What makes a scale minor

A flat third can be spelled with any letter of the musical alphabet whether its a natural note name, flat note name, or sharp note name. Please review intervals if you are still confused on this. Intervals are essential to understanding scale and chord construction.

Notice the third of the major scale C is one note lower in the minor scale C. This gives them their major and minor sound qualities. You will notice there are actually three different notes between a major scale and a natural minor scale which start on the same note compare the diagrams above. While there are 3 different notes, the essential note giving these scales their major or minor sound quality is the 3rd.

As you continue studying scales you will learn there are many different major-sounding scales e. Major, Major Pentatonic, Mixolydian, Lydian and many different minor-sounding scales e.

Hundreds of years of music prove this series of steps reliable. If we want a set of notes that works well for building chords, our choices of scales are limited. Our scale will probably have seven notes. If it had eight, there would be an extra note, and extra half steps. The half steps in the scale are the primary cause of dissonance Refers to the quality of two or more notes which do not have strong harmonization. This is because the notes vibrate at frequencies which have some conflict, and this conflict is audible to the human ear.

We want a seven-note scale with as few half steps as possible in order to increase harmony and decrease dissonance. Now we can make a formula for the minor scale. For comparison, here are the two major and minor scale formulas. Parallel Minor Scale The minor scale that starts on the same note as a major scale is known as its parallel minor scale ; so the parallel minor scale of C major is C minor. Natural Minor Scale There are three types of minor scales left, the natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales.

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You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary. Functional Functional. Performance Performance. Dorian is included here only to explain the common jazz reference to the "dorian minor" and to give notice to students that the jazz approach to scales can be quite different from the traditional classical approach.

Solution to Exercise 4. Return to Exercise. Free Tools. Other products. Back Free versions Previous versions. Back Forum Join our street team. Back Ear training. Back What is ear training? Music theory. Back Understanding basic music theory What is sight-singing? Music Technology. Music memos. Back What are intervals in music? What are chords in music? What are chord progressions? What are scales in music? What is Swing? Music in a Minor Key. Minor Scales.

Figure 4. Natural Minor Scale Intervals. Go to Solution For each note below, write a natural minor scale, one octave, ascending going up beginning on that note. Relative Minor and Major Keys. Comparing Major and Minor Scale Patterns.