Here is an overview of all the charts and other resources that are available on this site to view and also to download. Because the only difference between the melodic minor and the major scale is one note the flat 3 the scale patterns are also similar. The harmonic minor scale is one of three minor scales. Natural, harmonic, and melodic minor music theory online. The ascending form has half steps between 23 and 78. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdf file. Remember that for the melodic minor scale, when descending, you play the natural minor scale. Bair, jeff, cyclic patterns in john coltranes melodic vocabulary as influenced by nicolas slonimskys thesaurus of scales and melodic patterns.
In this lesson, you will learn what the melodic minor modes are, how they look on the guitar and how you can use them in your solos. The main scales of western music are major and minor scales. Melodic minor scales are the only scales in music to have a completely different sets of notes depending on if youre ascending going up or descending going down. In practical music performance circles especially in the jazz world the melodic minor scale is the same whether ascending or descending. It is important to remember that the harmonic and melodic minor scales are only altered minor scales. Single octave melodic minor scales with fingerings for piano. Harmonic analysis27 for more about how chords are classified within a key. Work this pattern in other keys, as well as use it in.
Barbara murphy university of tennessee school of music major and minor scales half and whole steps. When you go up the scale, you are using the melodic minor scale, but. Section three is identical to section two, except for the fact that a different pentatonic scale 305 is pluggedin in order to demonstrate the. In this guitar lesson well take a look at a nice sounding melodic pattern. This form of the scale is also the 5th mode of the acoustic scale. It makes extensive use of third intervals, and also makes for a great exer. This type of minor scale is called melodic because is it easier to sing. Contrary to the major scale, there are not one but three minor scales, which all will be presented here.
This step applies the melodic minor scale note interval pattern starting from a, so that the correct piano keys and. The melodic minor scale raises scale degrees 6 and 7 from the natural minor scale when ascending, but lowers them to their natural minor state when descending. Natural, harmonic, and melodic minor are simply various forms of the minor scale. In other words, when the melodic minor scale is used in a passage of a. A diatonic scale is one that has no added sharps or flats other than what is in the key signature the scale s interval pattern could be played using only the white keys on the piano. It is said that the root of music theory can be seen by playing the major scale in the key of c on the piano only the white keys from c to c and every major scale has a relative minor scale as seen when looking at the circle of fifths. Once again, it is important to note that the key signature remains the same the c sharp is an added note. Melodic minor scales sheet music for piano download free.
If youve studied classical piano before, you may remember that the melodic minor scale is different. There are three types of minor scales and we shall take a look at all of them here. For example, to convert c natural minor into c melodic minor, simply raise the ab and bb a half. How to play a g harmonic minor scale on the piano youtube. This is the trickiest of the minor scales as the pattern for going up the scale is different from that coming down the scale. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdffile. In the traditional sense, melodic minor has an ascending form and a descending form, meaning that the notes in the scale changed based on whether you are playing up the scale or down the scale.
Print and download in pdf or midi melodic minor scales. To get the melodic minor scale you would raise both the 6 th and 7 scales degrees up one halfstep. Cyclic patterns in john coltranes melodic vocabulary as. However, you can unlock the sound of each and every scale by learning to use what chords to use them over. Also, learn how to use your knowledge of the major scale to have a better command over these. The 12 minor scales, however, come in 3 variations the harmonic minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale same starting note, but major, but lowers the 3rd and the 6th the melodic minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale. In other words, they are all versions of a minor scale, with slight but significant differences among each. The harmonic minor differs from the natural minor by the sharpened seventh note, and this minor scale is consequently not played in the same. This article focuses on a very popular but certainly very strange sounding scale, the melodic minor. We call scales relative if they share the same key signature. How to use the melodic minor scale jazz guitar online. The c minor scale natural, harmonic and melodic piano. The set pattern of intervals for the notes of the natural minor scale is. Why was it so important to learn all these sequences or as some prefer to call them melodic patterns.
If you play the same pattern again and again, you can play as many octaves as you like, up and down. The melodic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale by the sixth and seventh notes, which are raised a semistep. Pianoforall is far different from the music lessons you took as a kid. They are the natural, melodic and harmonic minor scales.
The other two are the natural minor and the melodic minor. However, its still pretty easy to work out if you can remember which notes to raise. This pattern of whole and half steps is what creates the sound of major. The natural minor scale is often referred to simply as the minor scale. One of the ways we use pentatonic scales is by exploring scale patterns. C melodic minor scale and fingering chart 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 4 5 5 name c o m i n g d o w n g o i n g u p 1 5 1 5 2 4. To find the appropriate notes for an altered scale, simply go up a half step from the root of the chord and play the ascending form of the melodic minor scale a major scale with a flatted third. See beginning harmonic analysis for more about how chords are classified. Furthermore, the modes of the melodic minor are used extensively in modern jazz. Melodies in minor keys often use this particular pattern of accidentals, so instrumentalists find it useful to practice melodic minor scales. These make great handouts for piano teachers to use with students. Because the only difference between the melodic minor and the major scale is one note the flat 3 the scale patterns.
Heres a pattern that you can use to elevate your technique and understanding of the third mode of melodic minor. Melodic minor scales charts with fingering for piano. Learn about the three forms of minor scales natural, harmonic, and melodic and their functions. The first note and last in the scale determines the scale name. The melodic minor scale is one of the most useful scales in jazz. Lets now take a look at the chords in the key of c minor. Just as it did in major scales, starting the minor scale pattern on a different note. The solution below shows the a melodic minor scale notes, intervals and scale degrees on the piano, treble clef and bass clef the lesson steps then describe how to identify the a melodic minor scale note interval positions, choose the note names and scale degree names for a quick summary of this topic, have a look at melodic minor scale. Over the years, songwriters and composers like mozart. The ascending and descending forms of the a melodic minor scale.
And of course the tonic minor chord gm6 is easily taken care of with a g m6 pentatonic scale. Every scale determines a key,that is an harmonic combunation of tones based on that scale. 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. This step shows the ascending a melodic minor scale on the piano, treble clef and. The melodic minor scale is also called the jazz minor scale.
I have been playing guitar for some time now and knew only major and minor scales. The picture charts below show all the 12 melodic scales in minor, easy to. The 3 types of minor scales in music musicnotes now. Caged 3 notes per string 3nps 7 positionberklee system.
Just as it did in major scales, starting the minor scale pattern on a. We provide downloads for common scales including major, the three minor scales natural, harmonic, and melodic, the blues scale, and others. Natural minor scales follow the interval pattern of whwwhww, which translates into whole step half step whole step whole step half step whole step whole step. The lesson could not be displayed because javascript is disabled. So, on g7, you would play ab melodic minor starting. The other common function for minor chords in jazz, beyond the im7 chord, is the iim7 chord.
Each scale is provided as a separate pdf download with finger numbers above each note. This chord is found in countless tunes, from being entire sections in so what, to being a part of the classic ii v i progression, and. The secret to this arcane knowledge is in the scale itself. Natural, harmonic, and melodic forms margaret denton, piano minor scales.
Melodic minor iiv7i triad pairs the use of triad pairs adjacent diatonic triads which form a hexatonic, or six note, scale, has been a relatively recent addition, historically speaking, to the general vocabulary of improvised music. Each minor scale has a different use and application in jazz piano and so learning how to construct and apply each one is a vital skill. The melodic minor scale and its modes jazz guitar online. Natural, harmonic and melodic forms about minor scales. The melodic minor scale is different because when we go up the scale we use one pattern and when we go down the scale we use another. The first minor scale that will we discuss is natural minor.
Guitar scales and modes explained easy shapes, licks. There are two other minor scales, the harmonic minor and melodic minor, which are not represented by any of these modes. Scales by themselves are not much more than finger exercises. A natural minor d natural minor 36 minor scales unlike the major scale, there are 3 types of minor scale. The melodic minor scale is a major scale with a flat 3rd b3 and its used mostly in its modal forms of the altered scale superlocrian and the funky lydian dominan. Whwwwwh the descending pattern is the natural minor scale. One thing to note about the melodic scale is that often, especially in jazz music, musicians wont lower the scale. As you can see in the scale above, each note of the major scale is given a number a scale degree which represents its placement or order within the scale. The first note and last in the scale determines the scale. Minor scales cheat sheet harmonic minor raise the 7 th scale degree melodic minor raise the 6 th and 7 th scale degree ascending, revert to. The sound of the harmonic scale is somewhat characterized by the music of the middle east.
Designed to take you from beginner to intermediate levels right away, this training starts your music education off with popular rhythm style piano, similar to billy joel, norah jones, and the like, meaning you get to sound like a pro right from the start. This is under construction but will be done in the coming weeks the scales and arpeggios are split up into 3 main categories. The melodic minor scale is an exotic sounding scale. Minor scales are built on the 6th scale degree of a major scale. Furthermore, the modes of the melodic minor are used extensively in modern jazz improvisation. Diatonic scales are the major scales, natural minor scales not the harmonic or melodic, because they add sharps. In this case d7alt that is eb melodic minor and the ebm is a perfect scale choice. This table emphasizes the point that each mode can be determined by starting on a successive note of the c major scale white keys only. Heres a diagram of the melodic c minor scale on piano. Traditionally, the melodic minor scale has a flat 3rd and a raised 6th and 7th going up and a flat 6th and 7th going down.