The minor scale
The natural minor scale is seven notes in the step pattern whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. Next to the major scale on the same home note, three notes are a half step lower, the 3rd, the 6th and the 7th, and that is the whole difference between bright and wistful. Play one loop both ways below: the same melody and the same chord positions, only the scale changes.
One loop, major and minor
C major
- W
- W
- H
- W
- W
- W
- H
- IC
- viAm
- IVF
- VG
C minor
- W
- H
- W
- W
- H
- W
- W
- iCm
- VIA♭
- ivFm
- vGm
Outlined notes are the three that move. While a side plays, the notes it is using light up. The chords sit on the same degrees, 1, 6, 4 and 5, so the major side plays I–vi–IV–V and the minor side i–VI–iv–v.
Hear major and minor by ear
Mood without music theory. The harmony chapter turns bright into wistful by moving one note, then builds keys and chords by ear. Unit 1 is free with a Google sign-in.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1; major and minor come in Unit 4: Harmony.
The three notes that move
The 3rd matters most. In major it is four half steps above home; in minor, three. That one half step turns every chord built on home from major to minor, and it is the first thing the ear notices.
The 6th and the 7th drop too. In C minor that makes the notes C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭ and B♭: three flats, against none in C major. Compare the two strips above: the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th notes are the same on both sides.
Because the chords are built from the scale, they change with it: C, Am, F and G become Cm, A♭, Fm and Gm. Nothing else in the loop moved, which is the point of the comparison: major and minor are a choice of notes, not a different kind of music.
The relative minor: same notes, a different home
Play the C major scale but start and end on A, and you have A natural minor: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, the same seven white keys. Every major key has a relative minor like this, starting on its 6th note and sharing its key signature. Switch the strip below between the two and the notes stay put while home moves.
- W
- W
- H
- W
- W
- W
- H
Every loop in Swung’s pattern library is in A minor, over Am, F, C and G: the C major chords, heard from A. That is also why vi–IV–I–V feels minor although its numerals count from the major key.
The raised 7th: why minor songs borrow a major V
In natural minor the 7th note is a whole step below home, so the V chord is minor (Em in A minor) and pulls home only gently. Most music in minor raises the 7th by a half step for that chord, G to G♯, which makes V major (E) and gives it the same strong pull home a major key has. Written as a scale, that is the harmonic minor.
- iAm
- ivDm
- vEm
- iAm
The Andalusian cadence, Am, G, F, E, ends on exactly that major V.
Natural minor in every key
| Key | 1 | 2 | ♭3 | 4 | 5 | ♭6 | ♭7 | Relative major |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A minor | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | C major |
| E minor | E | F♯ | G | A | B | C | D | G major |
| B minor | B | C♯ | D | E | F♯ | G | A | D major |
| F♯ minor | F♯ | G♯ | A | B | C♯ | D | E | A major |
| C♯ minor | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ | G♯ | A | B | E major |
| G♯ minor | G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | D♯ | E | F♯ | B major |
| D♯ minor | D♯ | E♯ | F♯ | G♯ | A♯ | B | C♯ | F♯ major |
| B♭ minor | B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | F | G♭ | A♭ | D♭ major |
| F minor | F | G | A♭ | B♭ | C | D♭ | E♭ | A♭ major |
| C minor | C | D | E♭ | F | G | A♭ | B♭ | E♭ major |
| G minor | G | A | B♭ | C | D | E♭ | F | B♭ major |
| D minor | D | E | F | G | A | B♭ | C | F major |
Find any scale in any key with the scale finder, and play it on the piano.