The Minor Blues

In A minor

Am7 – Dm7 – Am7 – E7 — heavy, smouldering, patient, around 96 BPM.

1. Bar 1 im7 Am7
   A · C · E · G
   ▶ Hear it
2. Bar 2 ivm7 Dm7
   D · F · A · C
   ▶ Hear it
3. Bar 3 im7 Am7
   A · C · E · G
   ▶ Hear it
4. Bar 4 V7 E7
   E · G# · B · D
   ▶ Hear it

Why it works

Making the tonic and subdominant minor sevenths removes most of the dominant tension from the form, so the chords stop arguing with the scale over them. The V stays a dominant seventh, which now stands out sharply against its minor surroundings — it is the only chord carrying a leading tone, and it is doing all the cadential work on its own.

Where you'll hear it

Slow blues and minor-key jazz. Many versions substitute ♭VI7 for the V7 approach, which softens the cadence into something closer to a Phrygian move.

i7–iv7–i7–V7 in every key

The same progression transposed. The roman numerals never change — that is the whole point of writing progressions this way.

Related progressions

• I7–IV7–I7–V7–IV7–I7 The 12-Bar Blues
• iiø7–V7–i The Minor ii–V–i