11 Minor Scales
The major scale is the most common and useful scale when studying music theory, but it is important to also familiarize ourselves with other scales—starting with the two most common minor scales: the natural minor scale and the harmonic minor scale.
The natural minor is a useful starting point when studying minor scales. We can create a natural minor scale by lowering the third, sixth, and seventh degrees of a major scale by one semitone. The harmonic minor scale can be created by lowering the third and the sixth degrees of a major scale by one semitone.
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Exercises
Add the necessary accidentals to create the following scales:
The natural minor scale can also be considered as a “displaced” major scale. If we look at C major scale, we can see it has no accidentals.
If we take the exact same notes but start on A instead of C, we get A natural minor.
This is because C major and A natural minor are related scales, meaning they have the same notes; they just start at different points. To discover any major scale’s relative minor, simply count up to the sixth note of the major scale. To discover any natural minor’s relative major, count down six notes.
Scales
Video 11.1 Scales [Video transcript – See Appendix B 11.1]
