Just as major scales, minor scales also possess a formula for their construction from any pitch. By following this pattern, one can construct both ascending and descending minor scales.
Although natural minor does not include two pitches used to construct dominant-function chords (V and V7), melodies informed by this scale can still harmonize with these kinds of progressions.
Intervals
Intervals are instrumental to the sound of any minor scale. An interval is a gap between two notes that creates tension or release in music, often consonant or dissonant and used to add color and character. Musical scales use numerous intervals – four major and seven minor are common across styles; each has its own distinctive sound identified by how many halftones or semitones separate its first and last note in the scale.
As part of creating a minor scale, it’s essential to consider both its chordal applications and song’s harmony when creating one. For instance, certain minor key songs require raised scale degree 7 chords which would clash quite harshly with natural minor scale’s un-raised 7th note if using these chord movements and learning the relevant scale patterns.
As musicians know, finding the right scale for any music context can be challenging. One easy solution for musicians to quickly locate one suitable scale is using the minor pentatonic scale when writing melodies for songs in minor keys – it contains all necessary intervals but excludes 2 and 6 which could clash with chord tones more frequently.
The natural minor scale stands out among other minor scales in that it does not contain any sharp or flat notes; other harmonic and melodic minor scales typically feature one or more sharp or flat notes that could conflict with other notes in a melody.
As part of their education in natural minor scale theory, students can refer to this table to better comprehend its workings. By listening and internalising these tracks, they will begin recognizing natural minor chord movements within their musical pieces.
Key signatures
When writing melodies in minor keys, it’s essential that you pay close attention to the key signature. This reveals the number of flats and sharps within the scale which in turn determine what notes to play. Some key signatures contain accidentals which must be added onto a natural minor scale for proper sound; otherwise your music won’t sound right.
There’s an easy way to determine what key a piece is written in. When looking at key signatures with flats, simply look for the last flat and determine the major key half step above it – for example if a piece has four flats it must be written in F minor; four sharps would put it in A major.
Minor scales typically share the same key signature with their related major keys. This is due to a major scale containing all of the notes found in a minor scale while also including an extra note with its key signature (usually flats).
As with the harmonic and melodic minor scales, natural minor scale has its own distinctive pattern of ascending whole steps and half steps that must be considered when creating it. Furthermore, unlike its major equivalent it does not contain a major third.
Natural minor scale melodies can usually be played on any instrument, though some instruments may produce less harmonious sound than others. This is particularly noticeable when the scale includes a lower 7th tone that creates dissonant intervals with its tonic note and lends the scale its distinctive sound.
This scale can be found in many popular songs, including Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”, Santana’s “Black Magic Woman”, and Maria Maria. To learn the minor scale and develop fingerings skills more quickly, it may be useful to consult a scale book (affiliate link) which displays both ascending and descending notes of its scale.
There are three approaches music students can use to construct a natural minor scale. The first requires knowledge of a parallel major scale’s key signature; an alternative way is lowering major scale tones by half step (an approach popular among intermediate and advanced students).
Fingerings
The natural minor scale is an uncomplicated diatonic scale composed of whole and half steps, making it easy to learn and build. Unlike some scales which require knowledge of major key signatures or musical elements to construct them, building the natural minor scale requires only understanding its interval pattern (“W-H-W”) before proceeding to build using fingers of one’s left hand.
Though similar to its major scale counterpart, the natural minor scale differs significantly in several significant ways. Notably, its notes are flattertened while those in major are sharpened; this difference often makes music in minor keys sound more solemn or sad than music composed using major keys.
There are three categories of minor scales, the natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor. Each one follows its own interval pattern and key signature – for instance the natural minor scale can be built using any key signature while harmonic minor and melodic minor require starting on specific notes.
Each minor scale has its own set of fingerings which are unique to that scale; for instance, natural minor uses its own set for each note in its scale – this helps when playing melodies and arpeggios using it – chords formed from these fingerings are also specific to each minor scale.
As an example, the natural minor scale utilizes a minor pentatonic chord as its root notes. This chord contains major third and minor second notes found commonly within minor scale tones as well as its key tone of minor sixth; also commonly found within blues and rock riffs.
Modes
Adherence to proper terminology is vital when studying music theory. Words such as major and minor can often become confused; however, it’s essential that composers remember they have distinct meanings in music: major sounds tend to be bright, energetic and vibrant, while minor sounds have darker, melancholic hues reflected by the tonal colors used by them.
Musical scales can be composed using many starting pitches, each offering its own combination of ascending whole steps and half steps. Natural minor scale formula is no exception: while its counterpart, chromatic, is typically constructed from one key only, natural minor can be made up from any number of beginning pitches by simply changing their order within the scale formula and leaving out certain degrees.
While many musicians understand there are multiple types of minor scales, few understand their distinctions. Most commonly associated with this term is the natural minor scale; however, there are other minor scales used in specific styles of music including melodic minor and harmonic minor scales, which don’t act like modes but have similar interval structures and may be found within modal music.
The melodic minor scale shares the same interval structure with natural minor scale, but removes flat 6 from it, to sound more like harmonic minor scale and avoid an augmented 2nd that may cause issues in chord progressions. Conversely, harmonic minor adds sharp 6 to the mix instead.
Locrian mode stands out as an unusual scale in that it contains two half steps in its first four intervals, creating difficulties when creating tonic triads – hence why this particular minor mode scale is rarely employed as often.
Modern musicians typically utilize the minor pentatonic scale when writing melodies, which is similar to the natural minor scale except without degrees 2 and 6. While this style may be employed in certain songs, most popular music doesn’t utilize this full heptatonic natural minor scale due to potential dissonance between melodic line and harmony line that arises when using non-Ionian and non-Aeolian modal minor scales that create dissonance between melody and harmony line.