This article shows you how to play over 60 different scale patterns. A scale degree is designated by an arabic numeral with a cap which indicate the position of the note within the scale. Relative minor, natural, melodic, harmonic scale tutorial minor scales provide a change in scenery from their major counterparts, however they are related in more ways than you might think. Bair, jeff, cyclic patterns in john coltranes melodic vocabulary as influenced by nicolas slonimskys thesaurus of scales and melodic patterns. Here is an overview of the melodic minor scale in the key of c, using the 3 notes per string. In this episode i discuss how to construct, play and use the pentatonic scales from the melodic minor. The solution below shows the a melodic minor scale notes, intervals and scale degrees on the piano, treble clef and bass clef the lesson steps then describe how to identify the a melodic minor scale note interval positions, choose the note names and scale degree names for a quick summary of this topic, have a look at melodic minor scale. As you can see bellow this is valid only when playing the melodic minor scale upward. There are also harmonic minor and melodic minor scales. Using the same pattern of notes, we can make the natural minor scales in e and d. Natural, harmonic, and melodic minor music theory online. Welcome back to our jazz guitar toolbox series, which covers the essential tools every jazz guitarist should know. This post were going to be discussing three minor scales.
As you can see in the scale above, each note of the major scale is given a number a scale degree which represents its placement or order within the scale. In music theory, the term minor scale refers to three scale patterns the natural minor scale or aeolian mode, the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale ascending or descending rather than just one as with the major scale. Since the natural minor key is itself on the circle of 5ths g minor on circle of 5ths, this means that this is a commonly used melodic minor scale key. However, keep in mind that they return to the natural minor when going down the. In this lesson we explore general improv concepts such as. The melodic minor descending scale is the same as the natural minor scale. 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. In the traditional sense, melodic minor has an ascending form and a descending form, meaning that the notes in the scale changed based on whether you are playing up the scale or down the scale. Thesaurus of scales and melodic patterns by nicolas slonimsky. Natural minor is only one of the three types of minor scales.
First, ill play a natural minorand then follow it with a harmonic minor. With a goal of reducing this distance, it was added an intermediate note to. In each of these scales, the first, third, and fifth scale degrees form a minor triad rather than. The melodic minor scale is one of the most useful scales in jazz. For each scale, you can learn a number of different shapes and patterns, depending on the zone of the fretboard youre working on.
Picking should be alternate picking the whole way through. The melodic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale by the sixth and seventh notes, which are raised a semistep. When first exploring melodic minor concepts in your studies, tackling the first mode, the melodic minor scale itself, is the best place to begin. The 5 minor pentatonic scale patterns learning to play the. A scale is a stepwise arrangement of notespitches contained within an octave. Work this pattern in other keys, as well as use it in your solos to hear. In this lesson, you will learn what the melodic minor modes are, how they look on the guitar and how you can use them in your solos. The melodic minor scale guitar lesson, diagrams, theory. There arent tunes written in the key of c melodic minor, where chords derived from the native scale are used. In other words, they are all versions of a minor scale, with slight but significant differences among each. Just as it did in major scales, starting the minor scale pattern on a different note will give you a. Super locrian is often used in jazz over an altered dominant chord b9. Melodies in minor keys often use this particular pattern of accidentals, so instrumentalists find it useful to practice melodic minor scales.
Guitar scales and modes explained easy shapes, licks, and. And since it is something we are very familiar with and we can use this to change it a bit and use it for other chord sounds like altered dominants or other melodic minor sounds. Since the natural minor key is itself on the circle of 5ths g minor on circle of 5ths, this means that this is a. It is important to remember that the harmonic and melodic minor scales are only altered minor scales. This scale is also some kind of peculiar since it is sometimes played differently ascending and descending. These sequences will initially be given around the first position of the major scale before being applied to the other major scale shapes and different types of scales. In this lick, youll use a rhythm pattern to work your way through the scale. A melodic natural minor descending m a m fingerings not frets the following scale shape when ascending is different from when descending. Heres a pattern that you can use to elevate your technique and understanding of the third mode of melodic minor.
As you probably know already from my guide on the modes of the major scale, the 6th mode of the major scale is always the natural minor scale, or the. Minor pentatonic pattern 1 the minor pentatonic scale has 5 patterns along the guitar neck that act as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and provide a fret board path of what notes to play in a song or key. Jan 22, 2019 scale patterns are an essential guitar technique that builds chops, expands fretboard knowledge, and gives you inspiration in your guitar solos. Like if we take c major scale, then the chords are c dm em f g am bm. We already studied the harmonic minor scale and we saw that it has a long distance between 6 and 7 degrees one and a half tone. I have been playing guitar for some time now and knew only major and minor scales never. Most guitar players learn pattern 1 first as its an easy pattern to learn.
This type of minor scale is called melodic because is it easier to sing. Heres a free guitar scales pdf ebook 22 pages with plenty of scales and arpeggios patterns. Here is an overview of the melodic minor in the key of c, using the caged system. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdffile. Mar 16, 2012 this post were going to be discussing three minor scales. Pdf thesaurus of scales and melodic patterns by nicolas. This melodic sequences on guitar lesson teaches you the important scale patterns that build fluency and melodic vocabulary on the guitar. Natural, harmonic, and melodic minor are simply various forms of the minor scale.
In other words, one wont really see a tune written in, say, c melodic minor that starts on the i chord, then goes to the v chord, then to the iv and so on. The pdf for this lesson is available through patreon in the patreon fb group. Plus, understand the theory, how to practice it, and what chords to use it on in your jazz guitar solos. The melodic minor scale and its modes jazz guitar online. Pentatonic scale for altered chords modern melodic minor secrets the pentatonic scale is one of the first things we learn. If you practise playing scales a lot, when you try and improvise, it is likely that your muscle memory will limit you to playing up and down the scale. If you need staff paper, you may print the staff paper12 pdf file. The ebook contains the most important scales for beginners, such as major and minor, but shows also more advanced. If you want to download a pdf of the scales then you can do so by.
Relative minor, natural, melodic, harmonic scale tutorial. Used by every major jazz guitarist in their solos to color minorfamily chords, the melodic minor. Oct 28, 2016 secrets of the melodic minor pentatonic scales. In this case, you can see the last two scale patterns combined over the a minor pentatonic scale. All the licks in this book are presented in the key of a minor so try playing them over an a minor chord and a c major chord and see what they sound like. The ascending form has half steps between 23 and 78.
The pattern that give this scale its specific flavor is. The easiest way i know to learn all 7 melodic minor scale shapes on the guitar neck, based on cycling through 3 note groups, or fragments. Raises scale degrees 6 and 7 ascending, lowers them descending notice this means that the natural minor and descending melodic minor scale are the same. We call scales relative if they share the same key signature. Though they benefit every guitarist, you might not know how to get the most out of this guitar technique in your practicing. Here are the ascending and descending patterns for the melodic minor scale starting on f. From here it continues with an a coltrane pattern that is repeated in the octave. In the melodic minor scale, the sixth and seventh notes of the. Free guitar scales pdf 84 scale and arpeggios chart. Traditionally, a scale sequence is a specific pattern of notes, usually two to four, that is repeated at various starting points within the same scale. Work this pattern in other keys, as well as use it in your solos to hear how it sounds when applied to a musical situation. The melodic minor scale is a major scale with a flat 3rd b3 and its used mostly in its modal forms of the altered scale superlocrian and the funky lydian dominan. The 5 minor pentatonic scale patterns learning to play. A melodic minor scale ascending melodic minor scales.
On the way up you need to raise each of the 6th and the 7th notes by a semitone half tone. All the modes on this page have the a root, so you can hear the difference between the scales. There is a sample lick included at the end of each. The a minor scale supplies the melodic fuel for both the harmonized triad passage and the. The harmonic minor differs from the natural minor by the sharpened seventh note, and this minor scale is consequently not played in the same. Melodic minor scale is really similar to the harmonic minor scale. Major and minor scales contain seven notes or scale degrees. This lesson covers the melodic minor scale, and builds on previous content we covered in jazz guitar toolbox 1.
The other common function for minor chords in jazz, beyond the im7 chord, is the iim7 chord. Natural, harmonic and melodic forms about minor scales. This pdf ebook method contains 25 altered jazz guitar licks with tabs, patterns. Outside of the major scale system, the melodic minor scale is the most important modal system in jazz. The melodic minor scale is an exotic sounding scale.
Cyclic patterns in john coltranes melodic vocabulary as. Melodic sequences on guitar fundamental changes music. With a goal of reducing this distance, it was added an intermediate note to approximate the sixth degree from the seventh. Making great music with melodic minor scales on piano and guitar. The harmonic minor scale is one of three minor scales.
In classical music the melodic minor scale is played going up and the natural minor scale is played going down. When trying to build tension and excitement, a scale pattern played at a fast tempo can be very effective. Learning the melodic minor scale simplifying theory. Be careful not to overuse scale patterns when improvising however, since that can result in very uninteresting solos. The second pattern is not so much a pattern as it is a melodic shape, 5, the common triad. A jazz melodic minor workout uo blogs university of oregon. Once youve mastered the licks in the written key try transposing them to all the other keys. Lets try this using a portion of our scale pattern with the sixth string root. This chord is found in countless tunes, from being entire sections in so what, to being a part of the classic ii v i progression, and everything in between. The melodic minor scale is generaly used in a different manner altogether. Furthermore, the modes of the melodic minor are used extensively in modern.
This melodic minor scale is based on the natural minor scale with the same key tonic note g natural minor scale. Melodies in minor keys often use this particular pattern of accidentals, so instrumentalists find it. I want to know what the chords are in the harmonic and the melodic minor scales. Heres a diagram of the harmonic c minor scale on piano. The resulting sounds and patterns are common in mainstream jazz, and were. Scale harmonic minor 1,2,b3,4,5,b6,7 fullth pattern root note c guitar tuning.
I made a call on the enharmonic spellings in the various keys in an. Melodic minor modes the melodic minor scale is closely related to the major scale with its natural 6 and 7. How to use the melodic minor scale jazz guitar online. Here you can see that its similar to the natural minor but has the 6th and 7th notes of the scale raised by one semitone. In the melodic minor scale, the sixth and seventh notes of the scale are each raised by one half step when going up the scale, but return to the natural minor when going down the scale. The lesson could not be displayed because javascript is disabled. It has a slightly different pattern of notes at the top of the scale which some composers have found easier to use to write melodies. Feb 19, 2012 this is where the melodic minor scale comes in handy. Memorize the g major scale and play it using alternate. Apr 06, 2016 as you can see in the scale above, each note of the major scale is given a number a scale degree which represents its placement or order within the scale.
The harmonic minor scale has a raised 7th scale degree compared to the natural minor. Pentatonic scale for altered chords modern melodic minor. What are the chords in the harmonic and melodic minor scales. This is where the melodic minor scale comes in handy. Melodic minor scale 3 notes per string jens larsen.
In the jazz idiom, the melodic minor scale can be applied to different chords. Melodic minor scale is really similar to the harmonic minor scale we already studied the harmonic minor scale and we saw that it has a long distance between 6 and 7 degrees one and a half tone. The melodic minor scale is a minor type scale sometimes referred to as minor. There are two variations of the natural minor scale.
A g minor melodic scale is g natural minor scale like g a bb c d eb f g where. The other two are the natural minor and the melodic minor. These additional types of minor scales are used when composers wish to utilize minor keys in a melody and in a harmony. Guitar scales and modes explained easy shapes, licks. Because the only difference between the melodic minor and the major scale is one note the flat 3 the scale patterns are also similar. Using melodic patterns to train your fingers to play the notes in different orders will help you get to know the scale really well. The melodic minor scales in musical notes are available in the member area. In practical music performance circles especially in the jazz world the melodic minor scale is the same whether ascending or descending.
In the melodic minor scale, the 6th and 7th notes of the natural minor scale are each raised by one half step when going up the scale. The solution below shows the a melodic minor scale notes, intervals and scale degrees on the piano, treble clef and bass clef the lesson steps then describe how to identify the a melodic minor scale note interval positions, choose the note names and scale degree names. The harmonic minor scale differs from the natural minorby a single note,which is a raised seventh degree. To get the melodic minor scale you would raise both the 6 th and 7 scales degrees up one halfstep.
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