View source for Minor scale

{{short description|Triad of scale patterns in music theory}} 
{{Distinguish|text=the simulated nuclear detonation [[Minor Scale]]}}
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  c4^\markup { C natural minor scale } d es f g aes bes c2
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<score sound="1"> {
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<score sound="1"> {
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\relative c' { 
  \clef treble \time 7/4
  c4^\markup { C melodic minor scale } d es f g a b
  c bes aes g f es d
  c2
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</score>|width= 400|caption =The three common minor scales built on C.}}</div>
A '''minor scale''' is a sequence of [[musical note]]s in which the third [[scale degree]] is a [[minor third]] above the [[Tonic (music)|tonic]]. The notes A–B–C–D–E–F–G form a prototypical minor scale. 

There are three common types of minor scales: the '''natural minor scale''', the '''melodic minor scale''', and the '''[[harmonic minor scale]]'''. The [[Aeolian mode|Aeolian]], [[Phrygian mode|Phrygian]], and [[Dorian mode]]s are also examples of minor scales.

==Natural minor==
{{see also|Parallel key}}
<div style="zoom: 80%;">{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1"> {
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\relative c' { 
  \clef treble \time 7/4
  c4^\markup { C major scale } d e f g a b c2 \bar "||"
  \time 9/4
  a,4^\markup { A natural minor scale } b c d e f g a2 }
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</score>|width= 450|caption =C major and its relative minor scale.}}</div>
The natural minor scale is the diatonic [[Aeolian mode]]. It can be played on the white keys of the piano as A–B–C–D–E–F–G.<ref name=Grove>Drabkin, William. "[https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000024691 Scale]", ''Grove Music Online''. [[Oxford University Press]], 2001.</ref> Because this A minor scale shares a key signature with the C major scale, the two are considered [[Relative key|relatives]]. The major scale sits a third above its relative minor.<ref name=Kostka>Kostka, Stefan M. and Dorothy Payne. ''[https://archive.org/details/tonalharmony6th00kost/page/10/mode/1up Tonal Harmony]''. McGraw-Hill Education, 2013. 11ff.</ref> 

The major and natural minor scales have the same collection of intervals: two [[semitone]]s and five [[Major second|whole tones]]. Beginning in the 17th century, they were the two dominant modes of tonal music.<ref name=Harvard>"[https://archive.org/details/newharvarddictio00rand/page/728/mode/1up Klangfarbenmelodie]", ''[[Harvard Dictionary of Music|The New Harvard Dictionary of Music]]''. Edited by Don Randel. Belknap Press of [[Harvard University Press]], 1986. 728f.</ref>

[[File:Chord progression in A minor..png|alt=Chord progression in A minor demonstrating the minor V chord.|thumb|Chord progression in A minor demonstrating the minor V chord.<ref name=Prout/>{{rp|81ff}}]]The resulting harmonies are quite different from the major scale. The [[tonic (music)|tonic]] chord (A–C–E) is minor, as are the [[subdominant]] (D–F–A) and [[Dominant (music)|dominant]] chords (E–G–B). The absence of the [[leading tone]] made composing a satisfactory [[cadence]] difficult. This problem gave rise to the two common variations of the natural minor scale.<ref name=Prout>[[Ebenezer Prout|Prout, Ebenezer]]. ''[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Harmony/JoC0AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA81 Harmony: Its Theory and Practice]''. London: Augener, 1903.</ref>{{rp|81ff}}

The term "natural minor" was not in common use until the twentieth century.<ref>Taddie, Daniel L. ''[https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/scale-historical-study-musical-terminology/docview/303299057/se-2 Scale: An Historical Study Of Musical Terminology And Concepts]''. The University of Iowa, 1984. 291f.</ref>

==Harmonic minor==
{{main|Harmonic minor scale}}

{{Image frame|content=<score sound="1"> {
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\relative c' { 
  \clef treble \time 7/4
  a4 b c d e f gis a2 }
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</score>|width=360|caption=A harmonic minor scale. F-G{{music|sharp}} is an [[augmented second]].}}
{{Image frame|content=<score>
\relative c {
   \clef bass 
   \time 2/2
   \key g \minor
   \tempo "Allegro"
   g2 a bes4 c2 d4 es2 fis g1
}
</score>|width=360|caption=A harmonic minor scale forms the theme in the opening of [[Robert Schumann]]'s ''[[Symphony No. 1 (Schumann)|First Symphony]]'' (1841).<ref name=Forte>[[Allen Forte|Forte, Allen]]. ''[https://archive.org/details/tonalharmonyinco0000fort/page/12/mode/1up Tonal Harmony: Theory and Practice]''. Harcourt College Publishers, 1979. 13.</ref>}}The first solution to the minor scale's missing leading tone was to simply restore it. This modification became known as the harmonic minor scale. The configuration creates an [[augmented second]] between the sixth and seventh scale degrees. Because of the melodic awkwardness of this interval, the harmonic minor scale prompted further refinement.<ref name=Harvard/>

Harmonic minor scales are common in classical music.<ref name=Kod/> They can be found in works like [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]'s ''[[Piano Sonata No. 16 (Mozart)|Piano Sonata No. 16]]''.<ref>Irving, John. ''Mozart's Piano Sonatas: Contexts, Sources, Style''. [[Cambridge University Press]], 1997. 85.</ref> [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] often relied on the upper [[tetrachord]] of the harmonic minor scale to create tonal ambiguity and maximize [[chromaticism]] in later works like the ''[[Grosse Fuge]]''.<ref>Caplin, William E. "The Genesis of the Countersubjects for the ''Grosse Fuge''", ''The String Quartets of Beethoven''. Edited by William Kinderman. University of Illinois Press, 2006. 235f.</ref> [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]] considered the harmonic minor scale as part of the "basis of harmony". He also introduced the term "[[harmonic major scale]]" for a major scale with a lowered sixth.<ref>Taruskin, Richard. "[https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.455895.12 Rimsky-Korsakov Catches Up]", ''Musical Lives and Times Examined: Keynotes and Clippings, 2006–2019''. [[University of California Press]], 2023. 222.</ref>

[[Worcester Cathedral]] [[ring of bells|rings]] its "Harmonic Minor 10" on solemn occasions like [[Good Friday]] and [[Armistice Day]]. The church bells are half-muffled and play a pattern based on a descending minor scale.<ref>Hackett, Rosalind I.J. "Aural Media", ''The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Materiality''. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2020. 495.</ref><ref>Kipping, Chris. "Worcester Cathedral’s harmonic minor ten – a musical analysis", Worcesterbells.org.uk. Accessed February 6, 2026.</ref>

[[Spirituals]] like "[[Go Down Moses]]" and "[[Soon I Will Be Done]]" employ the harmonic minor scale.<ref name=Kod>Houlahan, Micheal and Philip Tacka. ''Kodály in the Fifth Grade Classroom: Developing the Creative Brain in the 21st Century''. [[Oxford University Press]], 2015. 73, 165.</ref> In popular music, [[Shred guitar|shredders]] like [[Yngwie Malmsteen]] made liberal use of harmonic minor scales as they expanded the vernacular of the guitar solo beyond the [[blues scale]].<ref>''Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time''. Edited by Jeff Kitts. [[Bloomsbury Academic]], 2002. 45.</ref> Heavy metal guitarists often orient their use of the harmonic minor scale around the dominant, which introduces a Phrygian flavor to their melodies.<ref>''[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Routledge_Companion_to_Popular_Music/-apxDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT243 The Routledge Companion to Popular Music Analysis: Expanding Approaches]''. Taylor & Francis, 2018. 243.</ref>

The [[Hungarian minor scale]] is a harmonic minor scale with a raised 4th degree.<ref>Cleland, Kent D. and Mary Dobrea-Grindahl. ''Developing Musicianship Through Aural Skills: A Holistic Approach to Sight Singing and Ear Training''. Taylor & Francis, 2013. 495.</ref> The [[Neapolitan scale|Neapolitan minor scale]] is a harmonic minor scale with a lowered second scale degree.<ref>Pescatore, Pablo. ''Extreme Rock Guitar Soloing: Advanced Professional Techniques''. Mel Bay Publications, 2024. 57.</ref>

==Melodic minor==
{{See also|Jazz minor scale}}
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  a4 b c d e fis gis
  a g! f! e d c b a2 }
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</score>|width=450|caption=A melodic minor scale.}}</div>
{{Image frame
|content = <score>
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        \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin"
        \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 120
        \key g \minor
        \time 4/4
        g8^\markup \bold "Allegro"
        f16 es d c bes a g a bes c d e fis g
        fis8[ d]
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</score>
|caption = [[Antonio Vivaldi]]'s theme from the opening of his second concerto in [[Antonio Vivaldi]]'s ''[[L'estro armonico]]'' (1711) demonstrates the G melodic minor descending and ascending.<ref name=Forte />
|width = 420
}}
Given the awkwardness of the harmonic minor's augmented second, composers developed another version of the scale known as the melodic minor.<ref name=Harvard/> When played upwards, both the sixth and seventh scale degrees appear as they do in the major scale. The only lowered scale degree is the third, which ameliorates voice leading. During a descent, the sixth and seventh scale degrees are lowered to their positions in the natural minor scale.<ref name=Grove/>

Consistently raising and lowering the sixth and seventh scale degrees requires copious [[Accidental (music)|accidentals]]. The primary minor key signature prevails, and the note alterations are so commonplace that they are viewed as diatonic.<ref name=Forte />

The ascending melodic minor scale is sometimes referred to as a "[[jazz minor scale]]".<ref>Berle, Arnie. ''How to Create and Develop a Jazz Sax Solo''. [[Mel_Bay#Mel_Bay_Publications|Mel Bay Publications]], 2017. 55, 78.</ref>

[[Elton John]] uses a melodic minor scale in "[[Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word]]".<ref>Stephenson, Ken. ''What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis''. [[Yale University Press]], 2002. 41.</ref>

==Other scales==
Scales with a minor third or a minor tonic triad are often referred to as minor.<ref>Terefenko, Dariusz. ''Jazz Theory: From Basic to Advanced Study''. Second edition. Taylor and Francis, 2017. 79.</ref><ref>Lester, Joel. "[https://doi.org/10.2307/843628 The Recognition of Major and Minor Keys in German Theory: 1680-1730]", ''[[Journal of Music Theory]]'', vol. 22, no. 1, 1978. 65ff.</ref> The [[Dorian mode]] is the most common example. The [[Phrygian mode]] is also considered minor.<ref>de Clercq, Trevor. ''The Practice of Popular Music: Understanding Harmony, Rhythm, Melody, and Form in Commercial Songwriting''. Taylor & Francis, 2024. 334.</ref><ref name=Prout/>{{rp|314}} 

Gapped scales can also be considered incomplete major or minor scales. The [[pentatonic scale]] can appear in a minor guise.<ref>Benward, Bruce and Marilyn Nadine Saker. ''[https://archive.org/details/musicintheorypra0000benw_s4e5/page/40/mode/1up Music: In Theory and Practice]'', vol. I. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2003. 40f.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Diatonic functionality]]
* [[Jazz minor scale]]
* [[Jazz scale#Modes of the melodic minor scale]]
* [[Major scale]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Hewitt, Michael. 2013. ''Musical Scales of the World''. The Note Tree. {{ISBN|978-0-9575470-0-1}}.
* Yamaguchi, Masaya. 2006. ''The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales'', revised edition. New York: Masaya Music Services. {{ISBN|0-9676353-0-6}}.

==External links==
* [http://www.youraccompanist.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=104 Harmonised minor scale recordings].
* [https://www.apronus.com/music/lessons/natural-minor-scales Natural Minor Scales diagrammed on a virtual piano]

{{Circle of fifths}}
{{Scales}}
{{Modes}}

[[Category:Heptatonic scales]]
[[Category:Minor scales| ]]
[[Category:Modes (music)]]