{"id":2337,"date":"2022-01-22T18:04:47","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T00:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplymandolin.com\/?p=2337"},"modified":"2022-03-26T20:46:59","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T02:46:59","slug":"the-minor-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplymandolin.com\/flekd\/the-minor-scale\/","title":{"rendered":"The Minor Scale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\"image
1951 Gibson F5<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, the minor scale<\/strong> is said to have a sad, melancholy, or haunting sound<\/strong> as compared to the Major scale<\/a>. The latter often being described as happier, or more upbeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how you might hear it, the minor scale definitely does have a very distinct sound<\/strong>. And, it doesn’t take long to train your ear to hear that difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just close your eyes and play an A Major chord<\/strong> several times listening closely. Then play an Am chord<\/strong>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minor sound is very recognizable!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

So, what changed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, lets take a quick look at how those chords are constructed. To build a basic Major chord<\/strong>, you use the 1st, 3rd and 5th degree of the Major scale<\/strong>. In the case of A-Major, you have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A – C# – E<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can turn any Major chord into a minor chord simply by flatting the third.<\/strong> If we flat the third of our A Major chord (C#), it becomes a ‘C’, and we end up with an Am chord:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A – C – E<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

And, that’s the whole minor sound!
The third of a chord defines whether it is Major or minor. <\/strong>
A flatted 3rd gives us a minor sound!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

But.., I’ve gone off topic a bit. Lets forget about chords right now and get back to scales!<\/strong> I\u2019d like to show you three different ways to explore the minor scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Minor Confusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You might have heard of a natural minor<\/strong>, a relative minor<\/strong>, a harmonic minor<\/strong>, a melodic minor<\/strong>, a parallel minor<\/strong>…?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, don’t get confused.<\/strong> We’ll look at each of those terms shortly, but really, there\u2019s only one minor scale<\/strong> that we’re going to worry about. I\u2019ll show you how to find it, and how to build it<\/strong>. However, there is more than one way to do that, and I’d like to try and simplify it for you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think you\u2019ll find it really isn\u2019t that difficult<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Major Differences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we begin, there is one prerequisite. You should have a good understanding of the Major Scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Major Scale is pretty much the most important thing to learn in music<\/strong>. Many concepts and ideas in music theory are explained by demonstrating how they differ from, or how they relate to the Major scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, that\u2019s how we\u2019re going to explore the minor scale.<\/strong> So, if you haven\u2019t yet familiarized yourself with it, you should take a look at the section on \u2018the Major Scale\u2019<\/a> before continuing with this lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re good with that, lets move on!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n

The Natural Minor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A natural occurrence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First off, let\u2019s just take a look at a minor scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the A-minor scale:
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those are the notes in the A-minor scale. Here\u2019s the tab:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Am scale.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Play it a few times and listen to how it sounds.
Notice anything about those notes? They are all natural notes. There are no sharps, or flats in the key of Am.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you think of another key that has no sharps or flats<\/strong>? If you said C Major<\/strong>, you\u2019d be right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because the A-minor scale occurs naturally<\/strong> in the C Major scale starting at the 6th note<\/strong>.
Take a look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image
Am scale occurs naturally in the C Major scale<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can easily see that if we start on the 6th note (degree) of the C Major scale, we get an Am scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lets look at it in tab form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"diagram
The Am scale inside of the C Major scale<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You see, there\u2019s a minor scale that occurs naturally in every Major scale<\/strong>. You can take any Major scale, start on the 6th degree<\/strong> (note) of that scale, and you\u2019re playing a natural minor scale.<\/strong> The red circle in the notation indicates the key signature (what key its in). In this case you can see there are no sharps or flats in the C Major scale. And, the A-minor scale uses all the same notes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Its All Relative<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We can see that C Major and A-minor are made up of exactly the same notes<\/strong> . Both scales have the same key signature<\/strong> (no sharps or flats). They just start on a different note<\/strong>, or tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, we can say they are related<\/strong>. It\u2019s like having the same genetic make-up but different names. They are relatives. So the term \u2018relative minor<\/strong>\u2019 simply refers to the natural minor scale that occurs in any specific Major scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A-minor is the \u2018relative minor\u2019 of C Major.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, guess what.. C Major is the relative Major<\/strong> of the A-minor scale!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

The relative minor uses the exact same notes
as it’s relative Major, but has a different tonic (a different name). <\/strong>
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

It works every time!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is true for all the Major scales. Every Major scale has a relative minor,<\/strong> and it always starts on the 6th note<\/strong> of that Major scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 6th note in the F Major scale is ‘D’.
F – G – A – Bb – C – D – E – F<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, the 6th note in the D Major scale is ‘B’.
D – E – F# – G – A – B – C# – D<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, the 6th note in the Bb Major scale is ‘G’.
Bb – C – D – Eb – F – G – A – Bb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So…<\/p>\n\n\n\n