You can get to the 6th step of any major scale by either going up six steps from the root or down two steps. The major scale is the most important scale in western music. How do i change a major scale to a natural minor scale. With this pattern you can work out the natural minor scale starting on any note of the piano. And is probably the most difficult to learn and master. From then on, click on the points and corners of the areas and dimensions. The c major scale is based on a seriesof whole steps and half steps,specifically, whole, whole, half,whole, whole, whole, half. You can make a major and a minor scale starting with any note on the piano. Just as it did in major scales, starting the minor scale pattern on a different. Quickscale is for taking measurements and areas off pdf and dwg drawings. The difference between these two scales is the pattern of whole and halfsteps that you use to build them. Melodic minor scale is really similar to the harmonic minor scale. High resolution sheet music free scales major minor harmonic.
So this gives us 3 different patterns as compared with the 1 pattern of the major scale. Worksheet 11 a flat major scale worksheet 12 a harmonic minor scale worksheet e harmonic minor scale worksheet 14 d harmonic minor scale worksheet 15 test your knowledge 1 quiz worksheet 16 test your knowledge 2 quiz key signatures and scales by beatrice wilder. On the guitar, we have different options, as the same note exists on different strings unlike the piano keyboard, on which the notes. All major scales illustrated with pictures including notes and fingerings.
If you have a major scale that you want to make harmonic minor, lower by a half step just the 3rd and the 6th scale degrees. The 3 types of minor scales in music musicnotes now. The numerical name for a scale degree comes from its position in the order of the scale from low to high. Each scale includes the notes, diatonic triads within in the key, and the relative minor. 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. There are many things to know if you want to master lead guitar and soloing, but this introduction lesson should have given you the basics for exploring more advanced topics, such as alternate picking, guitar scales. In the last article i covered blues rock and how to mix the dorian scale which is still the old minor major scale with a new name. I also say minor key, because the major scale pattern covers the natural minor scale the most commonly used minor key scale from which minor pentatonic is also derived. The rules rule no 1 the names of the notes of a major or minor scale follow the strict alphabetic sequence if the first note of a scale is an a then it follows that the second will be a b note, the third a c note and so on rule no 2. 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. When compared to the major scale which sounds happy, the minor scale is sad, frail and delicate sounding. Understanding the pentatonic scalemajor and minorfree pdf. A natural minor scale can also be constructed by altering a major scale with accidentals.
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. Understanding minor scales pdf tutorial guitarlessons365. Free guitar scales pdf 84 scale and arpeggios chart. An easy way to start improvising on the piano is to play major scales together with the chords that use the same notes.
In a major scale the 3rd, and 4th note are close together mifa, as well as the 7th, and 8th note tido. Major and minor scales, modals, diminished, triads and seventh arpeggios, exotic scales, and much more. All you need is the scale of the drawing andor one reference measurement. We will begin by improvising melodies using only the black notes of the piano. The roman numeral will be in upper case if the chord is a major chord ie. Translating to sharp, when the note needs to be raised by one semitone. Where to go next we have just scratched the surface of the marvelous world of guitar scales. The a minor pentatonic scale contains exactly the same notes as the c major pentatonic, were just starting from a different place. Particularly the minor pentatonic scale and how it overlaps notes in its parent major key.
Draw up a chart with the notes of every major scale and relative minor scale. The blues scale minor pentatonic and the major pentatonic scales on the guitar. The 7th creates a pull back to the root note and can be used to create tension. Mar 20, 2017 instant access to the 17 page pdf filled with scales 7 tips. This scale is the only minor scale with 1 12 steps between the 6th and 7th degree, giving this scale a unique feel and sound. They are three notes per string scales and include the expanded lefthand fingering. Every scale has seven degrees, because there are seven different notes. Mandolin scales on pdf if youre interested in mandolin scales, arpeggios and so on i can suggest this ebook. This pdf worksheet includes a picture of a keyboard next to each scale so students can color in the notes of each scale and see the visual pat.
The 3rd decides whether the scale is major or minor. The minor scale starts from the sixth note of the major scale. The information here is presented as a reference, if you want to crack into using it then i recommend my master the major scale. For instance, since the 6th degree of f major is d, the relative minor of f major is d minor relationship to parallel major. We always use the ascending scale to work out the degrees of a scale. For example, in c major, the second note in the scale is d, so we can say that d is the 2nd degree of the scale of c major.
The minor pentatonic scale is made from the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th notes from the minor scale for a given key the major pentatonic scale is made from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th notes from the major scale for a given key the 6th and final note in the diagram is the octave note, named the same as the tonic note, and is the note where the scale starts repeating all the way up the. You can print out some or all of it, slap it in a 3ring. After locating the relative major scale, you now know the 7 notes in you natural minor scale. Minor keys and scales introduction to music theory openstax cnx. Whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step. If you need staff paper, you may print the staff paper pdf file. Feb 09, 2018 if i played through the major and minor scales, you would notice that the major scale sounds brighter or happier, while the minor scale is darker or sadder. Check bellow the drawing of a harmonic minor scale the seventh degree is highlighted in red. Here is the tab and a scale diagram for the third shape starting with your pinky. Download the tab for the third major scale shape here. Jul 20, 2010 the diatonic major scale has seven notes, there are seven modes or scales within the diatonic scale. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes.
Harmonic minor is, as the name suggests, a minor scale. Jan 12, 2009 to get a natural minor scale from a major scale, lower by a half step the 3rd, 6th, and 7th scale degrees. Even if this pattern is right, its also inefficient as we have to move our hand up and down the neck the get the note. Several chords change accordingly if scale degree 7 is raised to.
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. Download the tab for the second major scale shape here. Scale major 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 fullth pattern root note a guitar tuning. For most major and minor key music, the major scale is the most important of the three patterns. Difference between major and minor scales compare the. Key signatures scales, keys, and intervals coursera. Relative keys are any major scale and natural minor scale that share a key signature. Therefore, a tetrachord consisting of wwh can be the top tetrachord or the bottom tetrachord of a major scale. Use this list alongside the circle of fifths to help yourself understand and memorize scales and their relationships with one another. The major scale is very important to learn,as most music is based on the major scale,and even minor scales and all the other scalesreference the major scale. Minor pentatonic shapes guitar scale overlapping life. 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. For example, the c major scale comes from the key of c major and the a minor scale comes from the key of a minor. With a goal of reducing this distance, it was added an intermediate note to approximate the sixth degree from the seventh.
So play a major scale, but instead of starting on the first note of the major scale, start on the 6th. That means that you are not limited to just starting these scales on the 5th fret. Every major scale, regardless of key, has the same intervallic structure, 2212221. E d g b e a pentaton c minor scale box 1 glitarsik. Major scales have major 3rds whereas minor scales have minor 3rds. This seventh major degree in the harmonic minor scale increased the distance between 6 and 7 degrees, shortening the distance between 7 and 8 degrees. Learning the harmonic minor scale simplifying theory. The natural minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale, but lowers the 3rd, 6th and 7th steps. For example, gabc can be the bottom tetrachord of the g major scale or the top tetrachord of the c major scale. Now we come to the tricky question of what is minor. The guitar major scale is happy upbeat and useful in a variety of styles of music. The blues scale minor pentatonic and the major pentatonic. The scales featured in this cheatsheet are all natural minor scales, but.
On the diagrams above we have just seen a scale pattern with all the notes on one single string. The natural minor scale is the naturally occurring diatonic scale with no altered scale degrees or added accidentals. Using the c major scale as an example of a parent scale. Remember, if youre looking at a major scale, lower scale degrees 3, 6, and 7 to get the minor scale. Because of this, the key of a minor is called the relative minor of c major. If you play a cmajor scale say using the 5thstring root chart for a cmajor scale, which means it would start on the 3rdfret the ddorian scale could be played exactly like the cmajor scale same hand position but youd just start on the 2nd note of the cscale d, and go from d to d, rather than c to c. Minor scales also have their own unique set of intervals found between the 8 pitches in the scale. When you hear a sad love song, chances are, it is written in the minor key. What is the difference between major and minor scale. It forms the foundation for all music theory and is also very practical and can be used creatively easily, thought learning to use reactive listening will help you use it musically. One of my readers, tim, sent me an email right after that lesson went live and asked about the same concept using minor pentatonic scales so like i always. Free pentatonic scales tutorial pentatonic guitar scales. This is easier to do looking at a violin, or a piano.
The three types of minor scales and how to form them. This week im going to revisit the pentatonic scale. With a goal of reducing this distance, it was added an intermediate note to. The root notes in this case a, are shown by the black dots, the other notes in the scale are shown by the red dots. Coming from engineering cum human resource development background, has over 10 years experience in content developmet and management. In a minor scale, a triad built on scale degree 1 is minor, on scale degree 2 diminished, scale degree 3 major, scale degree 4 minor, scale degree 5 minor, scale degree 6 major, and scale degree 7 major. A natural minor d natural minor 36 minor scales unlike the major scale, there are 3 types of minor scale. Calibrate the pdf by clicking on either end of a known measurement and type in the distance, this will scale the drawing. Music modes are different than the regular major and minor scales most students are familiar with. Second, the sharps and flats always are placed in the order they appear as we add sharps to major scales. I didnt get on with the major pentatonic until quite late and many find it considerably harder to use than its minor. Seeing the shapes and patterns of how major scales are built allows them to internalize and memorize them better.
The major scale or ionian scale is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in western music. Minor scales and keys conjure feelings of sorrow or tension. Its available on a pc or mac and there is a ipad, iphone and android app ready to go. Michael young december 12, at so, by no means was this the first set of scales to be published for the classical guitar. When a scale is called a mode, its in reference to its parent scale. Below is a detail from the major and minor scale handout that you can get by clicking the text above. There are two tetrachords in the major scale, each with the same order half and wholesteps wwh. It illustrates the similarities and the differences between major and minor scales that the minor scale can be regarded as a major scale with lowered third, sixth and seventh notes why learn about major scales. The third note of the minor scale is the first note of the relative major with the same key signature. The minor pentatonic scale is one of the greatestscales used for soloing on a lot of differentstyles of music and certainly for the blues. The pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used in all styles of music. The word pentatonic obviously it has five notesto it, penta being the greek word for five.
Every major key has a relative minor, which starts on the 6th scale degree or step. Heres a list of all major scales in order of fifths. So, the c major scale and the a minor scale share the. When we switched to d minor we now have ef the 2nd and 3rd note close, as well as abb the 5th and 6th note close together. Minor scales have a different pattern than major, but all minor scale patterns are the same. C major and a minor are relative keys sharing a key signature with no flats or sharps. Today we are going to give a little push to that minor scale. Each scale has a different use and application in jazz piano. Then after you have your natural minor scale, all you have to do to get the b harmonic minor is raise the 7th scale degree one halfstep. It is formed from the 6th degree of the major scale, so if you took the time to really learn the major scale across the fretboard, you are half way in knowing the minor scale already. Learning the melodic minor scale simplifying theory. The specific notes that are close together is what makes the major scale pattern. Draw a line to match the major pentatonic to its relative minor pentatonic.
So if you had a bb major scale that you wanted to make into bb minor. List of all major scales with notes, diatonic triads. You will learn pentatonic scale, pentatonic blues scale and technical exercises to develop guitar licks and speed. The 6th note of any major scale is the root of the relative minor scale. Relative major and minor scales share the same key signatures. The natural minor scale is just your old minor major scale, used over a minor chord progression. Learn the major and minor pentatonic scales, their patterns, when to use them, and why theyre the scale shortcut.
Link to pdf file with all 5 positions of the guitar major pentatonic scale. The two scales you use most frequently when you play the piano and the most famous scales in western music are the major and the minor scales. Every major and minor scale corresponds with a key of the same name. To simplify, we can still say that we have only 12 minor scales, but with altered notes on. If you know the intervallic structure of a scale, any scale, you can create it in any key. If you need staff paper, you may print the staff paper12 pdf file. The melodic minor scale is different on the way up the scale than on the way down the scale. For every major scale there is a related minor scale. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdffile. Major scale in music, major scales, minor scale in music, minor scales. Link to guitar pro file of tab for the guitar major pentatonic scale. Free printable guitar scales 14 most commonly used scales. It also covers another common minor scale mode dorian.
For the most part, scales with a major 3rd have a major 7th and scales with a minor 3rd have a minor 7th b7th. Scales with a 3rd or major 3rd are major, while scales with a b3rd or minor 3rd are minor. To build this scale, just grab a minor scale and raise the 7th degree. In case you missed it, last week i did a lesson on guitar modal scales and how they overlap. Remember, if youre looking at a major scale, lower scale degrees 3, 6, and 7 to get the min. The major pentatonic is confusing for some because visually the scale patterns looks the same as the minor pentatonic but the notes function in a very different way so youre best thinking of it as a completely different scale. These notes create a pentatonic 5note scale that is easy to see, and can be. G major scale scale shape 41 g major scale the following extended major scales are derived from major scale shapes nos. Its essential to just really get under your fingersand understand how to use this powerful scale. The natural minor scale starts on the 6th degree of the major scale and is also known as the aeolian mode. Going up, the 3rd scale degree is flat, but the rest is like a major scale, and going down it is the same as a natural minor scale. When we are dealing strictly with major scales we really only have one scale to draw our notes and melodies from. It belongs to what id call the minor universe as well as dorian, phrygian, etc.
Make sure when you spell the natural minor scale you start on the b note. The term modal scales is applied to a group of scales commonly used in pop and jazz music. Although various hemitonic pentatonic scales might be called minor, the term is most commonly applied to the relative minor pentatonic scale, derived as a mode of the major pentatonic scale, using scale tones 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the natural minor scale. More than 44 exercises to develop speed and accuracy with pdf attachments. Go to the 6th step of the major scale and build an 8 note scale in that key. The minor scale aka aeolian mode should be the second scale you learn.
Free trumpet scales pdf file this is an online free download of sheet music. Guitar scales printable charts of the most commonly used scales. The key difference between major and minor scaes is that notes on a major scale sound bright and cheerful, while notes on a minor scale sound solemn and sad. For example, it is common to see something like chord iv of the major scale meaning the 4th chord of the major scale. You can usually identify this in popular songs on radio. Chapter 6 major scales and key signatures 111 scale degrees and solfege because there are seven different notes in a major scale, there are seven scale degrees. The same scale used in a different context lets get one thing straight.
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