A melodic minor scale

A melodic minor scale uses the notes A, B, C, D, E, F♯ and G♯. Counted from A, its formula is 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7, and the distance between neighbouring notes follows the pattern W H W W W W H.

Notes, formula and steps

Read from the root, the A melodic minor scale contains root (A), major 2nd (B), minor 3rd (C), perfect 4th (D), perfect 5th (E), major 6th (F♯) and major 7th (G♯). The step pattern W H W W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step, W+H = a step and a half) is the same for every melodic minor scale, so you can rebuild it from any note. This scale has 2 sharps: F♯ and G♯.

How to play the A melodic minor scale on piano

Start on A and play A, B, C, D, E, F♯ and G♯ going up, then come back down. Say the note names out loud while you play: it links the sound, the keys and the names. Practise hands separately first, slowly with the metronome, then speed up.

How to play the A melodic minor scale on guitar

On guitar, the root A sits at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. Start from one of these roots and play the notes of the fretboard map above in order, one string after another. The whole-neck view shows every place the A melodic minor scale appears, so you can connect the positions instead of staying in one box.

Chords in the A melodic minor scale

Stacking every other note of the scale gives one chord per degree: Am, Bm, Caug, D, E, F♯dim and G♯dim. These are the chords you can combine to write a progression that stays in the A melodic minor scale.

Relative and parallel scales

The A melodic minor scale is a close variant of the A natural minor scale: same root and most of the same notes, with one or two altered degrees that give it its own colour. Its parallel scale, on the same root, is the A major scale. Moving between them is a classic way to change colour without changing key.

About the melodic minor scale

A minor scale with a major upper half: minor third, but major sixth and major seventh. The result is smooth and sophisticated, minor yet bright, and less exotic than the harmonic minor because there is no step-and-a-half gap. Jazz musicians hear it as a modern, slightly ambiguous sound that can sit over many chords.

In classical music it is used ascending (raised 6th and 7th) and descends as natural minor. Jazz keeps the same form in both directions, the 'jazz minor': over im6 and im(maj7) tonic chords, while its modes cover altered dominants (7th mode) and Lydian dominant chords (4th mode). Over a minor tonic, it instantly sounds modern.

Think of it as the major scale with a lowered 3rd: on guitar, take a major-scale fingering and move the 3rd down one fret; on piano, play the major scale on the same root and lower only the 3rd. Then improvise over a vamp on the im6 chord, stressing the 6th and the 7th so the ear hears the colour.

Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7, steps W H W W W W H. The melodic minor differs from the major scale by one note (♭3) and from the natural minor by two (raised 6th and 7th). Harmonised in sevenths it gives im(maj7), iim7, ♭IIImaj7♯5, IV7, V7, viø7 and viiø7, with two dominant chords side by side.

Related

• A natural minor scale
• A major scale
• A minor pentatonic scale
• A major pentatonic scale
• A blues scale
• A Dorian mode
• A Mixolydian mode
• A harmonic minor scale
• Am
• Asus2
• Asus4

Ready to go further than the chart?

The free GuitarHarmony workshop shows every scale on the whole neck, names any chord you play and builds progressions with you. Free account, no card.

Try it free