More minor scales

The minor scale (also called the natural minor or relative minor scale) perfectly outlines the minor
chord, and is used for darker sounding melodies. But the chords produced by the minor scale (in
particular the V minor chord) don’t strongly resolve to the I minor chord. To strengthen this
resolution the ¨7th scale degree is raised to a major 7. This new scale (the harmonic minor) now
gives us a dominant V chord which has a strong harmonic pull back to the I minor chord. Ok, so the
harmony (chords) have been fixed, but the new scale has a minor 3rd interval in it, which can make
it hard to create melodies with. Enter the melodic minor scale. Starting from the natural minor we
raise the ¨6th and ¨7th degrees by a semitone to major 6th and 7th scale degrees. This scale now has
the dominant V chord for strong harmonic resolution, and is built using only major and minor 2nd
intervals for smoother sounding melodies. All 3 minor scales are important, so take your time to
learn them well.

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