A Melodic Minor
A Melodic Minor scale for guitar.
The A Melodic Minor is a seven-note scale. Colored circles mark the tones in the fingerboard diagram, with darker color highlighting the root notes. In the two-octave pattern, the first root note is on the 6th string, 5th fret.
A Melodic Minor 2 octaves
A Melodic Minor full fretboard
A Melodic Minor with note names
The scale displayed with its numeric formula, intervals and scale degrees.
| Formula | Notes | Intervals | Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Unison | Tonic |
| 2 | B | Major second | Supertonic |
| b3 | C | Minor third | Mediant |
| 4 | D | Perfect fourth | Subdominant |
| 5 | E | Perfect fifth | Dominant |
| 6 | F# | Sixth | Submediant |
| 7 | G# | Major seventh | Subtonic |
The interval formula (2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1) can be expound into specific notes of the scale.
| Notes (ascending) | Interval |
|---|---|
| A-B | M2 |
| A-C | m3 |
| A-D | P4 |
| A-E | P5 |
| A-F# | M6 |
| A-G# | M7 |
| Notes (descending) | Interval |
|---|---|
| A-G# | m2 |
| A-F# | m3 |
| A-E | P4 |
| A-D | P5 |
| A-C | M6 |
| A-B | m7 |
Abbreviations are used: M / m stands for major / minor and P stands for perfect.
These are the main chords built from the notes of this scale:
| Chord | Notes | Chord | Notes | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Am | A-C-E | Am6 | A-C-E-F# | Am6/9 | A-C-E-F#-B |
| Bm | B-D-F# | Bm7 | B-D-F#-A | ||
| Caug | C-E-G# | CM7#5 | C-E-G#-B | Cmaj9 | C-E-G-B-D |
| D | D-F#-A | D7 | D-F#-A-C | D9 | D-F#-A-C-E |
| E | E-G#-B | E7 | E-G#-B-D | E9 | E-G#-B-D-F# |
| F#dim | F-A-C# | F#m7b5 | F#-A-C-E | ||
| G#dim | G-B-D# | G#m7b5 | G#-B-D-F# |
The tones in these chords correspond to the tones of the A Melodic Minor scale in which Am is the tonic triad. “M” is used as an abbreviation instead for “maj” in the third column.
The A Melodic Minor scale consists of seven notes. These can be described as intervals, as semi-notes or steps on the guitar fingerboard, written as 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1 from the first note to the next octave.
This scale has an unusual aspect: it ascends as described above but descends as the Natural Minor. For that reason, it is also known as the Ascending Melodic Minor.
The A Melodic Minor is one of three A Minor scales, the other two are A Natural Minor and A Harmonic Minor.
The scale is identical with the Major scale apart from the minor third. Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as Ionian b3 scale.