This lesson applies to all instruments, even guitar, violin and the like; not just the piano. The piano layout given, is just for us to be able to understand the arrangement of notes better visually.
In the previous lesson, we had studied what a Natural Minor scale is. Let us now study two more types of minor scales – Harmonic and Melodic.
The formula of a Natural Minor scale is: _ T _ S _ T _ T _ S _ T _ T _ . For the Harmonic Minor, we make the 7th degree of the Natural Minor scale sharp by 1 semitone. And, for the Melodic Minor, we make both the 7th and 6th degrees of the Natural Minor scale sharp by 1 semitone each.
The formula of the Harmonic scale would be: _ T _ S _ T _ T _ S _ TS _ S _ .
Likewise, the formula of the Melodic scale would be: _ T _ S _ T _ T _ T _ T _ S _ .
Let us understand the differences using the example of A Minor, comparing the different types of minor scales.
A Natural Minor Scale
_ T _ S _ T _ T _ S _ T _ T _
A T B S C T D T E S F T G T A
A Harmonic Minor Scale
_ T _ S _ T _ T _ S _ TS _ S _
A T B S C T D T E S F TS G♯ S A
A Melodic Minor Scale
_ T _ S _ T _ T _ T _ T _ S _
A T B S C T D T E T F♯ T G♯ S A
When we use these formulas, we should understand that the rule – that says that scales having sharps should have only sharps, and scales having flats should have only flats – is relaxed. Let us take D Harmonic Minor for an example.
D Harmonic Minor Scale
_ T _ S _ T _ T _ S _ TS _ S _
D T E S F T G T A S B♭ TS C♯ S D
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