Functions in minor · Harmonic functions · Music theory
Three scales coexist in minor, and each chord takes the notes that suit it best. There is no single set of chords, as in major, but a preferred one: the…
Functions in minor
Three scales coexist in minor, and each chord takes the notes that suit it best. There is no single set of chords, as in major, but a preferred one: the dominant comes from the harmonic minor, for its leading tone; the tonic and subdominant, from the natural.
If V is taken from the natural minor, Em7 in A minor, it loses the leading tone and with it the tritone: it sounds modal, without the push toward the tonic. And Im with a major 7th is too unstable to rest on, so the tonic appears as a triad, or with a minor 7th or a 6th.
How they are numbered
Within a minor key, degrees are counted on its own scale: III is C major in A minor, VI is F major. When those same chords appear borrowed in a major key, they get a flat because they are compared with the major scale: ♭III is E♭ in C major. You will see this in the lesson on modal interchange.