Help: The Minor Scale

Subject: The Minor Scale
From: DonMeixner
Date: 26 Oct 99 - 11:40 PM

Hello All,

As a person who is unable to read musicical notation I find it still valuable to know some theory. I understand what interval of notes creates the standard major scale. But what is the interval required to create a minor scale? And for that matter, a Pentatonic scale? Is there a Minor Pentatonic scale?

Thanks in advance, I know that help will abound.

Don

Subject: RE: Help: The Minor Scale
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 12:10 AM

Don, if you are interested in other scales like pentatonic scales and have abc software, you might like to try this link and download the file. It is a bit beyond me but it goes into the various modes used in Scottish music together with example tunes written in abc.

Jon

Subject: RE: Help: The Minor Scale
From: Bruce O.
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 05:05 AM

There's a table of Modes and Scales on my website. Lydian, Ionian/major, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian/minor, Phrygian, and Locrian, as well as the 6 normal hexatonics and pentatonics.
www.erols.com/olsonw

Subject: RE: Help: The Minor Scale
From: Les B
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 01:47 PM

As long as we're on the subject -- Somewhere in the past six months I ran across a link here at Mudcat about pentatonic scales on the fiddle (and/or mandolin) that was pretty informative - can anyone put a blue clicky thing to that site ? Thanks.

Subject: RE: Help: The Minor Scale
From: Frank Hamilton
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 02:00 PM

Don,

There are three minor scales. The natural minor is sometimes called the Aolian mode. It has the follwing intervals whole-step, half-step, whole-step, half-step, whole-step,whole-step.

The Harmonic minor is whole-step,half-step,whole-step, whole-step, half-step, minor-third-step, half-step.

The Melodic minor ascends differently than it descends. It goes up like this: whole-step, half-step, whole-step, whole-step, whole-step, whole-step, half-step. It descends like the natural minor scale.

Hope this helps.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: Help: The Minor Scale
From: Frank Hamilton
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 02:02 PM

Don,

There are three minor scales. The natural minor is sometimes called the Aolian mode. It has the follwing intervals whole-step, half-step, whole-step, half-step, whole-step,whole-step.

The Harmonic minor is whole-step,half-step,whole-step, whole-step, half-step, minor-third-step, half-step.

The Melodic minor ascends differently than it descends. It goes up like this: whole-step, half-step, whole-step, whole-step, whole-step, whole-step, half-step. It descends like the natural minor scale.

Hope this helps.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: Help: The Minor Scale
From: Bruce O.
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 02:38 PM

The above are noted in the Tables on my website.

Subject: RE: Help: The Minor Scale
From: Magpie
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 04:03 PM

Don,

In order to understand or visualize the scales, I think in terms of a piano keyboard, with all the white and black keys. I find it makes it sooo much easier to know what note is a half step up from another.

And when to use the natural, or the melodic, or the harmonic? I stick to the natural, it's easier that way.

Magpie

Subject: RE: Help: The Minor Scale
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 27 Oct 99 - 09:46 PM

Because I was too lazy to go into my browser and drop Bruce's URL in the box, I made myself a blue clicky.

blue clicky

seed