The C Major scale has a key signature of no sharps or flats. The Natural Minor Scale is easy to remember because it is the relative minor scale to the major scale a third higher. If you need a review Notes and Keys on the Piano, CLICK HERE Natural Minor Scale Formula It is a very good idea to use your piano keyboard along with this lesson to practice and hear the examples. As you improve your skills in this area, you will find it much easier to learn about other scales in music.Įach of these types of minor scales is built or constructed using a formula based around whole steps and half steps. And that is – Whole Steps and Half Steps. Understanding the minor scale is the same process used with other scales. This practice goes hand-in-hand with the learning of all the major scales as well. Reading and Writing Minor Scalesįor any beginner or intermediate musician, it is a requisite to learn about minor scales. In general, a melody written in G major is felt to return to home base when it comes back to the note G. The first note of the scale becomes the tonal center. A piece of music written in the key of G major is oriented towards the G major scale. Tonality helps us describe the emotions we hear within the music.Ī tonal center is defined by a scale. These are the two most common names for tonality. When we listen to a piece of music it may sound happy, cheerful, or sad and dark. Tonality in music is the relationship between the notes and harmonies of a composition. Understanding the minor scale starts with the concept of tonality. This will make sense if you understand that scales are written and performed in an ascending or descending manner. The term Scale comes from the Latin word ‘Scala’ to mean ‘ladder’.
#Melodic minor scales pdf series#
As we explored The major scale in a previous lesson, we learned that a scale is a series of pitches (notes) displayed in an ascending or descending order. There are basically two types of scales we use on a regular basis in music: Major and Minor. Melodies in minor keys often use this particular pattern of accidentals, so instrumentalists find it useful to practice melodic minor scales.Understanding the Minor Scale – In this lesson, we will explore the importance of this type of scale and its relationship with others. (Please see Beginning Harmonic Analysis for more about this.) In the melodic minor scale, the sixth and seventh notes of the scale are each raised by one half step when going up the scale, but return to the natural minor when going down the scale. Harmonies in minor keys often use this raised seventh tone in order to make the music feel more strongly centered on the tonic. The harmonic minor scale raises the seventh note of the scale by one half step, whether you are going up or down the scale. There are two other kinds of minor scales that are commonly used, both of which include notes that are not in the key signature. They contain only the notes in the minor key signature. To hear some simple examples in both major and minor keys, see Major Keys and Scales.ĭo key signatures make music more complicated than it needs to be? Is there an easier way? Join the discussion at Opening Measures.Īll of the scales above are natural minor scales. Music that is in a minor key is sometimes described as sounding more solemn, sad, mysterious, or ominous than music that is in a major key. So you can't, for example, transpose a piece from C major to D minor (or even to C minor) without changing it a great deal. Music in minor keys has a different sound and emotional feel, and develops differently harmonically. But music that is in D minor will have a different quality, because the notes in the minor scale follow a different pattern and so have different relationships with each other. (See Beginning Harmonic Analysis for more on this.) So music that is in, for example, C major, will not sound significantly different from music that is in, say, D major. In each major scale, however, the notes are arranged in the same major scale pattern and build the same types of chords that have the same relationships with each other. Each major key uses a different set of notes (its major scale).