Questions: Diatonic Chords in Major and Minor Keys

Question 1

A composer writing a cadence in A minor wants a strong dominant-to-tonic resolution. Why would they use E major (V) rather than E minor (v)?

• A. E major is always brighter-sounding, which is required at cadence points by common-practice convention
• B. E major comes from the harmonic minor scale and contains G#, the leading tone a half-step below the tonic, creating a strong gravitational pull toward resolution on A
• C. E minor is not a diatonic chord in any form of A minor and therefore cannot be used
• D. E major produces the parallel octaves that define an authentic cadence

Answer: (B)

The dominant's harmonic strength comes from the leading tone — the note a half-step below the tonic. In A minor, the tonic is A, so the leading tone is G#. E major (E–G#–B) contains G#; E minor (E–G–B) does not. G natural is a whole step below A, creating a much weaker pull. Harmonic minor was developed specifically to provide this G#, transforming the weak v into a powerful V. Option C is false: E minor (v) does occur in natural minor.

Question 2

In natural A minor, what is the quality of the chord built on scale degree 5 (the notes E–G–B)?

• A. Major — all dominant chords are major by definition in tonal harmony
• B. Minor — and this lack of a leading tone weakens its pull toward the tonic
• C. Diminished — the fifth scale degree always produces a diminished chord in minor
• D. Augmented — the raised intervals from the minor scale create an augmented fifth

Answer: (B)

Natural minor uses only the unaltered scale tones. In A natural minor (A B C D E F G), the chord on scale degree 5 is E–G–B, which is a minor triad (minor third + major third). Because G is a whole step below the tonic A (not a half step), it lacks the leading tone's gravitational pull. This is why natural minor produces a weak 'v' and why harmonic minor raises the 7th to G# — restoring the major V and its strong resolution tendency.

Question 3

Just as major keys have a single fixed pattern of diatonic chord qualities (I ii iii IV V vi vii°), each minor key also has exactly one set of diatonic chord qualities.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

This is the central misconception about minor-key harmony. Unlike major keys, minor keys draw chords from multiple scale variants — natural, harmonic, and melodic minor — each producing different qualities on certain scale degrees. For example, the chord on scale degree 7 in A minor is G major (natural minor) or G# diminished (harmonic minor). Composers freely mix these variants; there is no single 'correct' set of minor diatonic chords.

Question 4

Raising the seventh scale degree in harmonic minor converts the v chord (minor triad) into a V chord (major triad), restoring the dominant's strong pull toward the tonic.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

This is precisely why harmonic minor exists. The seventh scale degree is the third of the dominant chord. In natural minor the seventh is lowered (e.g., G in A minor), making the dominant a minor triad (v) without a leading tone. Raising it by a half step (to G# in A minor) makes the dominant a major triad (V) containing the leading tone, which creates the tense half-step pull toward the tonic. The label 'harmonic' minor reflects this harmonic function.

Question 5

Why does harmonic minor exist as a separate scale variant? What specific harmonic problem does it solve that natural minor cannot?

Model answer: Harmonic minor exists to provide a major V chord in minor keys. Natural minor's seventh scale degree is a whole step below the tonic, so the dominant chord built on scale degree 5 is a minor triad lacking the leading tone. The leading tone — a note a half-step below the tonic — is what gives the dominant chord its strong pull toward resolution. By raising the seventh scale degree a half step, harmonic minor restores the leading tone and converts the weak v into a powerful V, enabling the authentic cadences that drive tonal harmony.

This question goes to the heart of why harmonic minor is called 'harmonic': it was shaped by harmonic necessity, not melodic preference. Composers kept natural minor for vocal lines (avoiding the awkward augmented second between scale degrees 6 and 7 that harmonic minor creates) but switched to harmonic minor at cadence points to get the V–i resolution. Understanding this explains both why harmonic minor has the interval structure it does and why composers treat the two variants as complementary rather than competing.