Learning the Melodic Minor Scale and How It Came About
This time, let's look at the remaining scale among the three types of minor scale we have mentioned so far: the "melodic minor scale".
People who improvise sometimes think about or memorize difficult scales by changing the root and substituting a melodic minor scale (for example, the altered scale).
It is also sometimes given other names to distinguish it from its classical usage.
Here, as when we learned the harmonic minor scale, we will focus our explanation on why there are as many as three types.
First, let's summarize the key points of what we have covered so far.
*The important point here is to analyze modern songs while understanding that the minor scales "came about in this order because each had its own problems".
(All of the minor scales are still used today and each has its own advantages; none of them is the best.)
The Naturally Occurring Natural Minor Scale
First, we learned the natural minor scale.
In Japanese, the (natural) minor scale is called the (shizenteki) tan-onkai, literally the "natural" minor scale.
Like the major scale, you can think of it as having been born "naturally" out of human perception.
Then, when we built the diatonic chords, there was no leading tone, so the chords built on the dominant were as follows (see Lessons 49-52).
*The chord built on the 5th degree does not contain the "leading tone" as a triad, and in addition has no tritone as a four-note chord (because it is an m7 chord)
Of course, returning from V to I gives a certain sense of cadence, but compared with major, it gave the impression of a weak cadence.
- Tm → Dm → Tm / Im → Vm → Im, Cm → Gm → Cm
- Tm → SDm → Dm → Tm / Cm → Fm7 → Gm7 → Cm
*These are sometimes written using only T, SD (S) and D.
Developing into the Harmonic Minor Scale
Next, we learned the harmonic minor scale.
In Japanese, the (harmonic) minor scale is called the (waseiteki) tan-onkai, literally the "harmonic" minor scale.
"Being conscious of function (functional harmony), the 'harmonic' sense of cadence becomes stronger": this point is said to be the origin of the name of the artificially created (harmonic) minor scale.
If you change the natural minor scale's subtonic (♭7) to the leading tone (7) as in the image above and build the diatonic chords, various new chords appear, and the chords built on the dominant become as follows.
As with major, you get a V containing the leading tone as a triad, and a V7 containing the leading tone and the tritone as a four-note chord, giving the minor key the persuasiveness (a strong sense of resolution) that we couldn't get with natural minor.
- Tm → D → Tm / Im → V → Im, Cm → G → Cm
- Tm → D → Tm / Im → V7 → Im, Cm → G7 → Cm
However, while playing the scale in order as below didn't sound strange,
if you highlight the augmented interval (augmented 2nd) between the ♭6 and 7 of harmonic minor...
it gives a Middle Eastern impression, which was not considered a very good movement in general Western music.
The Arrival of the Melodic Minor Scale
Now let's look again at the name "melodic minor."
You may have already noticed, but "melodic" means "relating to melody" or "tuneful".
It becomes easier to grasp if you think of it in terms of this "melodic" image.
In Japanese, as the name suggests, it is written as "senritsuteki tan-onkai" (melodic minor scale).
Let's change the interval between ♭6 and 7 (augmented 2nd) of the harmonic minor scale as shown in the image below.
By doing this, the scale contains the leading tone, and the awkward-sounding interval is also resolved.
When you build the diatonic chords from this scale as well, chords we haven't introduced yet appear, but the chords built on the dominant are a V containing the leading tone as a triad and a V7 containing the leading tone and the tritone as a four-note chord.
*For minor scales, it is often said that "the ascending form is melodic minor and the descending form is natural minor."
The reasons given are that when descending a scale, the seventh degree does not need to be a leading tone, and that when descending, the minor feel is hard to recognize until the third degree appears.
You could also say that the big difference between major-type and minor-type scales is "whether the third degree is 3 or ♭3."
Let's remember this as well.
Finally, let's assign numbers to these three minor scales.
- Natural minor scale
1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 (8) - Harmonic minor scale
1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 (8) - Melodic minor scale
1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 (8)
When analyzing songs, it's a good idea to look at these differences and how they are used.
Please also refer to the video below, especially from 4:58.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What are the differences between the natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor scales?
Natural minor (1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7) is the naturally occurring minor scale; harmonic minor (1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7) is characterized by a seventh degree that is a leading tone and a strong sense of cadence; and melodic minor (1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7) resolves the augmented 2nd interval and prioritizes melodic beauty.
Q2. Why was the melodic minor scale created?
The augmented 2nd interval between ♭6 and 7 in the harmonic minor scale sounded unnatural in Western music, so the melodic minor scale was created by raising the sixth degree a half step to remove that awkwardness and make the scale more melodic and beautiful.
Q3. How is the melodic minor scale used in improvisation?
Improvisers sometimes change the root and substitute a melodic minor scale, especially to handle complex scale theory such as the altered scale more simply.
Q4. Why is there a rule that "the ascending form is melodic minor and the descending form is natural minor"?
When descending a scale, the leading tone is less necessary, and the minor feel is unclear until the third degree appears, so descending with the natural minor scale creates a more musically natural flow.
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