Minor Scales
Senior 2 · Music
Minor Scales
Lesson 2 of 4
22 min
In the natural minor, the 7th degree lies a whole tone below the tonic: G up to A in A minor. With no semitone step at the top, the melody is not strongly pulled home, and the chord built on the 5th degree sounds weak. Composers therefore often raise the 7th degree, and sometimes the 6th as well. These changes give the other two forms of the minor scale, which you will meet in hymns, classical pieces and exam questions.
Take the natural minor and raise the 7th degree by a semitone, both going up and coming down. In A minor, G becomes G♯:
The pattern becomes T S T T S (T+S) S. The step from the 6th degree to the 7th (F to G♯) is three semitones: a tone and a semitone together. This wide step is called an augmented second, and it gives the harmonic minor its distinctive sound. The raised 7th is now a true leading note, a semitone below the tonic, as in a major scale.
Worked example
E harmonic minor. E natural minor is E F♯ G A B C D E. Raise the 7th, D, by a semitone to D♯: E F♯ G A B C D♯ E.
Singers find the three-semitone jump of the harmonic minor awkward. The melodic minor smooths it out. Going up, raise both the 6th and the 7th degrees. Coming down, use the natural minor.
Going up, A melodic minor is A B C D E F♯ G♯ A, with the pattern T S T T T T S. Coming down, the raised notes are cancelled: A G F E D C B A. The natural signs in the diagram remind the reader of this.
Worked example
D melodic minor. D natural minor is D E F G A B♭ C D. Going up, raise the 6th (B♭ becomes B♮) and the 7th (C becomes C♯): D E F G A B C♯ D. Coming down: D C B♭ A G F E D. Notice that raising B♭ by a semitone gives B natural: "raise" does not always mean "add a sharp".
| Form | What changes | A minor |
|---|---|---|
| Natural | Nothing: follows the key signature | A B C D E F G A |
| Harmonic | 7th raised, going up and coming down | A B C D E F G♯ A |
| Melodic, going up | 6th and 7th raised | A B C D E F♯ G♯ A |
| Melodic, coming down | Same as the natural minor | A G F E D C B A |
Tip
Harmonic: raise 7, both ways. Melodic: raise 6 and 7 going up, undo them coming down. The raised notes are always written as accidentals beside the notes, never in the key signature.
Try each question first, then check the worked solution underneath.
Write the scale of E harmonic minor.
Solution: E F♯ G A B C D♯ E. The 7th degree, D, is raised to D♯.
Write the scale of D harmonic minor.
Solution: D E F G A B♭ C♯ D. Start from D natural minor (D E F G A B♭ C D) and raise the 7th, C, to C♯.
Write G melodic minor, going up and coming down.
Solution: Going up: G A B♭ C D E F♯ G (the 6th, E♭, is raised to E♮ and the 7th, F, to F♯). Coming down: G F E♭ D C B♭ A G, the natural minor.
How many semitones lie between F and G♯?
Solution: Three: F to F♯, F♯ to G, G to G♯. This is the augmented second of A harmonic minor.
In which form of the minor scale are the notes different going up and coming down?
Solution: The melodic minor. It raises the 6th and 7th going up and returns to the natural minor coming down.
Remember
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