47. Degree Names for Natural Minor Diatonic Chords (Triads)

Toward Using Natural Minor Diatonic Chords

This time, following the same flow as with major, let's learn how to replace natural minor diatonic chords with Roman numerals (degree names).

In fact, there is a "point where it is very easy to make mistakes."
We will explain that point as well.

If you haven't read about replacing diatonic chords with degree names, or have forgotten, refer to Lessons 21-26 or so of this course and solidify your understanding of the benefits of using degree names.

Focus on the Rules of Diatonic Chords

So far we have learned how to build the natural minor diatonic chords (triads) in each key. Let's take another look at the table.

As with major, memorizing all of these is hard.
However, as mentioned over the last two lessons, the key point is that whatever key you build them in, "the quality of the chords built from left to right along the scale is the same."

• Diatonic chords of A (natural) minor



• Diatonic chords of C (natural) minor

As you can see, you'll notice that they all follow the order
minor, diminished (triad), major, minor, minor, major, major
.

The Pitfall of Natural Minor Diatonic Chords

Here, we will deliberately proceed in a different order from major.
Thinking "I'll just arrange them by chord quality...," it's easy to end up doing the following.

Some sources write them this way (without flats), but in this course we include "♭" to stay aware of the differences from other scales and diatonic chords, and for techniques we will learn later.
If you start from A with these Roman numerals as they are, you end up with the following.

Why is that?
Think back to when we assigned numbers to the scale.

Whereas the major scale is

• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (8)

the natural minor scale was

• 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 (8)

.

This means that if you think of the relationships with A as the tonic, as shown above, 3 (III) becomes C#, 6 (VI) becomes F# and 7 (VII) becomes G#, so it is no longer the A natural minor scale made only of white keys.

If this is hard to follow, try thinking with C as the tonic.
We'll follow the steps we used for major.
With major, we assigned Roman numerals in order starting from the first note of the scale, like this.

The C major scale is

• C D E F G A B (C)
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (8)

and the C natural minor scale is

• C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ (C)
• 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 (8)

.

The degree names are as follows.

Degree Names for Natural Minor Diatonic Chords (Triads)

Now let's build diatonic chords from here.
The procedure is as shown over the last two lessons.
Also, write the quality of each chord next to its Roman numeral.

As with major, you simply fit the notes of the scale into the Roman numeral positions.
Even if you don't know the natural minor scale from the start, as long as you know the major scale, you just need to flatten its 3rd, 6th and 7th.

By the way, the name of each is as follows.

• Im = one minor
• IIdim = two diminished (triad)
• ♭III = flat three major
• IVm = four minor
• Vm = five minor
• ♭VI = flat six major
• ♭VII = flat seven major

Finally, here is a table of natural minor diatonic chords (triads) with Roman numerals.
Please make use of it.
(Save the linked file to get a larger version.)

- Triads
https://sleepfreaks-dtm.com/music/Major_Diatonic_Triad.zip

- Four-note chords
https://sleepfreaks-dtm.com/music/Major_Diatonic_Tetrad.zip

Next time, let's check the degree names for natural minor diatonic chords as four-note chords.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Do I need to memorize the natural minor diatonic chords the same way as major?

No, you don't need to memorize them all. Flattening the 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees of the major scale (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) gives the natural minor scale (1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7), and the chord qualities always follow the same order, "minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major," so understanding this rule is enough.

Q2. Is it essential to add ♭ to degree names?

It isn't absolutely essential, but this course recommends the ♭ notation. The reason is to clarify the differences from other scales and diatonic chords and to prepare for applied techniques later. How easy things are to understand depends on the notation, so learning with a consistent notation is effective.

Q3. Why is it "♭III" rather than "III" when assigning degree names in A natural minor?

In the A major scale, the notes are A B C# D E F# G#, and the third degree is C#. However, the A natural minor scale uses only white keys (A B C D E F G), and the third degree is lowered to C (a flat), so it is written as ♭III. The ♭ symbol is needed to accurately reflect the relative degree from the tonic.