode” or “mode-chord” pairings as follows…

The Dø7 (iø7) chord is paired with the second mode of the C Harmonic Minor Scale…

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The G7 chord is paired with the fifth mode of the C Harmonic Minor Scale…

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The CmM7 chord is paired with the C “Harmonic” Minor Scale that you already know…

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Now let’s put it all together (with voice leading for the left hand chords)…

As you listen/play, simply be receptive to the overall sound-feelings while keeping in mind that THIS is what a minor iiø7-V7-i chord progression sounds and feels like. Such is nothing more than ear training by experience and association. And it won’t take long for you to recognize a iiø7-V7-i chord progression when you hear it!

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Harmonic Minor 2 5 1 Modes, All Keys

Using your knowledge of scales and chord structure (and your ears of course), play these scale-chord pairings in the keys of C minor, F minor, G minor, A minor, D minor, and E minor. (Please let Frank know if you like to see the score and play along MP3s.)

Doing so will develop an enormous scale and chord vocabulary that you will know by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle… laying a rock solid foundation for fluent improvisation.

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