Minor 6 chords, dorian vs melodic minor

Here is an example of both the 7 and 6 (and 9!) in a Gmin.....chord voicing. The voicing below may not be exactly what B.Evans is playing at 0:19 in the YT below, but it sounds (close?) beautiful to me. I think it opens a door to more melodic options and possibilities...
Just my $0.03.

 

To add to what @Chris Fitzgerald said, your Amin6 chord (spelled A-C-E-F#) could exist in a variety of contexts, some of which might have a G and some of which might have a G#.

Not sure what you mean about b7 - it's not a chord tone when the chord is 1-3-5-6.

-S-

 

There is also the context in which the chord appear and what fonction does it serve.

If you really want to make the connection from scale to a chord you could have a Cm6 that is H.M, Dorian with a b9 or Phrygian with a natural 6, or anything actually that you'd like. I could tell you just fill in the X how ever you feel: C - X - Eb - X - G - A - X. You could even make it an 8 note(or more) scale if you feel.

But the most important thing to me is context, what is the purpose of said chord and what fonction does it serve? And if you play it a certain way what is your goal. Why?

 

You say ToMAYto, I say ToMAHto...Jazz Harmony Nomenclature is a foggy area, to be sure. I think we just have different "names" for the same collection of pitches in the voicing. Yes?
But you do see/hear that the b7 can coexist with the 6/13 in a minor chord? If an F# were present in the chord voicing, I would specify ".....Maj7...." in the spelling of the Chord Name.
Thanks, GM.

 

@Groove Master Bonjour Sylvain

Forgot to ask but, when you say blue note... Do you mean as a passing tone? Not a note that you'd hold but rather as a note that lead to something else?

 

It (b7) IS a chord tone when the the chord is named "Gmin7,9,13". Chords can be named to have more than just 4 chord tones. If you add a b7 or Maj7 to a (Xmin6) chord, the chord name should specify that information.
IMO/IME.
Thanks.

 

Hungarian minor or Ukranian Dorian?

Personally, I love the discourse & struggle with the same challenges every day...

Django didn't have a name for any of them, but he sure could make those two nubs glide across the fingerboard and sound great, worrying more about what came from his heart than winning a math contest....

 

This is the problem with scale-chord theory IMHO. Most of the time when you play an instrument like ours where it's pretty hard to pull off "sheets of sound" you're much better off thinking of chord tones and neighbors, connecting notes, escape tones, etc etc.

 

I think that if you play melodic minor over a chord you need to keep in mind that you are tonicizing that chord.
I agree with Chris Fitzgerald regarding that you need context.

 

Speaking of context, we should probably talk about what would make someone write a minor 6 chord as opposed to a min7, 9, 13, or whatever. Here are three common situations where I often see a min6 chord written. The harmonic function is different from one to the next, and the scales one might feel inclined to reference are also different.

1.) As a tonic chord. This is pretty common when a tune is in a minor key. Jazz musicians writing charts seem to be afraid to just write (for example) Cmin, so they are compelled to put something after it. Cmin7 most often implies a ii chord in major (or a iii chord, or a vi chord), so that's a bad choice. Cmin(maj7) is a little too restrictive on the melodic choices of the player and harder to read, so Cmin6 is used as a compromise, IMHO. Melodic minor probably makes the most sense here if you need to think of a complete scale, but the minor 7 is fine as a passing note.

2.) As a minor iv chord in major. This is a common chord to see, usually resolving to the tonic, e.g. |Cmaj7|Cmin6|Gmaj|. The major 7 usually sounds best to me here. If you really need a 7 note scale to play here, melodic minor or the 4th mode of harmonic major can work, although that fourth scale degree in either case requires some care. I often tend to play more from a six note scale leaving out the 4th scale degree (C,D,Eb,G,A,B), or I may adjust it for melodic purposes: F# if I'm going up to G, F if I'm going down to Eb.

3.) As an inversion of a half-diminished chord, especially as a ii chord in minor. You see this a lot in old charts. For example |Cmin6|D7|Gmin| instead of |A-7b5|D7|Gmin| as a minor 251. You can use Dorian here as it is the most natural to the key. If you voice it out with notes from the Dorian scale, it can end up more like that first chord chord of Blue in Green above. For those who are really thinking of it as a A-7b5 and hate the sound of the b9 on that chord, you could use melodic minor instead.

 

Don‘t forget that a chord symbol is a symbol for a chord, not primarily for a scale. So the 6 means that a 6 should be played in the chord, not any flavor of 7.
That is because of the sound of the chord.

Even if you ask the scale for a “i”-function, it highly depends on context and style which one is better as a scale note a b7 or a 7. Since there are only two choices, try them in context and choose what you like better and what the other musicians agree about. If they do not agree find a solution with them and write that in your charts if they (including you) cannot respond quickly enough to the player who defines the seven by playing it first. (That is very hard to do, but some clashes might be acceptable. Well, it’s jazz...)

 

As always, does it it sound good? My teacher says while technically that’s correct it doesn’t sound correct. I’ve written out so many pieces and have to scratch my head when it just doesn’t sound right. If so you’re doing is supporting the other instruments and playing said chord tones, you’re fine. Playing anything in that scale should work too. If I’m struggling I’ll pare it down to the pentatonic and just cruise with the five notes. Try some of this on piano, inverted chords are a big help too