G Sharp Melodic Minor Scale Piano

[Alayna Rother]

Themelodic minor scale raises the 6th and 7th notes of the natural minor scale by a half step when playing in ascending order. When the melodic minor scale is played in descending order, the notes of the scale are same as the natural minor scale.

This scale sounds the same as the Bb melodic minor scale, which is also a commonly used scale. The same notes are played in the same order in each scale - they sound identical. Only the names of the individual notes are different.

For ascending scale notes, the difference between the A-sharp melodic minor scale and the A# natural minor scale is that the 6th and 7th note positions of the minor scale are raised by one half-tone / semitone.

Every white or black key could have a flat(b) or sharp(#) accidental name, depending on how that note is used. In a later step, if sharp or flat notes are used, the exact accidental names will be chosen.

This is needed to ensure that when it comes to writing the scale notes on a musical staff (eg. a treble clef), there is no possibility of having 2 G-type notes, for example, with one of the notes needing an accidental next to it on the staff (a sharp, flat or natural symbol).

The match fails when trying to find a B-type of scale note, because either this type of note does not exist in this scale, or it exists but is in the wrong position number / table row for this match.

In the melodic minor scale, the 7th note is called the leading note or leading tone because the sound of the 7th note feels like it wants to resolve and finish at the octave note, when all scale notes are played in sequence.

It does this because in this scale, the 7th note is only 1 half-tone / semitone away from the 8th note - the octave note. The A# major scale and A# harmonic minor scale scales share the same property - they both have only one half-tone / semitone between the 7th and 8th notes.

In contrast, the A# natural minor scale has a whole tone (two half-tones / semitones, two notes on the piano keyboard) between the 7th and 8th notes, and the 7th note does not lean towards the 8th note in the same way. In this case, the 7th note is called the subtonic.

The three different types of minor scales are useful categories primarily for instrumental performers. Learning to play the different types of minor scales on instruments allows performers to become familiar with the minor patterns most commonly used in Western classical music. Just like major scales, minor scales are named for their first note (including the accidental, if any), which is also their last note.

In harmonic minor (Example 5b), mi ([latex]\hat3[/latex]) becomes me ([latex]\downarrow\hat3[/latex]) and la ([latex]\hat6[/latex]) becomes le ([latex]\downarrow\hat6[/latex]). Having ti ([latex]\hat7[/latex]) creates the sense of closure that is absent in the natural minor scale.

As noted above, the melodic minor scale has different ascending and descending patterns (Example 5c). In the ascending form of melodic minor, mi ([latex]\hat3[/latex]) becomes me ([latex]\downarrow\hat3[/latex]), but the rest of the solfge syllables are the same as in major. In the descending form of melodic minor, mi ([latex]\hat3[/latex]) becomes me ([latex]\downarrow\hat3[/latex]), la ([latex]\hat6[/latex]) becomes le ([latex]\downarrow\hat6[/latex]), and ti ([latex]\hat7[/latex]) becomes te ([latex]\downarrow\hat7[/latex]), like natural minor. Therefore, the ascending version of melodic minor has the sense of closure associated with the major scale, while the descending version follows the pattern of the natural minor scale.

As in major scales, each note of a minor scale is also named with scale-degree names. Example 6 shows the scale-degree names used in minor scales alongside the corresponding scale-degree numbers and solfge syllables.

Example 7 shows a B melodic minor scale, ascending and descending, with scale-degree names labeled. As you can see, the melodic minor scale utilizes the leading tone in its ascending form, and the subtonic in its descending form.

As you can see, natural minor scales have three lowered scale degrees, harmonic minor scales have two, and melodic minor scales have one in the ascending version. Remember, the descending version of melodic minor is the same as natural minor, with three lowered scale degrees.

Minor key signatures, like major key signatures, go after a clef but before a time signature. Each major key has a corresponding relative minor key signature; therefore, the orders of the sharps and flats are the same in minor key signatures as they are in major key signatures, placed on the same lines and spaces. Example 9, reproduced from the previous chapter, shows the order of sharps and flats in all four clefs:

As previously mentioned, if you know the major key associated with a given key signature, you can go down three half steps from the tonic to find the minor key for that key signature. Example 10 shows all of the sharp minor key signatures in order, and Example 11 depicts all of the flat minor key signatures in order.

The circle of fifths can be used as a visual for minor key signatures as well as major key signatures. Each key signature is placed alongside the corresponding major and minor keys. Example 12 shows the circle of fifths for minor and major keys:

There are 12 piano melodic minor scales. In melodic minor scales, the 6th and 7th notes of the natural minor scale are raised a half a step (semitone) when played in ascending order. However, when played in descending order, the notes of the melodic minor scale are the same as the natural minor scale.

Below is the A melodic minor scale. Notice the raised 6th and 7th notes when the scale is played ascending (notes F sharp and G sharp). In addition, notice that descending, the G and F are no longer raised.

The G-sharp minor scale, like other minor scales, has a rich and evocative sound that has been used in various musical contexts. Here are some interesting aspects and background information about this scale:

Notice that raising only the seventh tone of the scale creates a whole plus half step stretch between the sixth and the seventh notes of the scale. This interval is known as an augmented 2nd, which sounds the same as a minor 3rd. Having this larger interval in a scale that otherwise has only whole and half steps is the reason harmonic minor sounds unusual.

These chords are formed by adding a third and a fifth on top of each scale degree. Here are the chords written out in root position, but remember: you can play the notes of a triad in any orientation and still have the same chord.

In this music theory lesson we will look at the D sharp melodic minor scale. The D sharp melodic Minor scale is a diatonic scale starting and ending on a D#. Melodic Minor scales were created mainly to help with melodies. The melodic minor scale ascending is the same as a major scale except it has a flat third and the melodic minor descending has the same pitches as a natural minor scale.

The melodic minor scale is the same as the natural minor, except for a raised 6th and 7th degree by a semitone (half step) on the way up. The way down is exactly the same as the natural minor scale. In terms of intervals, this changes the minor 2nd interval between 5th and 6th notes to a major 2nd interval. We then have another major 2nd between the 6th and 7th notes.

The melodic minor scale can be played in several positions on the guitar. Here is the standard position starting on a D#. This shape can be moved up and down the neck to play different ascending melodic minor scales.

The melodic minor scale is heard in pieces that are in a minor key. This means that if we are playing D sharp melodic minor scale, our piece will be in the key of D# (natural) minor. D sharp minor is the relative minor of the F sharp major scale. Both of these scales have a key signature of six sharps.

The jazz melodic minor scale is slightly different to the regular melodic minor scale. In classical music as we have seen, the ascending version of the melodic minor scale is different to the descending melodic minor scale.

In jazz music, this is not the case. Both ascending and descending are the same and both the 6th and 7th degrees are raised. Essentially the jazz melodic minor is the classical music ascending version!

A natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode) is a diatonic scale that is built by starting on the sixth degree of its relative major scale. For instance, the A natural minor scale can be built by starting on the 6th degree of the C major scale:

Because of this, the key of A minor is called the relative minor of C major. Every major key has a relative minor, which starts on the 6th scale degree or step. For instance, since the 6th degree of F major is D, the relative minor of F major is D minor.

Because of this construction, the 7th degree of the harmonic minor scale functions as a leading tone to the tonic because it is a semitone lower than the tonic, rather than a whole tone lower than the tonic as it is in natural minor scales.

The Hungarian minor scale is similar to the harmonic minor scale but with a raised 4th degree. This scale is sometimes also referred to as "Gypsy Run", or alternatively "Egyptian Minor Scale", as mentioned by Miles Davis who describes it in his autobiography as "something that I'd learned at Juilliard".[5]

In popular music, examples of songs in harmonic minor include Katy B's "Easy Please Me", Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative", and Jazmine Sullivan's "Bust Your Windows". The scale also had a notable influence on heavy metal, spawning a sub-genre known as neoclassical metal, with guitarists such as Chuck Schuldiner, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, and Randy Rhoads employing it in their music.[6]

The distinctive sound of the harmonic minor scale comes from the augmented second between its sixth and seventh scale degrees. While some composers have used this interval to advantage in melodic composition, others felt it to be an awkward leap, particularly in vocal music, and preferred a whole step between these scale degrees for smooth melody writing. To eliminate the augmented second, these composers either raised the sixth degree by a semitone or lowered the seventh by a semitone.

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