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The minor scale -
Natural, Harmonic and Melodic
The Natural Minor Scale - The theory behind it
Construction of a Natural Minor scale
Just like the Major scale, the Minor scale also follows a certain formula to be constructed. If you start on any given note, using the following "formula" will give you the equivalent Minor scale:
Tone - Semitone - Tone - Tone - Semitone - Tone - Tone
or Whole - Half - Whole - Whole - Half - Whole - Whole
Notice that: The formula of the Minor scale is the same as that for the Major scale but starting at a different point.
Just like when using the Major scale formula, to get any Minor scale all you need to do is start with any note and then follow the pattern to get the rest of them. Here is an example using the A as the starting note:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | A | |||||||
| Tone | Semitone | Tone | Tone | Semitone | Tone | Tone |
or in notation:
The relationship between Minor and Major scales
As you might have noticed above, the A minor scale uses no sharps or flats, i.e. it does not have any accidentals/key signature. If you remember from the Major scale lesson, the only major scale that does not need accidentals is the C Major. This means that the A minor scale is essentially the same as C Major, just starting on a different note; the A. This also means that the A minor scale can be thought of as a mode of C Major, the 6th mode (since C Major is C D E F G A B) which is also called the Aeolian mode. This relationship is called the relative minor and describes the relationship between a Major and a Minor scale which share the same key signature. Every Major scale has a relative Minor scale, which is the one beginning on the Major scale's 6th degree. Here is a table of all the 12 Major scales with their relative minors and the signatures they share:
| Major Scale | Relative Minor Scale | Sharps/Flats |
| C Major | A Minor | - |
| G Major | E Minor | F# |
| D Major | B Minor | F#, C# |
| A Major | F# Minor | F#, C#, G# |
| E Major | C# Minor | F#, C#, G#, D# |
| B Major | G# Minor | F#, C#, G#, D#, A# |
| F# Major | D# Minor | F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E# |
| C# Major | A# minor | F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B# |
| Scales with flats | ||
| F Major | D Minor | Bb |
| Bb Major | G minor | Bb, Eb |
| Eb Major | C Minor | Bb, Eb, Ab |
| Ab Major | F Minor | Bb, Eb, Ab, Db |
| Db Major | Bb Minor | Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb |
| Gb Major | Eb Minor | Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb |
| Cb Major | Ab Minor | Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb |
In order to remember the above relationships, you can either think of the relative minor as the minor scale starting on the note a major 6th above the root note of the major scale or as the scale starting a minor 3rd below the root note of the major scale.
The Harmonic Minor scale
Somewhere along the evolution of western classical music, composers felt the need for a stronger cadential impact from the V to the I when composing in minor keys. For this reason, it became common to raise or sharpen the 7th degree of the minor scale, which also meant that the V chord in the minor key became a Major and not a minor.
For example, in the key of A minor, the 7th degree is a G. This means that, the chord built upon the scale's 5th degree (which is E) would be E G B, which is an E minor. By raising the 7th degree of the A minor scale, the chord built on it's 5th degree now became E Major (E G# B) and this semitone difference between the 7th and the root note creates a much stronger resolution.
Try it: Play a few bars of Am, then go to Em for a couple of bars and then resolve back to to Am. Now try the same thing but instead of Em, play an E Major chord. Notice how much stronger the cadence becomes?
So in notation, the A minor harmonic scale looks like this:
Remember that the only difference between a Natural minor and a harmonic minor is the raised 7th degree, so to figure out any minor harmonic scale, just raise the 7th degree of the equivalent natural minor scale.
The Melodic Minor scale
When the use of the the harmonic minor scale was spread, some composers felt that the interval between the 6th and the raised 7th degree, which was 1 1/2 tones, was a bit too awkward, so they started raising the 6th degree of the scale as well, giving birth to the melodic minor scale. It was also common practice to use the raised 6th and 7th degrees when using the melodic minor scale in ascending melodies but lower both of them in descending lines; this is a very characteristic sound of western classical music. Here is the A minor melodic, both ascending and descending:
Notice that the melodic minor descending is essentially the same as the Natural minor scale.
Important Note: In jazz music/improvisation, the Melodic minor scale is used a lot, but the 6th and 7th degrees are raised in both ascending and descending directions. As to when and how it is used, I will discuss this in a future lesson.