music theory basics

Proceeding on the assumption that you already know how to determine major keys and scale degrees, minor keys are actually rather simple. The sixth scale degree of any major key will be the minor key that uses the same key signature. Keys that share a key signature like this are said to be "relative" major and minor keys. If you are going the other direction, trying to find the relative major of a given minor key, you simply go up a minor third. For instance, if you wanted to play something in a minor, but didn't know the key signature, you would simply figure out what note is a minor third above a. Since c is a minor third above a, the key signature for a minor is the same as the key signature for C major, no sharps or flats. Now go through all of the major keys and write out the names of their relative minors. When you are finished click here to check your answers.

Natural Minor

There are 3 commonly accepted forms of the minor scale with which you should be familiar. The first, and easiest to figure out, is natural minor. This, like the major scale, is just playing from tonic to tonic within the key signature. The pattern of half and whole steps for a natural minor scale is shown in the following chart.

	-		^		-		-		^		-		-
1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8

Harmonic Minor

Because the leading tone is such an important part of what defines the key in the tonal system a way had to be found to maintain that in minor keys. (Notice the whole step between the seventh and eight scale degrees in the chart above. Remember, 8 is just tonic an octave higher.) It became common practice to raise the leading tone (seventh scale degree) in order to maintain the quality of the dominant chord, but to leave the sub-mediant (6) where it was because it provides much of the color of the minor mode. This created an augmented second between the sixth and seventh scale degrees. This is known as the harmonic minor scale. The pattern of half and whole steps (and one augmented second) is shown below.

	-		^		-		-		^		A2		^
1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8

Melodic Minor

The final form of the minor scale, the melodic minor, is designed to eliminate that ugly augmented second, while preserving the feel of the minor mode. In the ascending melodic minor scale the 6th and 7th scale degrees are both raised. The top half of this scale is now exactly like the top half of a major scale. Both of the accidentals are removed from the descending melodic minor, making it exactly the same as the descending natural minor. You may have heard this phrased this way. "Raise 6 and 7 going up, and lower them coming down." Actually what you're doing on the descending scale is simply not raising them, but if you want to think of them as lowered relative to the ascending scale, that's all-right. The pattern of half and whole steps for the entire scale (ascending and descending) is shown below.

	-		^		-		-		-		-		^				-		-		^		-		-		^		-
1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		8		7		6		5		4		3		2		1

All three forms of the minor scale actually appear in music, so you should practice all of them. It is also good mental exercise, making you more aware of where you are in the key as you play. Having sat on both sides of numerous auditions and juries that included scales I would also like to offer one piece of advice. A clean, steady, one octave scale in quarter notes with no mistakes is much more impressive than a three octave scale in sixteenth notes that is filled with mistakes. Yes, we do want to hear the extra octaves and the speed, but first it has to be right or it isn't a scale.

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