The a minor scale include exactly the same notes as the c major scale which makes them relative keys read more about this further down the page. Each minor scale has a di erent use and application in jazz piano and so learning how to construct and apply each one is an important skill. Download our piano scale finger charts for the major scale, harmonic minor scale and more. Join pianogroove pro to access all downloads and learning resources. Includes fingering annotation and typeset in latex, exported in pdf. Ive already taught using a brilliant scaleteaching aid from natalie wickham. Heres a diagram of the melodic c minor scale on piano. The minor scales with sharps in their key signatures are first. Natural minor scales sheet music for piano download free. The lesson could not be displayed because javascript is disabled. There are also harmonic minor and melodic minor scales. All keys are shown, including the commonly used 12 keys of the circle of fifths diagram, and other theoretical ie. Download free piano sheet music for major, minor harmonic, and minor.
In other words, they are all versions of a minor scale, with slight but significant differences among each. The natural minor scale is often referred to simply as the minor scale. The most common scales when playing the piano, are major and minor scales. When you go up the scale, you are using the melodic minor scale, but when you go down the scale. As done previously, complete the six scales below turning them into the harmonic version. You can learn how to form other melodic and harmonic minor scales at our. The melodic minor scale uses the same keys as the parallel major scale, but lowers the 3rd when ascending going up and lowers both the 7th, 6th and third going down. Each type of scale sounds totally different, and feature notes that are arranged in different ways. In this lesson, im going to use the three basic kinds of minor scales.
It can be thought of as a natural minor scale with a raised 7 scale degree. Every scale determines a key,that is an harmonic combunation of tones based on that scale. 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. Natural, harmonic and melodic forms about minor scales. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdffile. Learning all 15 natural minor scales on piano may initially seem like another daunting challenge, especially. To create a natural minor scale, start on the tonic note10 and go up the scale.
Minor scales are built on the 6th scale degree of a major scale. This page shows piano and treble clef diagrams of all minor scales, starting from note c. All minor scales illustrated with pictures including notes and fingerings. The melodic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale by the sixth and seventh notes, which are raised a semistep. Natural minor scales, which are also called aeolian modes, are the most common form of minor scales found in. All scales are made with a specific pattern of whole steps tones and half steps semitones. Learn the natural minor scale for piano in every key.
Natural, harmonic, and melodic forms margaret denton, piano minor scales. How to harmonize minor scales with 7th chords learn jazz. The main scales of western music are major and minor scales. The minor pentatonic scale consists of the same 5 notes of the major pentatonic. The natural minor scale is the naturally occurring diatonic scale with no altered scale degrees or added accidentals. These additional types of minor scales are used when composers wish to utilize minor keys in a melody and in a harmony.
How many musical scales are there the complete guide. Natural, harmonic, and melodic minor music theory online. Remember that the harmonic version is a natural minor scale with a raised 7th degree. List of all natural minor scales piano music theory.
The 3 types of minor scales in music musicnotes now. The natural minor scale has the following scale formula. Theres three types of minor scales not only for the piano but also all of music. Make sure when you spell the natural minor scale you start on the b note.
In classical theory, the ascending melodic minor scale contains a major 6th and major 7th and descending it contains a minor 6th and minor 7th so it is identical to the natural minor scale when. Natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales. A minor scale a b c d e f g a ww e minor scale e f. From each key on the piano you can start either a major or a minor scale. You can play this sequence of steps beginning on any note, and youll have a natural minor scale. Free printable pdf downloads with notes and fingerings for scales in every key. This scale can sometimes confuse people because it is in a way identical to the major scale. To raise a note 12 step there are three different methods. 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. Each scale has a different use and application in jazz piano.
W h w w h w w a half step h is the distance between two adjacent keys on a piano keyboard, and. Remember that for the melodic minor scale, when descending, you play the natural minor scale. If youve studied classical piano before, you may remember that the melodic minor scale is different depending on the direction you play it. Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. They are written first as a natural minor scale and second as a harmonic minor scale. It is called the harmonic minor sclae since the seventh scale degree is changed to make the harmony ivi sound correct.
We call scales relative if they share the same key signature. Of the three types of minor scales, the natural minor is the easiest to understand. This is the least used of the minor scales, so if its a little confusing, dont worry too much. The only difference between these two is that the 7th note from the harmonic minor is raised a half step semitone making an augmented second a whole and a half step wh between. All 12 major scales share the same pattern of whole and half steps between the notes. This scale is also some kind of peculiar since it is sometimes played differently ascending and descending. How to form natural minor scales on piano or keyboard youtube 10 tricks to get an awesome piano technique how to practice piano scales duration. Advanced students may choose to use the pdf fingering chart that lists the fingerings to all 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. Harmonic minor scale and chords, natural and melodic minor. Free major and minor scales for piano sheet music dion moults. Harmonic minor scales the notes of the harmonic minor scale are almost the same as the notes from the natural minor scale. Contrary to the major scale, there are not one but three minor scales, which all will be presented here.
This resource is provided to accompany my online course, basic music theory. The minor pentatonic uses the 1st, minor 3rd, 4th, 5th and minor 7th notes of a major scale or 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th of the natural minor scale. Piano fingering chart washington state music teachers association. Jazz piano improvisation minor scales inside piano. Natural minor in order to create a natural minor scale, we simply start with the major scale and lower the 3rd, 6th, and 7th scale degrees by a halfstep. Here are all the minor scales and their key signatures.
The minor scale sequence is whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. The natural minor scale is easy to compare with the major scale when using scale degrees. Harmonic minor natural minor is only one of the three types of minor scales. By far, the standard book of technique exercises is hanon the virtuoso pianist. Single octave natural minor scales with fingerings for piano.
For a scale to be in the natural minor, scale degrees 3, 6, and 7 will all be played at a semitone lower than they would be in the major scale. Scale and arpeggio fingering chart for piano major and minor scales and arpeggios two octaves chromatic scale c major ascending. Its important to note that the harmonic and melodic minor are variations of the natural minor scale, and so understanding how to harmonize the natural minor scale with 7th chords is the place to start. The harmonic minor scale has a raised 7th scale degree compared to the natural 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. Translating to sharp, when the note needs to be raised by one semitone. The minor scales the scales on this article are written on gm to be consistent with the video tutorial. The 7th scale degree is raised to have a leading tone in the key. Please scroll down the page for the download links. Natural, harmonic, and melodic minor are simply various forms of the minor scale.
Harmonic minor scale fingerings pdf best piano tips. The piano teaching aids that make learning of the piano enjoyable for both teacher and student. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. About minor scales starting on white keys starting on black keys c minor c minor d minor e. Instructions on music fundamentals kindle edition by palmer, willard a. These are the standardized fingerings accepted by most universities.
Natural, harmonic, and melodic forms margaret denton, piano. Playing scales on piano has the added benefit of encouraging visual memory. Start with the natural minor, because it is the easiest to learn and remember, and its also the most common minor scale used in popular music. If you need staff paper, you may print the staff paper12 pdf file. If youre using your laptop in the studio, just resize one of the diagrams so that the scale youre teaching fills the the screen, then put the laptop on top of the piano. Scale fingering chart for advanced pianists arpeggios fingering chart for advanced.
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