natural minor scale formula

This page shows all the Natural Minor scales in every key in tab form and notation. To read how this is done, take a look at our article on forming chords from scales. So the formula has only constructed our sequence of letters, but say the starting A of the natural minor could be the A on the staff in FACE, or the A above the staff or the A below the staff (or even several octaves above or below this). This formula is the same sequence as the major scale formula, but it begins on a different note. Very interesting and informative nice one. OR are they basically derivatives of the mode shapes themselves? We have highlighted the root notes (your starting note) for each of the keys in blue for the major scale, and red for the minor scale. First Thank you for your post. So how does this all come together? The Natural Minor Scale is often referred to simply as “the Minor Scale”. For the position where you have root under the first finger on the 4th string, the pattern would also start on the first finger as well. A minor third is made up of 3 half steps and be identified by its sad sound. Again, I think you addressed this above, but I want to make sure I understand. When playing with them, because the different modes have a different note as the tonic or root note, even though they are the same pattern you do view them a bit differently and will need to practice them in the context of that mode a bit, but it will come together a lot quicker than the first time you learn them. The difference lies in the 3rd degree of the scale. You can see the chords formed from this scale when looking at the numbering (or degrees) of the notes of the scale, as well the example in the case of A natural minor in the diagram as follows: The natural minor scale is probably the most used scale in styles such as rock, pop and many other forms of popular music. W W h, W W W h. What is the formula for constructing a natural minor scale? There are three types of minor scales: natural, harmonic, and melodic. Also by limiting the amount of patterns learned I hope the student will start to develop their phrasing and start applying all sorts of nuance to their playing very early in the piece. The combination of tones and semitones that form the scale are as follows: Natural Minor Scale = Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone, Guitar Positions for the Natural Minor Scale. Also, most of the time when we refer to a ‘minor' scale we're generally referring to the natural minor. natural minor scales. I am a big fan of viewing the neck in terms of the CAGED system and believe that as you start to get a good mastery of what I have presented you should go on to continue to learn all 5 positions for these scales and also other scales, chords and arpeggios in all 5 CAGED positions. The Melodic Minor Scale. As it decends, it's a plain old natural minor scale; a lowered 3rd, 6th, and 7th. The formula for the natural minor scale is W, H, W, W, H, W, W (H means half which is 1 fret, W means whole so 2 frets). Other minor scales such as the dorian mode or the Phrygian mode are not really the relative minor of the major scale as they are not formed from the 6th degree of the major scale. You can practice your soling and improvisation with this scale over our backing tracks designed for the aeolian mode. What's interesting about this scale is that it's different going up than it is coming down. Here's the one for the natural minor scale: And here's what the C natural minor scale looks like: If you're looking at the formula for the natural minor scale above and thinking to yourself “I've seen this before” then you're on to something! Since I know the other 6 patterns anyway. Notice that when you play the full scale, on the way up it feels like it is pulling towards the top C, in this case. This does not acagree with the Natural, Melodic nor the Harmonic Minor Scales. The backing track “Stay Away from the Voodoo” on our “Aeolian Mode Backing Tracks” page is an example of harmonising with the Bm7 from the natural minor, while, as you mention Autumn Leaves uses the Dominant 7th from the harmonic minor, as well as songs such as “I Will Survive” and indeed most dominant chords in jazz ii V7 i progressions in minor keys. I’d say the reason your seeing multiple different versions of each scale is that scales adopt different patterns depending on where they are played up the neck. That article takes you through using the major scale as an example, but you can apply the exact same procedure to form chords from the natural minor scale. What is the formula for constructing a major scale? The major scale contains a major 3rd. ANYWAY: If I’ve learnt how to play the 7 mode shapes corresponding to the major scale and linked them together across the fretboard, then I can play, say the Aeolian pattern and extend it up and down the fret board yes? Thank you. For example, you can see the relationship between C major and A natural minor in the diagram: If you look at the notes of the natural minor in relation to the notes of a major scale with the same root, we have the notes: That is, if you flatten the 3rd, 6th and 7th degree of a major scale, you have the natural minor scale with the same root. On the guitar a scale or chord formula is its pattern of steps and intervals. Use the formula T – S – T – T – S – T1⁄2 – S 3. 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. can i ask why? now, when i played Autumn Leaves in Gm, they play 5th degree D7 and not Dm7. As before with the major scales, you can figure out any natural minor scale (or any scale for that matter) by knowing it's ‘interval formula'. However where on the staff you start these scales can be any of the C’s for C major or any of the A’s for A minor. The A minor scale is called the relative minor scale of the C major scale. Here are a couple questions that I need clarifications about. eparadi1. The Melodic Minor scale, in traditional application, has a different formula … 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. Additionally, keep in mind that scales are often played over several octaves, which would result in more common tones. So A minor is the relative minor of C major. Starting a scale on the different notes of the major scale is the formula to construct modes of the major scale, but is not the only way to construct the minor scales that can comprise the relative minor key. Probably the most helpful thing you can do is mention it on a forum, share or like it on your favourite social media platform or if you're a blogger, mention it in a blog post. This is considered the case when you are in the key of c major, whichever octave you play the E in. Called the natural minor scale to distinguish it from the various other types of minor scale. The Natural minor scale, also known as simply the Minor scale, is commonly used in all styles of music. Scale formula: 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7. The Chords Formed from the Natural Minor Scale. It's all tied together. I always recommend starting with the two positions with the root note under the first finger on the 6th or 5th string. Relative minor The natural minor scale is also known as the Aeolian mode or relative minor. For example, a major triad is 1-3-5. Let’s take a look at which notes would make up this blues scale if we were to begin on A. When harmonising in a minor key, it is often the case that the all the degrees of the scale are harmonised with the natural minor except the 5th degree which can be harmonised with the harmonic minor scale, resulting in the dominant 7th you can see in autumn leaves. Similarly to the major scale, there are five main closed positions to learn for the scale. It shares its notes with its relative major scale, so all the patterns are the same, only the root has moved. Minor Pentatonic Scale Formula. It is stated by many that the Major and the Minor Scales are the same. By altering these notes we also change the intervals which make up the scale. The formula for the minor scale is whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. You seem to have a fantastic understanding of the guitar and music theory. The C Natural Minor scale starts on C and follows the formula I, II, iii, IV, V, iv, vii. What’s the difference between CAGED system and the system that you teach here? #2. In the Natural minor scale the V (5) chord is a minor chord (Gmin7, G Bb D F, in the key of C). Guitar theory)but I don’t know which scales to learn , I mean when you learn chords its the basic A,B,C,D,E,F,G chords and I thought same is the case with scales , but when I searched C major scale , I found completely different scales all claming to be c major ,and same is for the other G,D etc , help!!!! Firstly, rather than “Relevant” minor it’s “Relative” minor. Hence my question is, given the above information, what is the point of learning ANOTHER 5 separate shapes for the Aeolian/Minor? The harmonic minor scale is just like the natural minor only without the lowered 7th. Natural minors: 1. are the same ascending and descending 2. By Desi Serna . Harmonic Minor Formula When building scales, we can use a formula of semitones and tones (half and whole steps) and each type of scale has a different formula. For example: the notes of the A natural minor scale are exactly the same as the notes of the C major scale, the A natural minor scale only starts on the A instea… Understanding this concept will save you loads of time when learning scales since once you know the major scales in all keys you'll also know all the natural minor scales. Hi! Download PDF The A natural minor scale is a third lower and has the same key signature as C Major. Also, most of the time when we refer to a ‘minor' scale we're generally referring to the natural minor. You may use these HTML tags and attributes:
. ... – Play the natural minor scale ascending starting on the 1st fret and then play it descending starting on the 2nd fret, ascending on the 3rd fret, descending on the 4th fret, etc. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Many of the progressions in these styles will be based on the chords of the scale shown above and many popular songs will feature guitar solos over these chord progressions that are entirely built from this scale. What am I missing here, please? To build a C natural minor scale, starting on C, we take a whole step to D. Next, we take a half step to Eb. From A, we go up a half step to Bb. I see that in natural minor scale, 5th degree is must to be minor 7th. The CAGED system breaks the neck into 5 different positions. Related to this, consider that E is the 3rd of C major. Or perhaps it is the lack of sleep. Thanks for your dedication for this wonderful website. Like the major scale, the minor scale can be constructed from scratch by applying the following formula, WHWWHWW (W = Whole tone and H = Half/Semi-tone). I’m trying to learn scales now , (practiclly i can play slash ,Metallica…etc but dont know much Apart from the 6th and 5th String Positions starting with the 1st Finger on the Root, please explain me as to start with Which Finger in the rest of the 3 Positions. It would seem that the A, B, C, etc would be the A in FACE and B in boy and C in FACE, etc?? Images can be saved for free to find out how click here Read Me It is a way to construct the natural minor or Aeolian mode. The A Minor Scale include exactly the same notes as the C Major Scale which makes them relative keys (read more about this further down the page). Probably the next extension of such a concept is that the 7th degree in a minor key can sometimes be formed from the harmonic minor, which would result in a diminished 7th chord such as a F#dim7 in the key of G minor. The following charts compare the different scale formulas of the major scale modes that are used for keys and chord progressions. The minor scale formula goes like this: Minor 3rd (3 half steps) whole step, half step, half step, minor 3rd, whole step. The 5 positions presented for the natural minor scale above are the 5 CAGED positions. For example, A Minor example you used above is the natural (relevant) minor for the Major C (as you stated) it appears that the C, D, E, F & G are an octave above the same notes uses in the Major C Scale!!?? This post is a companion to that “Beginner’s Guide...” piece. Just remember: the relative minor scale is built from the major scale's sixth degree. W h W, W h W W. Which scale is an E flat major scale? 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. The natural minor scale can be thought of as a major scale with the 3rd 6th and 7th notes lowered by one half step. | D7 F#dim7 | ). Minor scales provide a darker, and often more complex sound than major scales. Use the formula T – S – T – T – S – T – THarmonic minors: 1. are the same ascending and descending 2. 1 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b7. Also, pay special attention to the section at the bottom: “Update: Reading the neck diagrams” and I believe this should communicate this concept pretty well. The lesson could not be displayed because JavaScript is disabled. It is very informative and useful for an aspiring guitarist like me from India. In our example above using the F major scale, this means we will be lowering the A (the 3rd) to Ab, the D … Its confusing me so muchhh. All of these scales starting on different A’s are still the A natural minor scale and as such a scale is independent of the octave it is played in. The Formula Of The Natural Minor Scale. In it's acending form the only lowered note is the 3rd. For the next pattern that also has the root on the 5th string, I would start the pattern with my 1st finger and then move my hand down a fret at the 4th and 3rd strings then back up for the 2nd and 1st strings. This is because the natural minor scale is based on the major scale. backing tracks designed for the aeolian mode. For the purpose of rock and pop, the vast majority of songs use the natural minor above out of theses three minor scales to construct their chords, chord progressions and solos/melodies, …. A tone = a whole Step or two keys on the piano. The formula your looking at is not a set way to construct the relative minor of a major scale. I’ll try and clear up any confusion here. The Natur… Check out this comparison between the A natural minor and the C major scales below: These scales are actually the same! Let’s do a quick recap of the three types of minor scales. 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