Minor II v I Triads Lesson

7/29/2019 Minor II v I Triads Lesson

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Triads for Minor ii V I Comping

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When learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the first chord progressions we encounterin our practice routines, and when learning tunes, is the Minor ii V I.

Though it is used almost as much as its major cousin, the Minor ii V I can oftenhandcuff us on the bandstand or in our jams since it uses m7b5, altered and sometimesmMaj7 or m6 chords for the tonic chord of the progression, compared to the relativelystraight forward m7-7-maj7 chord in the major ii V I progression.

To help you get your fingers around these chords, and to do so with proper voiceleading, this lesson will cover using 3-note chords to outline each change in the Minor iiV I, and do so with as little hand movement as possible.

So grab your guitar, turn up your amp and lets dig in to working triads through Minor ii VI chord progressions on the guitar.

Minor ii V I Triads Construction

Before we explore these 3-note chords on the guitar, lets take a quick look at how theyare built so that you can have an understanding of why you are using them, as well ashow you can use them in your jazz guitar playing.

There are two basic triads used in these examples throughout the lesson, the Fm triadthat is played over Dm7b5, and the Eb aug triad that is used over the CmMaj7 chord ineach progression.

The reason that these two chords are used, is that they outline the 3 to 7 triad for theunderlying harmony. For each of these two chords, Dm7b5 and CmMaj7, the triads arebuilt from the 3rd, 5th and 7th of those two chords.

Here is how that works:

Dm7b5 = D F Ab C and Fm = F Ab C

CmMaj7 = C Eb G B and Eb aug = Eb G B

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Minor ii V I Triads Strings 4-2

Probably the most popular place to play these, or any, 3-note chords on the guitar is the4-3-2 string set.

Since it sits in that nice, sweet spot of the guitar where each note rings clearly and thetone is still full, having a handle on these shapes is a great place to start when exploringoutlining Minor ii V Is using 3-note chords.

As will any exercise you do, work the following shapes in C minor first, at various

tempos, and then take them around the neck to the other 11 keys as you build an in-depth understanding of how these chords lay on the neck of the guitar.

Click to hear audio for this example.

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Minor ii V I Triads Strings 5-3

Here are the same chords used to outline the Minor ii V I chord progression in C, butthis time they are laid out on the 5-4-3 string set.

Though not as common as the previously learned string sets, these chords do get usedfrom time to time, and are worth checking out as they will add some nice low end to

your chord melody, solo playing and duo comping where there is no bass player in theensemble.

Work these slowly in the given key, then take them to other keys around the neck toexpand on them further in yourjazz guitar practice routine.


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Minor ii V I Triads Low 3 Strings

To finish up our exploration of using triads to navigate Minor ii V I chord progressions,here are these chords written out with proper voice-leading over the bottom 3 strings.

Though they are not as commonly used as the other string sets, as they can sometimessound muddy, learning how to properly voice-lead Minor ii V I chords on the low 3

strings can be a good ear-training exercise, as well as open up your neck to newpossibilities if you decide to pursue the low-end of the guitar further.

As always, work these in one key at a variety of tempos, and then take them to otherkeys around the neck as you expand on them in the practice room.


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How to Practice Minor ii V I Triads

Apart from learning these triads through Minor ii V I chord progressions in differentinversions and strings sets, such as the examples above, here are a few of my favoriteways to practice these chords in my jazz guitar practice routine.

Sing the root of each chord as you play through the Minor ii V I triads on differentstring sets and in different inversions.

Play any/all of the above inversion groups in all 12 keys at various tempos.

Put on a Minor ii V I backing track, in one or more keys, and practice playing thesedifferent shapes and inversions over those changes.

Put on a tune like Autumn Leave, or What Is This Thing Called Love and practice

comping each Minor ii V I using only these triads on different string sets as the basisfor your chordal idea.

Try and mix and match as many inversions and string sets as you can over a tune likeAutumn Leaves, where the Minor ii V I is always in the same key.

As you can see, you dont always have to learn large chord-shapes in order to navigateMinor ii V I chord progressions when jamming or gigging on jazz guitar.

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Minor II v I Triads Lesson

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