Slow Burn
Smouldering slow minor blues in C — take your time and let every note cry.
Jam this track with live chords →The Minor Scale — natural, harmonic & melodic
"The minor scale" is really three closely related scales that differ only in their 6th and 7th degrees. The natural minor (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) is the default — in A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G. The harmonic and melodic variants each raise a degree to solve a specific musical problem.
Natural minor — the home base
Same notes as the relative major starting on its 6th degree (A minor = C major's notes), which is why every minor key shares a key signature with a major one. If a song is "in A minor", this is the default note pool. The minor pentatonic is this scale minus the 2 and b6.
Practice A minor on the interactive fretboard →
Harmonic minor — the raised 7th
Natural minor's problem: its v chord is minor, so V–i resolutions sound soft. Raise the 7th (G → G# in A minor) and the V chord becomes major — E7 pulling hard to Am. That raised 7th also creates the scale's signature exotic gap between b6 and 7, the flamenco-and-neoclassical sound:
Melodic minor — the smoothed ascent
Harmonic minor's b6→7 leap is awkward to sing, so melodic minor raises the 6th as well on the way up (classically, it reverts to natural minor coming down). For improvisers it's a scale in its own right — jazz players run it over minor-major and altered-dominant sounds:
Chords in a minor key
| Degree | i | ii° | bIII | iv | v | bVI | bVII |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chord (A minor) | Am | Bdim | C | Dm | Em | F | G |
In practice, songs in minor keys borrow the harmonic minor's major V (E instead of Em in A minor) exactly when they want that stronger pull home.
Natural minor in every key
| Key | 1 | 2 | b3 | 4 | 5 | b6 | b7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
| Bb | Bb | C | Db | Eb | F | Gb | Ab |
| B | B | C# | D | E | F# | G | A |
| C | C | D | Eb | F | G | Ab | Bb |
| C# | C# | D# | E | F# | G# | A | B |
| D | D | E | F | G | A | Bb | C |
| Eb | Eb | F | Gb | Ab | Bb | Cb | Db |
| E | E | F# | G | A | B | C | D |
| F | F | G | Ab | Bb | C | Db | Eb |
| F# | F# | G# | A | B | C# | D | E |
| G | G | A | Bb | C | D | Eb | F |
| Ab | Ab | Bb | Cb | Db | Eb | Fb | Gb |
Jam it over a real track
Minor keys are where most jams live. These free tracks are built on minor scales — play them here or open JamLab:
Blacksteel
Heavy drop-D metal — palm-muted riffs and double-kick, aggressive and dark.
Jam this track with live chords →