Chord Progression - Minor and Modal Progressions

Minor and Modal Progressions

Needless to say, similar strategies to all the above work equally well in minor modes: there have been one-, two- and three-minor-chord songs, minor blues. A notable example of a descending minor chord progression is the four-chord Andalusian cadence, i - VII - VI - V.

Folk and blues tunes frequently use the Mixolydian scale, which has a flat seventh degree, altering the position of the three major chords to I - Flat VII-IV. For example, if the major scale of C, which gives the three chords C, F and G on the first, fourth and fifth degrees, is played with G as the tonic, then the same chords will now appear on the first, fourth and seventh degrees. These "Mixolydian" harmonies also appeared in the pop music of the 1960s, notably with The Beatles' album Help! and The Rolling Stones' Beggar's Banquet.

The minor-third step from a minor keynote up to the relative major encouraged ascending scale progressions, particularly based on an ascending pentatonic scale. Typical of the type is the sequence i - III -IV (or iv) - VI.

According to Tom Sutcliffe:

… during the 1960's some pop groups started to experiment with modal chord progressions as an alternative way of harmonizing blues melodies… This created a new system of harmony that has influenced subsequent popular music.

This came about partly due to the similarity of the blues scale to modal scales and partly from the characteristics of the guitar and the use of parallel major chords on the pentatonic minor scale. This phenomenon is also linked to the rise in the use of power chords.