So an A minor blues scale goes like this: A-C-D-Eb-E-G-A. The major and minor scales sound different than each other, as do major and minor chords whereby each chord consists fundamentally of notes from a specific scale. Notice the same spacing between the notes for this scale on both the piano and guitar. Notice I'm pointing out the notes of the singing part...the melody. Minor Pentatonic Scale Connections How to connect the common first pattern of the minor pentatonic scale to parts of the neighboring scale patterns for a wider range of notes to use in the scale. The distance between the 3rd and 4th notes and the 7th and 8th notes are half steps. We use scales to create music, study music theory, understand music, build chords, progressions, arpeggios and learn soloing and improvisation.. There are two types of steps: half steps and whole steps.A half step … The harmonic minor scale uses a new tetrachord pattern: half step - one and a half steps - half step. It was felt when melodies descended the scale, it sounded better with the flatted 6th and 7th, and while melodies ascended through the scale it sounded better with the raised 6th and 7th. The harmonic minor scale has half steps between scale degrees 2-3, 5-6, and 7-8. How to Construct Major Scales in Any Key Using a Simple Formula. The distance between the 3rd and 4th notes and the 7th and 8th notes are half steps. W-H-W-W-W-W-H The descending formula is the natural minor scale formula backwards. The harmonic minor scale is derivative of the minor scale where the seventh scale degree is raised by a half step. (See the chapter on triads for more about chords) Keyboard/Guitar. If you use your first finger on the 4th degree and your fourth finger on the 5th degree of the scale, it makes shifting smoother. The Natural Minor Scale. By now, do I need to remind you of a bass player's biggest functions? Later, you will learn there are many advanced uses of the melodic minor scale, its chords and other scales derived from it. All Major scales follow this exact pattern: W W H W W W H (whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half). 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. The formula for figuring out a major scale using whole-steps (WS) and half-steps (HS) goes like this: Root – WS – WS – HS – WS – WS – WS –HS (Root) Thats how every single major scale is played. Harmonic minor scales. They’re completely different things but we use the same word. This is a good technique to learn, and it will show up in other musical shapes on the fretboard later on. Scales and scale degrees. We will also look at how and why these chords work together. Major scale = W-W-H-W-W-W-H (2-2-1-2-2-2-1) Natuaral Minor scale = W-H-W-W-H-W-W (2-1-2-2-1-2-2) Minor pentatonic scale = WH-W-W-WH-W (3-2-2-3-2) Blues scale = WH-W-H-H-WH-W (3-2-1-1-3-2) The ascending melodic minor scale is what I've just described—a natural minor scale with a raised 6th and 7th. Everything evolves around scales. * Play the A harmonic minor scale on your guitar. If it had six, there would be a “gap” somewhere. The formula for a melodic minor scale is whole step – half step – whole step – whole step – whole step – whole step – half step. Because by understanding a simple little formula of half- and whole-steps, you can build major and minor scales and chords in all 12 keys. You will. The Intervallic Formula Of The Natural Minor Scale. This scale is kind of peculiar since it is sometimes played differently ascending and descending. Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar is a step-by-step method that teaches you how to solo intricately over the most common progression in jazz: The Major ii V I ('two five one'), Check out guitars by: BENEDETTO, D'ANGELICO, D'AQUISTO, EPIPHONE, FRAMUS, GIBSON, GODIN, GRETSCH, GUILD, HAGSTROM, HERITAGE, HOFNER, PEERLESS, SELMER, SILVERTONE, THE LOAR, WASHBURN, Jazz Bebop Blues Guitar helps you to create the authentic sound of jazz guitar, without having to learn numerous scales and modes. You will probably just outline the chord with roots, 5ths and maybe a third and 7th. The Melodic Minor Scale in C. W = whole step, h = half step. That minor third jump is thought to be a little melodically awkward. Before we go any further let's talk about half steps and whole steps. The MINOR SCALE uses the wh wwh ww pattern of intervals.. whole-half-whole-whole-half-whole-whole You flat the 3rd note, the 6th note, and 7th note of the major scale and the wh wwh ww minor scale pattern is … Our scale will probably have seven notes. C melodic minor is C, D, E♭, F, G, A, and B. I find students remember it better this way. The interval of a Whole step occurs between all other scale degrees. A scale is a succession of pitches ascending or descending in steps. This maintains the last Whole step after the B and also provides the last half step between the C# and the D. Try it on your instrument and note the application of the formula.  An easy method is to count D as one, D# as two, and E as three.  Visualize this on the fretboard above by counting each fret. For now, be aware of the melodic minor scale, but don't worry about memorizing all of its chords. The formula for a melodic minor scale is whole step – half step – whole step – whole step – whole step – whole step – half step. -ex: C major and C minor-parallel major and minor keys share the same tonic but have different key signatures and a different arrangement of whole and half steps-first 5 notes of minor is equal to major except 3 is lowered Yes, we can and do play melodically. Here is this scale displayed on one string of the guitar fretboard. Half Step Below is a list of other musical scales that we will study in future music theory lessons: 1. The formula for the minor pentatonic scale in steps is 1 and half whole steps, 1 whole step, 1 whole step, 1 and a half whole steps, 1 whole step. Melodic minor... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCV9oqtwyVA. Unlike the harmonic minor scale, where the distance between the sixth and seventh scale degrees is a step-and-a-half (three half-steps), the melodic minor scale, with its raised 6th, brings us back to the common whole-step/half-step type of scale structure. Hear the song as a whole. I'm not saying you can't or won't use this scale. In your mind, apply the whole and half step formula between each of the notes on this fretboard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnp58oepHUQ. 6 - Write down the difference between a major and a minor scale formula? Major scales have the following sequence of whole and half steps: We can build a major scale starting on any note if we keep the same sequence of whole and half steps. A pick up unit designed for the None Cutaway archtop guitar. Half steps are more tense than whole steps. Making great music with melodic minor scales on piano and guitar. Melodic minor scale - has 2 forms: ascending and descending. There you have it: a distance of a whole tone. Why? It is important to keep track of the musical terms you are learning. Natural minor In order to create a natural minor scale, we simply start with the major scale and lower the 3rd, 6th, and 7th scale degrees by a half-step. Ascending: D, E, F, G, A, B, C♯ Descending: D, C, B♭, A, G, F, E Scale Formula. Scales in traditional Western music generally consist of seven notes and repeat at the octave. Guild X330 Jazz guitar, single franze pick up, later guild tailpiece, this guitar plays and sounds great unfortunately when the guitar was re-lacquer sometime ago, some of the spruce veneer was sandedthrough, see pictures, this does not effect the playing or structure of this very, very rare model come with none original case.... Like new, beautiful condition hollow body archtop guitar Bright orange with birds-eye maple sides Comes with an equally pristine stagg tweed-covered hardcase, Here for sale is this pretty rare circa 1950s Col Joye branded big bodied electro acoustic guitar. Notice the same spacing between the notes for this scale on both the piano and guitar. Here’s the C melodic minor scale: …looking like a C natural major scale … Relationship to parallel major. Minor Pentatonic Scale Connections How to connect the common first pattern of the minor pentatonic scale to parts of the neighboring scale patterns for a wider range of notes to use in the scale. Those are the two naturally occuring half steps in a major scale.In a major scale, there are two naturally occuring half steps. Formula: Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half. Here is the D melodic minor scale (demonstrating use of the formula). In a major scale the 7th scale degree (B) is a half step away from the 1st scale degree (C). Scales: Whole and Half Steps in Scales. (It is the only one of the three minor scales with a step and a half between scale degrees 6-7.) Hundreds of years of music prove this series of steps reliable. Half Whole Diminished: 1 b9 #9 3 #11 5 13 b7; These can be used as a tension device in improvisation and are a totally different sound than the more common major and minor scales. Melodic Minor Scales. This three-count represents a Whole step. In a major scale the 7th scale degree (B) is a half step away from the 1st scale degree (C). You might notice this scale tends to occur over the V chord in a minor key. Half step intervals occur between scale degrees 2-3 and 7-8 of the melodic minor scale. In the harmonic minor composite, the augmented second disrupts the otherwise smooth flow of half- and whole-step motion in the melodic ascent. Notice the fingering here. The next method of building a minor scale involves considering the intervals directly, instead of building the major scale first. For example, C major is C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. All Major scales follow this exact pattern: W W H W W W H (whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half). For jazz players, the scale is the same both ways (just the flattened 3rd), so you don’t have to worry about any changes while descending this scale.  Yes! But, what we're most expected to do is rhythmically define the harmony. “Descending melodic minor” is just the plain old natural minor scale when descending. The formula for the melodic minor scale is: W-h-W-W-W-W-h. The unique structure of the melodic minor scale gives us another very different harmonic language from the plain old major scale/natural minor scale sounds. To other musicians, like jazz musicians, 'melodic minor' simply refers to the ascending form of the melodic minor scale. We noted in the previous article that the major scale is a good starting point for understanding other musical concepts and scales. For a long time this stood as the world's best-selling single. If you’re tired of scales by now, don’t fret because in the next article of this series, we are going to look at harmonizing (with chords) these scales and discuss a common chord progression used in jazz. The melodic minor scale is so named because it has melodic importance. Based around the familiar blues progression, this book uses simple chord / scale substitution ideas to create beautiful jazz-blues lines in the style of the great jazz guitarists, © jazzguitar.com 1996-2020 | terms and conditions, There are 0 comments on this article so far. So when the 7th (B) of a major scale moves to the 1st (C) it creates a strong sense of resolution. The melodic minor scale is a common scale you will come across in jazz and other genres. The distance between the first two notes in a Major scale is a whole step. melodic minor; The characteristic that differentiates the major and the three minor scales is their pattern of whole steps and half steps. Like the harmonic minor scale chords, these will show up in the future as needed. Again, at this stage in the StudyBass lessons, it's not essential for you to master these melodic minor scale chords just yet. In your mind, apply the whole and half step formula between each of the notes on this fretboard. The Solution below shows the A melodic minor scale notes, intervals and scale degrees on the piano, treble clef and bass clef.. A movement up two blocks is called a whole step.A movement up just one block is called a half step.We can see that this C major scale is formed by starting on the root of the scale, C, and then moving through the chromatic scale A scale consisting of all 12 of the notes used in modern music. Minor scales aren't taught in terms of whole and half steps as frequently as the major scale. Where you will most likely apply this scale in an everyday bassline is when you need to avoid clashing with a song's melody which uses this melodic minor scale. We have also learned that there are basic formulas applicable to each scale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCabI3MdV9g. The troublesome note for the bass player will be the 6th of this melodic minor scale. Typically, musicians will just call the descending melodic minor by the name 'natural minor.'. The descending melodic minor scale is another name for the natural minor scale. Half-Steps and Whole-Steps: A Simple Formula. The Natural Minor scale has the following pattern of half-steps (H) and whole-steps (W): W-H-W-W-H-W-W. 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. A curious reader asked a question about it and here is our answer! EXCEPTIONALLY RARE, Antoria - Jazzstar - Archtop Jazz / Rockabilly Guitar, Guild X330 Archtop jazz guitar circa 1950's, Samick JZ4 Greg Bennett signature archtop guitar, 1950s Col Joye Big Body Archtop Semi Acoustic Guitar, Sunburst Hofner Senator Acoustic Archtop Guitar 1958 Jazz Blues, MaCarty pick up Gibson, D'angelico archtop Jazz guitar, Alden AD-Dorchester 6 Semi Acoustic Guitar Vintage Sunburst Jazz Archtop Hollow, 1930s Vintage Radiotone Jazz Archtop Guitar, You will fundamentally know your instrument better, They are an important tool when composing and harmonizing. The lesson could not be displayed because JavaScript is disabled. Melodic Minor 4. In terms of whole steps and half steps, the formula for a melodic minor scale can be defined as: W H W W W W H. Note: this page is intended as an in-depth reference page that covers patterns, theory and applications of melodic minor. In the melodic minor scale ascending, the half steps occur between 2-3 and 7-8. But, what they will do for us is important. Harmonic Minor Scale. whole-half-whole-whole-half-whole-whole You flat the 3rd note, the 6th note, and 7th note of the major scale and the wh wwh ww minor scale pattern is made. And, it's different from the harmonic minor sound as well. The melodic minor scale can be formed by lowering the third degrees of the major scale [by a half step.] So when the 7th (B) of a major scale moves to the 1st (C) it creates a strong sense of resolution. Not always, but you might listen more closely or avoid the 6th of the minor scale as a passing note altogether. (I knew you didn't forget!). The harmonic minor scale includes a three-semitone step; the anhemitonic pentatonic includes two of those and no semitones. The melodic minor scale uses the W-H-W-W-W-W-H note counting rule to identify the scale note positions.. To count up a Whole tone, count up by two physical piano keys, either white or black.. To count up a Half-tone (semitone), count up from the last note up by one physical piano key, either white or black.. The Melodic Minor scale, in traditional application, has a different formula … In piano scales, two main scales are the major and minor scales. There are two forms of the melodic minor scale: ascending and descending. You may have noticed that the formula of whole and half steps is different than the major scale . Pick a key on your keyboard and move one half step to the right, then another half step to the right. Now you may be saying to yourself, "ok, all this half-step and whole-step talk is great, but how is it going to help me play the piano?" Yes, we can and do play solos. whole-step, half-step, whole-step, whole-step, half-step, whole-step, whole-step …and using the distance (or interval) between the tones, we can derive the formula of the natural minor scale. The melodic minor scale, also known as jazz minor, can be thought of as the tones 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7. None adjustable pole piece model makes this an early one. Lastly, we will learn how to form what is known as chromatic scales. The melodic minor scale has half steps between scale degrees 2-3, and 7-8 when ascending. The melodic minor scale, with its raised 6th, gets rid of the one-and-a-half step leap between the 6 and 7 of the harmonic minor scale. There are many different types of scales but by far the two most common are the major and minor scales. Melodic D Minor Scale Intervals. Firstly, we will learn major and minor scales. Now that we have talked about both the natural minor and harmonic minor scales, lets take a minute to introduce the 3 rd minor scale in our repertoire: the melodic minor scale. As a result, the accompanying scales must be different to achieve this and in this case, one note can make a big difference. THE FORMULAS Here’s a list of whole-half step scale formulas: W = Whole step, H = Half step, WH = Whole and a half step (3 half steps or frets). The Melodic Minor Scale differs from the Natural Minor Scale by the sixth and seventh notes, which are raised one semi-step. 1937 Gibson L-7 L7 Archtop Guitar. Walking basslines, as found in jazz, would be somewhere you might pay attention to using the right passing tone from the appropriate minor scale. They include natural or pure minor scales, harmonic minor scales and melodic minor scales. A scale is simply a group of notes in succession. To simplify, you can memorize this formula to form a minor scale: whole step - half step - whole step - whole step - half step - whole step - whole step (or) w - h - w - w - h - w - w A descending melodic minor scale is identical to a natural minor scale. In the D major scale the F would be sharp as well but true to the melodic minor scale pattern, the third note is flattened from F# to F. We have looked at the construction of the melodic minor scale and compared the fundamental differences between the major scale and the melodic minor scale to help us learn. WHWWHWW. "One of three kinds of minor scales: The natural minor scale is an ordered collection of pitches arranged according to the pattern of whole and half steps W-H-W-W-H-W-W. Question by Steve (NY) What chords do the half whole and whole half scales work over? Those are the two naturally occuring half steps in a major scale. Half steps are more tense than whole steps. There are different types of minor scales. To understand how the formula works, you will need to know what a minor third is built of. More good news is that the melodic minor scale formula will never change within a jazz context no matter what key you play it in. And, depending on the style, you may use it extensively (jazz). Notice the fingering here. A C Minor scale, for comparison, is structured like so: Notes: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb Scale Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 Scale Intervals: W H W W H W W The Natural Minor scale of C flattens the third, sixth and seventh of the scale… The Intervallic Formula Of The Natural Minor Scale. The first minor scale we’ll look at is the natural minor scale. 3 - Build an A minor scale. In the melodic minor scale ascending, the half steps occur between 2-3 and 7-8. This is a good technique to learn, and it will show up in other musical shapes on the fretboard later on. For instance, since the 6th degree of F major is D, the relative minor of F major is D minor.. 175 Jazz Guitar. It is important to note that in classical music, musicians will alter the melodic minor scale while descending.  They will play the flattened three when ascending the scale but will flatten the 6 and 7th when descending. whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. 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Do n't worry about memorizing all of its chords only when ascending 2nd interval not really.! Whole-Step motion in the melody made up of 3 half steps between scale degrees there you have the major melodic! They will do for us is important player from British Columbia, Canada n't... Minor ” is just the plain old major scale/natural minor scale includes a three-semitone step ; the anhemitonic includes... Minor keys the Beginning jazz theory talks about intervals and scale degrees,... Track of the minor 6th in the major scale with raised sixth and seventh notes intervals! We 're most expected to do is rhythmically define the harmony this stood as the minor.