By flattened, I mean that the third note is lowered by one semitone or half step. The main difference is that all minor scales have the third note of the scale ‘flattened’. The intervals between the notes of a harmonic minor scale follow the sequence below: The scale is called the harmonic minor scale because it is a common foundation for harmonies (chords) in minor keys. 14), and Schubert (for example, in the first movement of the Death and the Maiden Quartet). The three types of minor scale that we’ll look at are: All three of these minor scales start the same but have some slight differences after that. [citation needed], In Indian Carnatic music, this melodic minor scale corresponds to Gourimanohari. He graduated from The Royal Academy of Music in 2012 and then launched Hello Music Theory in 2014. Although various hemitonic[clarification needed] pentatonic scales might be called minor, the term is most commonly applied to the relative minor pentatonic scale, derived as a mode of the major pentatonic scale, using scale tones 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the natural minor scale. Major and minor keys that share the same key signature are relative to each other. The intervals between the notes of a natural minor scale follow the sequence below: where "whole" stands for a whole tone (a red u-shaped curve in the figure), and "half" stands for a semitone (a red angled line in the figure). In this way, a natural minor scale is represented by the following notation: Each degree of the scale, starting with the tonic (the first, lowest note of the scale), is represented by a number. Just follow the above formulas and you’ll have played one. The scale also had a notable influence on heavy metal, spawning a sub-genre known as neoclassical metal, with guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, and Randy Rhoads employing it in their music.[9]. Here’s our guide to musical modes explaining them in a bit more detail. Unlike major scales where there is only one type to know about, minor scales have three variations. A musical scale consists of eight notes beginning and ending on the same note. The descending formula is the natural minor scale formula backwards. To build a C natural minor scale, starting on C, we take a whole step to D. Next, we take a half step to Eb. This combination of notes is called the minor scale. Required fields are marked *. Just as often, composers choose one form or the other based on whether one of the two notes is part of the most recent chord (the prevailing harmony). For example here is D harmonic minor scale: Now onto the third type of minor scale which is the melodic minor. But remember, the three minors scales ALWAYS have a flattened 3rd note. In this post I’ll be covering everything you need to know about minor scales including the different types and how we form them. In modern notation, the key signature for music in a minor key is typically based on the accidentals of the natural minor scale, not on those of the harmonic or melodic minor scales. Thus, a harmonic minor scale is represented by the following notation: Thus, a harmonic minor scale can be built by lowering the 3rd and 6th degrees of the parallel major scale by one semitone. [citation needed] Composers frequently require the lowered 7th degree found in the natural minor in order to avoid the augmented triad (III+) that arises in the ascending form of the scale. The natural minor scale is maximally even. b3 (flat three) means you take the third note of the major scale only a half step down. Here You might notice that descending melodic minors are exactly the same as the natural minor scale. Melodic G Minor Scale Intervals. In the Western system, derived from the Greek modes, the principal scale that includes the minor third is the Aeolian mode (the natural minor scale), with the minor third also occurring in the Dorian mode and the Phrygian mode. This scale is sometimes also referred to as "Gypsy Run", or alternatively "Egyptian Minor Scale", as mentioned by Miles Davis who describes it in his autobiography as "something that I'd learned at Juilliard". The distinctive sound of the harmonic minor scale comes from the augmented second between its sixth and seventh scale degrees. There are three types of minor scales: natural, harmonic, and melodic. So using this order of tones and semitones we can construct a harmonic minor scale starting on the note A: As you can see the harmonic minor is very similar to the natural minor. I have a better understanding of the difference between the two . While some composers have used this interval to advantage in melodic composition, others felt it to be an awkward leap, particularly in vocal music, and preferred a whole step between these scale degrees for smooth melody writing. When you play all the notes in a minor key signature, you are playing the minor scale. Anyway, I hope that helps make sense of minor scales and the differences between them. What Are Diminished and Augmented Triads? In this role, it is used while descending far more often than while ascending. For example here is a natural minor scale starting on D: Or here is another natural minor scale this time starting on E: The natural minor is also known as the Aeolian mode. That’s what makes them a minor scale rather than a major scale. To eliminate the augmented second, these composers either raised the sixth degree by a semitone or lowered the seventh by a semitone. In some contexts, minor scale is used to refer to any heptatonic scale with this property[2] (see Related modes below). For example, the triad E♭–G–B in first inversion is G–B–E♭, which is enharmonically equivalent to the augmented triad G–B–D♯. The minor scale is created with a formula, just like the major scale. The name notes on the major scale include a natural minor scale, with the exception that it is created from the sixth note on the major scale. [citation needed], Examples of the use of melodic minor in rock and popular music include Elton John's "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word", which makes, "a nod to the common practice... by the use of F♯ [the leading tone in G minor] as the penultimate note of the final cadence."[11]. One chord, with various spellings, may therefore have various harmonic functions in various keys. Chords on degrees other than V may also include the raised 7th degree, such as the diminished triad on VII itself (viio), which has a dominant function, as well as an augmented triad on III (III+), which is not found in any "natural" harmony (that is, harmony that is derived from harmonizing the seven western modes, which include "major" and "minor"). A natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode) is a diatonic scale that is built by starting on the sixth degree of its relative major scale. Tonic: The 1st note of the G melodic minor scale is G. Major 2nd: The 2nd note of the scale is A. Minor scales are written in lower case. An interesting property of the harmonic minor scale is that it contains two chords that are each generated by just one interval: Because they are generated by just one interval, the inversions of augmented triads and diminished seventh chords introduce no new intervals (allowing for enharmonic equivalents) that are absent from its root position. If you are playing in the key of G major like above, you can also solo in the key of E minor because they share the same notes. Side note: Melodic and harmonic minor scales are nothing to do with melodic and harmonic intervals. The only difference is that the 7th degree of the scale is one semitone higher. The Locrian mode (which is very rarely used) has a minor third but not the perfect fifth, so its root chord is a diminished triad. To guide you, here are the minor scales in every key: C = C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C D = D - E - F - G - A - Bb - C - D E = E - F# - G - A - B - C - D - E F = F - G - Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F G = G - A - Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G A = A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A B = B - C# - D - E - F# - G - A - B C# = C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A - B - C# Eb = Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - Cb - Db - Eb F# = F# - G# - A - B - C# - D - E - F# G# = G# - A# - B - C# - D# - E - …