Lesson 27: Natural Minor Scale
This lesson teaches the
natural minor scale, the
2nd-most-important scale (after the major scale) and the basis for many songs.
Before taking this lesson, you should know:
You can make a
natural minor scale by starting with a
major
scale and
lowering degrees 3, 6, and 7 a half-step. In other words,
the formula is:
Natural minor scale: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 8
Here are the pitches in the
common natural minor scales:
| 1 |
2 |
♭3 |
4 |
5 |
♭6 |
♭7 |
8 |
| A | B | C | D |
E | F | G | A |
| B♭ | C | D♭ |
E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ |
B♭ |
| B | C♯ | D |
E | F♯ | G | A | B |
| C | D | E♭ |
F | G | A♭ | B♭ | C |
| C♯ | D♯ | E |
F♯ | G♯ | A | B | C♯ |
| D | E | F | G |
A | B♭ | C | D |
| D♯ | E♯ |
F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B |
C♯ | D♯ |
| E♭ | F | G♭ |
A♭ | B♭ | C♭ | D♭ |
E♭ |
| E | F♯ | G |
A | B | C | D | E |
| F | G | A♭ |
B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F |
| F♯ | G♯ | A |
B | C♯ | D | E | F♯ |
| G | A | B♭ |
C | D | E♭ | F | G |
| G♯ | A♯ |
B | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ |
G♯ |
Relative Major & Minor
For each
natural minor scale, there is one particular
major scale that uses the
exact same 7 pitches (although the 2
scales don't
start on the same pitch), and vice versa. That minor scale
is called the major scale's
relative minor, and that major scale is
called the minor scale's
relative major; together they make a
relative major/minor pair.
For example, the
D major scale and the
B natural minor scale are
a relative major/minor pair. The following chart shows how they use the same
pitches:
| D major: | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | B |
C♯ | D | E | F♯ |
G | A | B | C♯ | D |
| B natural minor: | 1 |
2 | ♭3 | 4 | 5 |
♭6 | ♭7 | 8 | | |
The relative major and minor scales are important because:
-
They are closely related musically; listeners hear them as
"substitutes" for each other. For example, a song in a major key will
sometimes shift into its relative minor key for a section of the
song.
-
They help for remembering the minor scales. If you need to find a
minor scale, and you know its relative major scale, then the pitches in the
natural minor scale are the same pitches.
Finding the relative majors and minors from each other:
-
Starting with a major scale, go down two scale degrees to find
its relative minor. For example: Start with the D major scale.
Go down two scale degrees: D - C♯ - B. The relative minor
scale is B minor.
-
Starting with a minor scale, go up two scale degrees to find
its relative major. For example: Start with the B minor scale.
Go up two scale degrees: B - C♯ - D. The relative major scale
is D major.
These are the
common relative major/minor pairs:
| C major | A minor |
| D♭ major | B♭ minor |
| D major | B minor |
| E♭ major | C minor |
| E major | C♯ minor |
| F major | D minor |
| F♯ major | D♯ minor |
| G♭ major | E♭ minor |
| G major | E minor |
| A♭ major | F minor |
| A major | F♯ minor |
| B♭ major | G minor |
| B major | G♯ minor |
|
Next:
Once you
understand the natural minor scale, you should
practice
it, in
Lesson 28: Natural Minor Games.
