The C-to-D# melodic skip forces us to contend with scale fingerings that are a bit more challenging than ordinary major and pentatonic scale shapes, with wide fret-hand stretches required. 3.ĭespite their exotic-sounding names and tricky fingerings, these seven modes are nearly identical to those of the G major scale – G Ionian, A Dorian, B Phrygian, C Lydian, D Mixolydian, E Aeolian and F# Locrian – except that every D note has been raised to a D#. Played before the i, Em, it gives us a rather weak-sounding harmonic resolution, as shown in Ex. You’ll notice that the v chord (in formal music theory, a lowercase Roman numeral is used to indicate a minor-type chord) generated by the E natural minor scale is Bm, not B.

Along with its major counterpart, V-I, this is the most essential chord change in music and an integral part of the harmonic language of most styles. The one thing we can’t do, however, is have a traditional V-i resolution (B to Em in this case).

Using these chords, we can jam out on the Aeolian progression Em-C-D-Em (theoretically spelled i-bVI-bVII-i) found in many classic metal and rock songs. These are the same seven triads that live within the G major scale, except here we’re starting on the note E and reckoning that as our new root, or tonal center. 2 illustrates the set of seven diatonic triads (three-note chords) that are generated from the E natural minor scale by harmonizing it in diatonic (scale-based) thirds and fifths on three adjacent strings.

E harmonic minor b flat minor scale