The main scales of western music are major and minor scales. The g minor scale natural, harmonic and melodic, notes. Free printable pdf downloads with notes and fingerings for scales in every key. Minor scales harmonic minor and melodic minor scales piano.
This selection and arrangement of content as a collection is ed by terry. Remember, the melodic minor is only used on the ascending scale. The natural minor scale is often referred to simply as the minor scale. Ideally, you should try playing the minor scales on a piano or keyboard to get used to the sound and feel of them. While there is only one major scale, three different variations of the minor scale exist. When coming down the scale you use the natural minor. This bebop melodic minor scale variation makes use of the major 3rd as a passing tone as well as the minor 7th passing tone. The melodic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale by the sixth and seventh notes.
It ascends or descends for one octave using the major scale s key signature. This scale is also some kind of peculiar since it is sometimes played differently ascending and descending. In classical music, you play the true melodic minor scale ascending and the natural minor scale descending. The ascending form has half steps between 23 and 78. Going up, the 3rd scale degree is flat, but the rest is like a major scale, and going down it is the same as a natural minor scale. Feb 19, 2012 you might find that the harmonic minor scale is a bit angular at the top of the scale to write smooth melodies. In fact, it is highly likely that many songs include passages and chords that relate to the melodic minor more than they will to the natural minor. The melodic minor scale is generaly used in a different manner altogether.
As we have already learned, a mode is a scale created by establishing a new root note within a preexisting scale. Super locrian is often used in jazz over an altered dominant chord b9. The melodic minor scale does this by raising the 6th note as well as the 7th. We call scales relative if they share the same key signature. One thing to note about the melodic scale is that often, especially in jazz music, musicians wont lower the scale degrees when descending. The melodic minor scale differs from the diatonic scale in that its third note is a minor third interval from the first note of the scale.
Learning how to play your scales will help when it comes to creating your own parts on the piano. Melodic minor scales sheet music for piano download free in. 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. How to harmonize minor scales with 7th chords learn jazz. Instructions on music fundamentals kindle edition by palmer, willard a. It gives us a much nicer approach to the tonic the e while still wanting to resolve.
Lisa received classical piano training through the royal conservatory of music. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. Dec 31, 2017 proving how incredibly impactful just one note can be, the only difference between this scale and the natural minor scale is the sharped 7th scale degree. Today i want to teach you the c minor melodic scale. Wholehalfwholewholehalfwholewhole or whwwhww sure, it may look similar to the major scale pattern, but make no mistake, this slight rearrangement of half and. Only minor scales are melodic, and there is no such thing as a melodic major scale. How to play the d minor melodic scale piano scale lessons. In other words, one wont really see a tune written in, say, c melodic minor that starts on the i chord, then goes to the v chord, then to the iv and so on. As you might know by now, melodic scales have a couple of different notes as the descend than they do as they ascend.
Melodic minor harmony tom lippincott r traditionally, in classical music, the melodic minor scale is performed one way ascending. We already studied the harmonic minor scale and we saw that it has a long distance between 6 and 7 degrees one and a half tone. All minor scales all guitar scales tabs pdf all major scales piano pdf. In the example below, study the prepared example beginning on the note c. Insidepiano video tutorials jazz improvisation minor scales.
A collection of scales for piano starting on the root e. Melodic minor scale is really similar to the harmonic minor scale. This is where the melodic minor scale comes in handy. Melodic minor scale on the piano sean wilson piano. Coming down from that second b the notes are a, g, f sharp, e, d, c sharp and back to b. Minor scales natural vs harmonic vs melodic piano theory. List of all natural minor scales piano music theory. The melodic minor scales in musical notes are available in the member area.
This scale solves the rhythmic inconsistency of the jazz melodic scale when playing over an octave. In the harmonic and melodic minor scales, the 7th degree is called the leading tone. In other words, several other scales come from the melodic scale. Next in our lesson on piano scales we take a look at the melodic minor scale. Contrary to the major scale, there are not one but three minor scales, which all will be presented here. With a goal of reducing this distance, it was added an intermediate note to approximate the sixth degree from the seventh. The scale ascends as the bebop melodic minor and descends as the dominant bebop scale. For the melodic minor scale, you raise the sixth and seventh notes of a scale by a half step as you go up the scale and then return to the natural minor as you go down the scale. The natural minor scale uses the following ascending stepwise pattern. Harmonic minor scale the harmonic minor scale raises the 7th note of the natural minor scale by a half step and has the following scale. There arent tunes written in the key of c melodic minor, where chords derived from the native scale are used.
A scale degree is designated by an arabic numeral with a cap which indicate the position of the note within the scale. Melodic minor scale is really similar to the harmonic minor scale we already studied the harmonic minor scale and we saw that it has a long distance between 6 and 7 degrees one and a half tone. This pack includes ten pages of scales with the following features. A scale is a stepwise arrangement of notespitches contained within an octave. Melodic minor scales sheet music for piano download free. And that practicality shows up in soloing, composition, and general thinking of chord scale relationships. Nov 29, 2017 the melodic minor scale forms the basis of melodic minor harmony on which are based a lot of scales often used in jazz altered scale, half diminished scale. In fact, it is highly likely that many songs include passages and chords that relate to the melodic minor more than they will to the natural minor, and with good reason. Hopefully this lesson has helped you understand the 3 different minor scales.
Print and download in pdf or midi melodic minor scales. To construct or perform this type of scale, you need to remember that it has an ascending version along with a descending version. 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. Single octave melodic minor scales with fingerings for piano. Chords of the melodic minor scale arthur fox music. 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. Download our piano scale finger charts for the major scale, harmonic minor scale and more. Chord harmonization over minor scales scaleschords. Minor scales are built on the 6th scale degree of a major scale to quickly find a major keys relative minor, count down 3 halfsteps from the tonic note of the major scale remember to start with the tonic then. Apr 06, 2016 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. So this gives us 3 different patterns as compared with the 1. Major and minor scales contain seven notes or scale degrees. But in jazz, we play the true melodic minor scale both up and down, and call it the jazz melodic minor scale. Minor scales are built on the 6th scale degree of a major scale.
In the melodic minor scale, the sixth and seventh notes of the. For example, to convert c natural minor into c melodic minor, simply raise the ab and bb a half. 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. This variation of the melodic jazz scale ascends as the jazz melodic minor skipping the root up to the 9th and then descends from the root down. Learn how to play the a minor melodic piano scale piano. The first minor scale that will we discuss is natural minor. Every scale determines a key,that is an harmonic combunation of tones based on that scale. As with all other scales that your play, multiply the benefits to your piano playing foundation by following them with arpeggios, a cadence, and a tune in the same key. 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. After youve done that, lets move on to the melodic minor.
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. This form of the scale is also the 5th mode of the acoustic scale. That means that this scale creates a minor chord as its first chord tonic. When you go up the scale, you are using the melodic minor scale, but. Learn how to play the c minor melodic piano scale piano. Learn how to play the c minor melodic scale on piano. Bellingham music teachers association scale and arpeggio fingering chart for piano major and minor scales and arpeggios two octaves chromatic scale. The melodic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale by the sixth and seventh notes, which are raised a semistep. Melodic minor modes the melodic minor scale is closely related to the major scale with its natural 6 and 7. Natural, harmonic and melodic forms about minor scales. Learn to play the minor melodic scale in a on the piano in this lesson with nate bosch. Learn the melodic minor scale for piano in every key. Harmonic minor scale and chords, natural and melodic minor. The piano teaching aids that make learning of the piano enjoyable for both teacher and student.
She heard him drop a gear, heard the engine scream in protest and watched the narrowbodied, lithe to. Easy piano sheet music free, the snake charmer, now with an easiertoread arrangement just for young, socially distant students. The result is the melodic minor scale, which is characterized by the following intervals. All keys are shown, including the commonly used 12 keys of the circle of fifths diagram, and other theoretical ie. In practical music performance circles especially in the jazz world the melodic minor scale is the same whether ascending or descending. Essentially the only difference between a melodic minor scale and a major scale is that quality defining b3. 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, but lowers the 3rd when ascending going up and lowers. Now we are taking the b6 and b7 in the natural minor scale and making them major. Learning the melodic minor scale simplifying theory. Fortify minor melodic scales concept with this colorful 1 page printable. 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. Natural, harmonic, and melodic minor music theory online.
The notes for this scale are c, d, e flat, f, g, a, b, c on the way up. I usually encourage students to choose harmonic minor as it is easier to learn and remember the fingering and notes you do not need to remember 2 different sets of notes and fingering for ascending and descending. The natural minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale, but lowers the 3rd, 6th and 7th steps. The gm scale on the piano, treble clef, bass clef, etc. Learning the major and minor scales for piano are one of the fundamental skills in a musicians education. With a goal of reducing this distance, it was added an intermediate note to.
Building piano scales major, minor, etc in all keys. A collection of scales for piano starting on the root c. The g minor scale natural, harmonic and melodic, notes, chords and more. Over the years, songwriters and composers like mozart have taken advantage of this unique feature, but other musicmakers go out of their way to avoid it. Free pdf downloads of c major, c harmonic minor, and more. Learn how to play the a minor melodic scale on piano. Free pdf downloads of e major, e blues, e harmonic minor, and more. Once you have watched the free video lesson, you can download the printable pdf sheet music to practice along with at your piano. Say we were to play the c melodic minor scale, but we started on a d instead of a c.
Melodic minor scales charts with fingering for piano. Melodic minor modes and altered scale the jazz piano site. This minor scale also begins on the 6th degree of the relative major scale. A minor melodic piano scale piano scale lessons youtube. The notes going up are b, c sharp, d, e, f sharp, g sharp, a sharp, and the return to b.
We are already familiar with the modes of the major scale, but we can create modes from any preexisting scale. When you go up the scale, you are using the melodic minor scale, but when you go down the scale. This article will offer some important triads and seventh chords of the melodic minor scale and how we build those chords. Melodic minor scales are a variation on harmonic minor scales on piano. The sixth note of each major scale is the root note of the relative minor. C d eb f g a b the harmonized chords in the melodic minor c scale are. The sixth note of each major scale is the root note of the relative minor scale for example, the notes of c major scale are. Playing scales on piano has the added benefit of encouraging visual memory. Heres a diagram of the harmonic c minor scale on piano. Now i am going to talk about the a minor melodic view.
Learning how to play all the scales will dramatically boost your overall piano playing. Each scale has a different use and application in jazz piano. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdffile. Learn how to play the b minor melodic piano scale piano. Scales include major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor varieties. Each minor scale has a di erent use and application in jazz piano. The solution below shows the e 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 e 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. Like the a flat minor melodic scale, this scale has different note as at descends than it does as it ascends. This pattern of whole and half steps is what creates the sound of major. Heres how it looks, with the natural minor in the bass for comparison. Here is a handy chart to show how to play all 12 melodic minor scales on the piano, complete with fingering for each hand. The chart below shows how the melodic minor scale compares with the natural minor and major scale diatonic scale. The first mode of the melodic minor scale isthe melodic minor scale.
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. This page shows piano and treble clef diagrams of all melodic minor scales, starting from note c. In todays lesson, i will explained the three main types of minor scales. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The melodic minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale, but lowers the 3rd when ascending going up and lowers both the 7th, 6th and third going down. The b minor melodic is different from some of the other scales, because it has different notes when you come back down the scale than it does when you go up the scale. Natural, harmonic, and melodic forms margaret denton, piano minor scales. This type of minor scale is called melodic because is it easier to sing.
For grades 1 to 5, students are given a choice of playing either harmonic or melodic minor scales. The 3 types of minor scales in music musicnotes now. Learn how to play the d minor melodic scale on the piano in this piano lesson. So when a jazz musician improvises over a scale derived from melodic minor harmony, he will play notes from the melodic minor scale.
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