Part 8: Add the seventh, one ingredient at a time · Lesson 076 / 117
Extension: why E major often leads to A minor
Optional extensionIntroduce the raised seventh when the harmony gives it a purpose.
A natural minor supplies Em = E–G–B. Yet a passage in A minor may use E major or E7, which contain G#. That raised note leads by a semitone into the tonic A.
A harmonic minor is A–B–C–D–E–F–G#. It raises the seventh of natural minor while retaining the minor third C and minor sixth F. This gives a scale spelling that includes the major V chord's G#.
Compare Em–Am with E–Am, and listen to G versus G# before A. The second progression has a different pull into the tonic. Neither comparison means all minor music must use only one fixed seven-note collection throughout.
This is an extension after the natural-minor baseline, not a correction to it. Use G# when the musical context and intended phrase call for it. Do not automatically replace every G in an A-minor solo.
Hear it
Harmonic Minor
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
A natural minor: A B C D E F G. A harmonic minor: A B C D E F G#. E7 = E G# B D.
Try it, slowly
- Play G→A over Em→Am.
- Compare G#→A over E→Am.
- Name the one changed scale degree and the chord ingredient it creates.
Check one idea
Does A harmonic minor change A minor's third to C#?
Show the explanation
No. C remains the minor third. Harmonic minor changes the seventh from G to G#, not the third.
A good place to stop
You can explain G# as both the raised seventh above A and the major third of E.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.