Our western system is a major minor system and we tend to interpret music based on other. Or, if you prefer, the relative minor is built a major sixth above the. Use these quizzes for more practice using minor scales. Mar 23, 2010 this pdf tutorial is going to be a prerequisite to the video lessons coming up focusing on how to visualize the minor scales on the fretboard using the 3notes per string format.
Each scale has a different use and application in jazz. Minor scales are directly related to major scales, with a few extra rules. Remember, if youre looking at a major scale, lower scale degrees 3, 6, and 7 to get the min. Our western system is a major minor system and we tend to. Minor is the parallel minor to c major minor scales.
A scale is a stepwise arrangement of notespitches contained within an octave. Learn the note names all minor scales in table form, in all 12 circle of 5ths keys, including single and double accidental theoretical keys home mobile view scale. The natural minor scale is often referred to simply as the minor scale. A minor scale a b c d e f g a ww e minor scale e f. Cflat m every major key has a corresponding minor key that is related by the same key signature. They are designed primarily for enrolled, admitted, and prospective students of the lawrence university conservatory of music, but are freely offered to all who might find them beneficial. In music theory, the term minor scale refers to three scale patterns. Natural, harmonic and melodic forms about minor scales. The natural minor scale is the naturally occurring diatonic scale with no altered scale degrees or added accidentals. Each scale has a different use and application in jazz piano. Pdf the harmonic minor scale provides an optimum way of.
If you need staff paper, you may print the staff paper pdf file. The definitive method gives us a simple formula based on the pattern of intervals between the notes in the scale. Navigate fast around the circle of 4ths5ths using the web app. Name each of these minor scales and say whether it is ascending or descending. Finding the relative major scale when the minor scale notes or key signature are not known doing this takes more steps because merely counting up three notes is not specific enough. Write a oneoctave scale of a natural minor going up, using semibreves whole notes. Natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales. Minor scales everything you need to know in 7 minutes. Basic music theory for adult beginnerlevel piano players with emphasis on half steps and whole steps introduction music theory is a huge subject, one whose study can become quite complex. Eku currently uses the kostka and payne theory text and workbook, tonal harmony, and the berkowitz musicianship text, a new approach to sight singing, for their foursemester sequence of music theory courses. One of the most useful of these is the scale based on the dorian mode, which is often called the dorian minor, since it has a basically minor sound. Relative keys are any major scale and natural minor scale that share a key signature.
Major and minor scales are traditionally the basis for western music24, but jazz t. Basic minor pentatonic scale theory the minor pentatonic scale is the most widely used scale in rock and blues music. Any such sequence is fair to call a scale, but some scales are more common than others. The natural minor scale has the following scale formula. Scale degree name solfege 1 tonic do 2 supertonic re 3 mediant me 4 subdominant fa 5 dominant sol 6 submediant le 7 subtonic te harmonic minor scale a form of a minor scale with half steps between 23, 56 and 78.
Worksheets for music theory fundamentals lawrence university. Relative major and relative minor scales music theory. Oct 27, 2016 in this lesson, im going to use the three basic kinds of minor scales. Learn all your scales with this interactive scale helper page. Minor chord scales chord 2nd 3rd chord scale scale choice scale choice scale symbol page no. A trumpet player interested in jazz, a vocalist interested in early. The word penta is greek for five and there are five different name notes in each minor pentatonic scale. The following menu contains links to worksheets, in pdf format, on all manner of theory fundamentals. Minor scales part 2 recognising the difference between minor and major scales is important in grade two. The chords built on the first, fourth, and fifth degrees of the scale are always major chords i, iv, and v. Contribute to haohanzmusic theory development by creating an account on github. Minor scales are built on the 6th scale degree of a major scale to quickly find a major keys relative minor, count down 3 halfsteps from the tonic note of the. The term modal scales is applied to a group of scales commonly used in pop and jazz music. Recognizing relative motion between pitches by ear.
The second way of constructing minor scales is to take the parallel major of that scale and then alter certain scale degrees. Music theory minor scales learn the difference from major. Unlike major scales that are built with only one form, or pattern, of whole steps and half steps, minor scales appear in three different forms, and it is worthwhile to learn all three fluently natural minor. The 3 types of minor scales in music musicnotes now. Here are all the new minor scales you need to know for grade 3 music theory. Music theory pdf worksheets music theory worksheets. Melodic minor scale the construction of the melodic minor follows three steps. Note that the third 3rd defines the character major or minor. Therefore, the relative minor of c major is a minor. We call scales relative if they share the same key signature. The third note of the minor scale is the first note of the relative major with. The first ten look at major scales, minor scales and basic triads whlst the remainder introduce 7th chords and major and minor pentatonic scales into the mix. Minor scales cheat sheet harmonic minor raise the 7 th scale degree melodic minor raise the 6 th and 7 th scale degree ascending, revert to. Essential music theory guides with free printables.
The three traditional forms of the minor scale are called natural, harmonic, and melodic. The chords built on the second, third, and sixth degrees of the scale are always minor chords ii, iii, and vi. The second theory is relevant to the structure of melodies, in which the minor. Get your focus back onto the fun part making music. It is for this reason that melodies informed by these scales generally arise in dominantfunction areas within chord progressions, as these are the areas most concerned with getting back to the tonic. Get these reference key cards in a single pdf file, or as image files in a zip file. Alongside the music worksheets there are twenty music theory tests with ten questionspuzzles on each sheet. The major scale which used all white notes on the piano is the c. Music theory for dummies pdf ebook simplifying theory. Its all in the intervals, and this chart shows you how. If you need staff paper, you may print the staff paper12 pdf file. Like a lot of things, theyre easy when you know how.
Understanding minor scales intermediate music theory lesson. While there is only one major scale, three different variations of the minor scale exist. How to harmonize minor scales with 7th chords learn jazz. So, the relative minor of e major is c sharp minor. A scale is a particular sequence of tones played in either ascending or descending order of pitch. Just as it did in major scales, starting the minor scale pattern on a different note will give you a. This page shows piano and treble clef diagrams of all major scales, starting from note c. Pdf small pitch movement is known to characterize sadness in speech prosody.
Its important to note that the harmonic and melodic minor are variations of the natural minor scale, and so understanding how to harmonize the natural minor scale with 7th chords is the place to start. I tend to relate this stuff back to the intervals derived from the major scale. Equivalent chords vii v7b9 the subv7 chord interpolated chord borrowed chords modulation resources and analysis bebop scale bebop. The minor scale is the scale which sounds negative it is used by composers to depict sad, melancholic or even angrydramatic moods. Which degree of this scale would you need to change, to make it into a scale of d natural minor. Music modes are different than the regular major and minor scales most students are familiar with.
Basic music theory for adult beginner level piano players. Tsttstt where t is a whole tone and s is a semitone. Major and minor scales are traditionally the basis for western music, but jazz theory also recognizes other scales, based on the medieval church modes, which are very useful for improvisation. Heres another example of the relative minor of e major. Thirteen handouts as opposed to worksheets covering some key concepts of music theory. Triad of scale patterns in music theory for the simulated nuclear detonation, see minor scale. Print pdf music theory worksheets printable music theory tests. Parallel major minor scales keys are scales that have the same tonic but different key signatures. Jul 16, 2019 there are two main methods for forming minor scales. Minor scales also have their own unique set of intervals found between the 8 pitches in the scale. Music is a very large subject, and the advanced theory that students will want to pursue after mastering the basics will vary greatly. Why do major and minor scales sound the way they do. Music notation and theory for intelligent beginners. All keys are shown, including the commonly used 12 keys of the circle of fifths diagram, and other theoretical ie.
Degrees minor triad 23 12b3456b7 82 12b34567 87 1b345b7 miadd9 24 12b3456b7 82 12b34567 87 1b345b7 mi69 25 12. However, there are in fact 3 minor scales which you will come across and can use. Click here to download the pdf with these exercises. Basic music theory for adult beginnerlevel piano players covers the subject selectively. Relative major and minor scales share the same key signature but start on different notes. To get this pattern in a different key just shift it. Covers major and minor harmonic melodic and natural in all common keys and using treble, bass, alto and tenor clefs. Parallel major and minor scales have the same starting note but different key signatures.
Scale degree name solfege 1 tonic do 2 supertonic re 3 mediant me 4 subdominant fa 5 dominant sol 6 submediant le 7 subtonic te harmonic minor scale a form of a minor scale with half steps between 23, 56. Our music theory and composition faculty have diverse backgrounds in music theory and composition. For example, if a c minor scale is needed, construct a c major scale and then alter scale degrees 3, 6, and 7 as needed. Examples of common scale types include major and minor. Because this pattern has an e as the first note this is pattern 1 of the e minor pentatonic scale and all other minor pentatonic scales. How and where to apply the scales harmonic minor scale melodic minor scale altered scale symmetric and asymmetric scales chromatic approach chord diminished chord diminished scale quartal harmony. If the known key is major, the relative minor key is built on the sixth degree of the major scale. Natural minor scale a scale that contains halfsteps between 23 and 56 scale degrees the natural form. Minor scales sound different from major scales because they are. Areas covered include major scales, minor scales, blues scales, major and minor pentatonic scales and the four main types of triad major minor augmented and diminished as well as the four diatonic 7th chords maj7, m7, 7 and m7b5 chords. Major and minor chords are defined by the root, third, and fifth of the respective major and minor scales of their letter name. Minor scales cheat sheet harmonic minor raise the 7th scale degree melodic minor raise the 6th and 7th scale degree ascending, revert to natural minor descending. Note that the third 3rd defines the character major or minor of the chord.
If you see both flats and sharps used in a tune you will most likely be playing in a minor key. List of all natural minor scales piano music theory. For minor keys, the natural, harmonic and melodic minor note names. The way i like to look at this scale is that you isolate a group of notes from the natural minor. Quickly identify related keys, scales, chords and chord progressions in any key. Jun 02, 2016 there are three kinds of minor scales. Take your time with this study and try to spell all of the minor scales in as many keys as you can. Major and minor scales contain seven notes or scale degrees. W h w w h w w a half step h is the distance between two adjacent keys on a piano keyboard, and read more. Each mode has a name, and mode names come from the greek language and from a time before major and minor as we know them were clearly defined.
If you start at the g on the 3rd fret of the low e string youll get a g major pentatonic scale. Dive into the anatomy of major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads with this guide. There are not one but three minor scales, all presented here with keyboard diagrams, notes and fingerings. Because major scales always follow the same pattern, the pattern of major and minor chords is also the same in any major key. Understand the diatonic scalemajor and minorfree pdf. If i want to get from e major to its relative minor, again i count down 3 semitones and reach c sharp. Major and minor scales may be relative or parallel. The numeral indicates the scale degree scale step of the root of the chord. Although it is significantly expanded from introduction to music theory, this course still covers only the bare essentials of music theory. Major and minor scales are traditionally the basis for western music24, but jazz theory also. Feb 28, 2021 the harmonic minor scale and melodic minor scale only depart from the natural minor scale in their ascending approach to the tonic. Have a break from practice and familiarise yourself with music theory in this quiz. For major keys, mode associated with each scale degree eg. Basic minor pentatonic scale theory rock house method.
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