Jazz Guitar Lesson : Triads over Minor Chords

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A nice way to improvise over minor chords is to alternate between the I minor triad and the II minor triad. The II minor triad has all the tensions of the minor chord and therefore creates interest.

For example : playing over Dm7 we would alternate between a D minor triad and an E minor triad :

D minor triad	D    F    A
	1    b3   5
E minor triad	E    G    B
	9    11   6

These 2 triads together form the D Dorian scale.

Some examples of playing triads over minor chords :

Instead of triads you could also use seventh chords :

D minor 7 chord	D    F    A    C
	1    b3   5    b7
E minor 7 chord	E    G    B    D
	9    11   6    1

In the following example we use a Dm7 and an Em7 arpeggio. The fingering is a little harder.

To find out more about triads, have a look at this other guitar lesson:  upper structure triads