Minor Scales
Senior 2 · Music
Minor Scales
Lesson 1 of 4
20 min
Compare a bright wedding song with a slow, serious hymn or a lament. Many listeners hear the first as cheerful and the second as darker or sadder. Very often the difference is the scale: the bright song is built on a major scale and the darker one on a minor scale. Minor keys are used for laments, prayers, film music and many popular songs, and some songs move between major and minor to change the mood.
A minor scale has three common forms: the natural minor, the harmonic minor and the melodic minor. This lesson builds the natural minor; the next lesson builds the other two from it.
Play from A up to the next A using only the white keys. The steps make a new pattern:
The natural minor pattern is T S T T S T T. The semitones now fall between degrees 2 and 3 (B–C) and between degrees 5 and 6 (E–F).
Measure the distance from the tonic up to the third degree. In C major, C up to E is four semitones. In A minor, A up to C is only three semitones. This smaller third is the main ingredient of the minor sound. In tonic sol-fa a minor key is usually sung with lah as its home note: l, t, d r m f s l (a comma after a letter means the lower octave).
Use the same method as for major scales: write eight letters from the tonic, then fix every step so that it fits T S T T S T T.
Worked example 1
E natural minor. Letters: E F G A B C D E. E–F is a semitone, but the pattern starts with a tone, so F is raised to F♯. F♯–G is then a semitone, as required. G–A (tone), A–B (tone), B–C (semitone), C–D (tone) and D–E (tone) are all correct. E natural minor is E F♯ G A B C D E, with one sharp.
Worked example 2
D natural minor. Letters: D E F G A B C D. D–E (tone), E–F (semitone), F–G (tone) and G–A (tone) are correct. A–B is a tone, but the pattern needs a semitone here, so B is lowered to B♭. B♭–C and C–D are then tones. D natural minor is D E F G A B♭ C D, with one flat.
Notice that A natural minor uses the same notes as C major, E natural minor the same notes as G major, and D natural minor the same notes as F major. Each of these minor scales starts on the 6th degree (lah) of a major scale. You will use this link in Lesson 3.
Tip
Home is lah. Sing l, t, d r m f s l and you have sung a natural minor scale. Its semitones fall between degrees 2–3 and 5–6. Chant the pattern: "tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone".
Try each question first, then check the worked solution underneath.
Build the scale of B natural minor.
Solution: B C♯ D E F♯ G A B. B–C must be a tone, so C becomes C♯ (and C♯–D is the semitone). E–F must be a tone, so F becomes F♯, which makes F♯–G the second semitone. G–A and A–B are tones.
Build the scale of G natural minor.
Solution: G A B♭ C D E♭ F G. A–B must be a semitone, so B becomes B♭. D–E must also be a semitone, so E becomes E♭. The other steps are already correct.
Between which degrees are the semitones of a natural minor scale?
Solution: Between degrees 2 and 3, and between degrees 5 and 6.
How many semitones are there from A up to C? From C up to E? What does the difference show?
Solution: A to C is three semitones (A–A♯–B–C). C to E is four (C–C♯–D–D♯–E). The smaller third, from the tonic of A minor, is what gives the minor scale its minor sound.
Why is the second note of E natural minor written F♯ and not G♭?
Solution: The letter after E must be F, because each letter is used once. G♭ would skip F and give the scale two G's.
Remember
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