Major and minor are often described in terms of feelings or mood. The result is a Major Scale no matter what starting note you use. Natural Minor scale-- a scale that contains half-steps between 2-3 and 5-6 scale degrees (the natural form). This ‘b’ means to ‘flat the third’ or to lower the 3rd by a half tone. The Melodic Minor Scale is the same as the natural minor scale but with a chromatically raised sixth and seventh degree ascending and restored to its normal pitch descending (natural minor). The Major scale and its relative Minor Scale share the same Key Signature. The ear tends to perceive major and minor as having contrasting personalities; a contrast that is most obvious when the two are played back to back. A key has two components: a tonal center and some sort of scale, or set of pitches used for creating harmony and melody., a choice to use a pattern of seven notes forming a set called the major scale. Now see a shape for the A minor pentatonic scale: For instance if you start the major scale on the 6th note you are playing the natural minor scale and the 3rd degree of the minor scale is the major scale. If we want to use the formula for calculating our Harmonic Minor Scales we need to know the notes of the Major Keynote Scale. The Harmonic minor scale - Harmonic minor scales The Melodic minor scale - Melodic minor scales Major and minor scale generator with customizable tunings - Major and minor scales. The Natural Minor Scale is represented by the formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 8 where each degree of the scale is represented by a number. The relationship between the major and minor scales is one of the most important relationships in music. Every Major Scale has a relative Natural Minor Scale and every Minor Scale has a relative Major Scale. The TONIC is the keynote or 1st note of every music scale. Formula: Whole and a half, Whole, Whole, Whole and a half, Whole. The natural minor scale can be thought of as a major scale with the 3rd 6th and 7th notes lowered by one half step. ●  In the C minor scale, E flat is three half steps above C, so the minor third is Eb. That means, “A” is the relative minor of C. Very simple! What's the major scale? Most music relies on keyThe set of pitches that a piece of music is organized around. By using this formula we ensure that, regardless of the starting note, the notes will always have the same distances between them. The Dorian modes are comparable to the Major scales – D Dorian, for example, includes exactly the same notes as C Major. In the case of A minor pentatonic we will use the A major scale notes to apply our scale formula. It consists of 12 notes, each a semitone apart. Try It: Play a C major scale on your piano, and follow it with a C minor scale; observe the change in mood once the third note is struck. G Harmonic Minor: G - A - B♭ - C - D - E♭- F# - G - F# - E♭- D - C - B♭- A - G. If you are confused about 'descending', go to the last note (end) and work backwards towards the middle... you always move from the lowest note to the highest note. We tend to say that major scales have a ‘happier’ and ‘cheerier’ sound, whereas minor scales have Lets build one in G. A whole step from G is A. The Dorian Scale, or mode, is the second of the seven modes. Major Scale Modes Each note in a scale can be considered the root. The 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 8th notes remain unchanged. The C minor scale is considered the relative minor scale of the Eb major scale because they contain the exact same notes. Each scale degree can be described in several ways: Subtonic is used when the interval between it and the tonic in the upper octave is a whole step, e.g., 7 or dom7 (B♭) b3 (flat three) means you take the third note of the major scale only a half step … 2: B. ● In the C major scale, E is four half steps above C, so the major third is E. Minor Third: 1.5 steps (three half steps) above the tonic. Here is the scale ‘formula’ for the major scale: Major scale formula. tetrachord of a major scale. Simple, right? The formula for building a natural minor scale is whole step – half step – whole step – whole step – half step – whole step – whole step. Substitute the notes of the A Major Scale into the formula and make the necessary adjustments to all accidentals. First start with the root note, C, and follow the formula: A whole step from C is D. A whole step from D is E. A half step from E is F. A whole step from F is G. A whole step from G is A. Dominant chords have a major third and a minor seventh (b7). If we want to use the formula for calculating our Natural Minor Scales we need to know the notes of the Major keynote scale. The relative minor scale is widely used in improvisation because it allows more ideas for the solo. To find a Relative Minor from a given Major, descend (count down) 3 semi-tones from the major, e.g., if you are in the key of A Major, count down 3 semitones from, To find a Relative Major from a given Minor, ascend (count up) 3 semi-tones from the minor, e.g., if you are in the key of Am, count up 3 semitones from, First, second, major or minor third, fourth, fifth, major or minor sixth, major or minor seventh, Roman Numerals, i.e., I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII, Names and their function, i.e., Tonic, Supertonic, Mediant, Subdominant, Dominant, Submediant, Leading Tone, Tonic (, Supertonic and Subtonic are, one step above and one step below the tonic, Mediant and Submediant are each a third above and below the tonic, Dominant and Subdominant are a fifth above and below the tonic. The descending Melodic Minor Scale is exactly the same as the Natural Minor Scale. These notes follow a formula where no note name is repeated. (raised by 1 semitone). To build a C natural minor scale, starting on C, we take a whole step to D. Summary. In this example we see 4 flats - B♭, E♭, A♭, and D♭ on the clef at the beginning of a piece of music (key signature). The diatonic pattern is as follows: whole - whole - half - whole - whole - whole - half    C major scale:    C -whole- D -whole- E -half- F -whole- G -whole- A -whole- B -half- C, whole - half - whole - whole - half - whole - whole    A minor scale:    A -whole- B -half- C -whole- D -whole- E -half- F -whole- G -whole- A. 5 – Memorize the whole-half step formulas for the major and natural minor scale. ● In the C minor scale, E flat is three half steps above C, so the minor third is Eb. and desc. The formula for forming a natural (or pure) minor scale is W-H-W-W-H-W-W. “W” stands for whole step and “H” stands for half step. The minor scale is created with a formula, just like the major scale. A minor chord? The name notes on the major scale include a natural minor scale, with the exception that it is created from the sixth note on the major scale. The major scale formula follows the pattern W, W, H, W, W, W, H. The minor scale formula follows the pattern W, H, W, W, H, W, W. Lastly, you can take a modal approach to the minor scale. The scale formula is 1 b3 4 5 b7. (For i… For example, G-A-B-C can be the bottom tetrachord of the G major scale or the top tetrachord of the C major scale. It is sometimes referred to as the Aeolian mode, e.g., if you are in the key of C and move up 6 notes, counting C as number 1, you reach A. Remember that the key of "E major" has 4 sharps. The difference is that is D Dorian starts on another step in the scale, the D note (see picture below). 1. But what is the relative minor scale? The formula for a major triad is 1 3 5. Major and Minor Pentatonic Scale. Because of this, the key of A minor is called the relative minor of C major.Every major key has a relative minor, which starts on the 6th scale degree or step. What it means is that to build a major chord, play the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes in major scale. Major 3rd interval = two whole steps Minor 3rd interval = one and a half steps 1 - 3 = major 3rd 2 - 4 = minor 3rd 3 - 5 = minor 3rd 4 - 6 = major 3rd 5 - 7 = major 3rd 6 - 1 = minor 3rd 7 - 2 = minor 3rd 3 – Write down and play a C major scale, vertical approach (played across multiple strings) 4 – Build a pentatonic minor scale on a single string. MINOR SCALES: There are 3 forms of minor scales: natural, harmonic and melodic. Chromatic Scales - consist of semi-tones only. This combination of notes is called the minor scale. It ascends or descends for one octave using the signature of the major scale. This scale starts on the sixth degree of its relative major scale. 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