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Offline Lilfingers

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Please help!
« on: July 20, 2007, 08:59:46 PM »
Is there a way that I can remember to find the harmonic minor from the major scale?  For some reason, that's not coming clear.  I guest I don't understand how to go from the major to a minor its relative minor and the harmonic minor and so on.  Can someone help me understand it better!!!!

Thanks All!


Still trying to learn!
I'm playing for God's Glory--not man's. LILFINGERS

Offline rspindy

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Re: Please help!
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2007, 11:39:35 AM »
Is there a way that I can remember to find the harmonic minor from the major scale?  For some reason, that's not coming clear.  I guest I don't understand how to go from the major to a minor its relative minor and the harmonic minor and so on.  Can someone help me understand it better!!!!

Thanks All!


Still trying to learn!

The minor scales probably cause among the most confusion in music.  We basically live with one Major Scale but we are given a slew of minor scales -- Natural, Harmonic, Melodic, Dorian, Phrygian.  Much of the confusion often happens because early theory dwells so much on the Relative minor scale which is the minor scale based on the 6th degree of a Major scale:  C major, relative minor is A minor.

Another problem is that composers freely borrow from different forms, thus a piece generally using melodic minor or Dorian may borrow the Phrygian b2 without apology.

When we speak of scales with the same tonic C major and C minor, we are working with Parallel Minor Scales.  Relative and Parallel have nothing to do with the type of minor, only with the relationship between the tonics (C & A or C & C)

In the scheme of things only one note separates Major from Minor.  That is the third degree of the scale.  In C se have:

Major:  C  D  E   F  G  A  B  C
Minor:  C  D  Eb F  G  A  B  C
           I  II  III  IV V VI VII I
When we change that one note in Major we actually create the ascending Melodic Minor Scale.  After that one note is changed, all of the other changes are simply inflections of minor.  They each add different colors.

Two notes are not available to be changed in minor and one is rarely affected.  The two that cannot be changed are the I or Tonic (C here) because that would make a different scale altogether.  If C becomes B or C# we are no longer building any kind of C scale.

The other is the V or Dominant (G).  The V - I Cadence is the primary giver of Tonality.  V(7) or the Dominant 7 actually defines a key more than I.  If it is altered then the scale is unstable (I didn't say unusable) and difficult to establish a tonal center.  A scale with a b3 and a b5 is no longer minor.

The IV or Sub-dominant is sometimes raised 1/2 step in modes like the Spanish/Jewish/Gypsy minors.

From this point, we can actually play with II  VI and VII to create all different minor colors.

If we lower the VI degree 1/2 step we will create the Harmonic Minor.
Major:  C  D  E   F   G  A   B  C
Minor:  C  D  Eb  F  G  Ab  B  C   -- C Harmonic Minor (That's all there is to it)
           I  II  III  IV V  VI  VII I

The main feature of the Harmonic Minor is the augmented 2nd from VI to VII.  An augmented second looks like a minor third on the keyboard.

If we then both the VI and VII degree 1/2 step, we create the Natural Minor or Aeolian mode, which is also the descending version of the Classical Melodic Minor.
Major:  C  D  E   F   G  A   B    C
Minor:  C  D  Eb  F  G  Ab  Bb  C   -- C Natural Minor or Aeolian Mode (Same as Eb major played from C to C)
           I  II  III  IV V  VI  VII   I

Melodic Minor Ascending and Descending:
 C D Eb F G A B C | C Bb Ab G F Eb D C

If we keep the VI of the melodic minor and lower the VII by 1/2 step, we get the Dorian Minor
Major:  C  D  E   F   G  A   B  C
Minor:  C  D  Eb  F  G  A   Bb  C   -- C Dorian Minor (Same as Bb Major from C to C)
           I  II  III  IV V  VI  VII I

If we lower II VI and VII (all of our changeable pitches) We get Phrygian minor.
Major:  C  D    E   F   G  A   B   C
Minor:  C  Db  Eb  F  G  Ab  Bb  C   -- C Phrygian Minor (Same as Ab Major played from C to Shining C)
           I  II    III  IV V  VI  VII   I


After becoming comfortable with these, you can experiment with raising the IV (F here) by 1/2 step in the different types of minor above.

Here's the list of the 5 most frequent Minor forms compared to Major.

Major:  C  D   E    F  G  A   B   C    -- C Major
Minor:  C  D   Eb  F  G  A    B   C   -- C Melodic Minor (ascending -- Used both up and down in Jazz)
Minor:  C  D   Eb  F  G  Ab  B   C   -- C Harmonic Minor
Minor:  C  D   Eb  F  G  Ab  Bb  C   -- C Natural Minor or Aeolian Mode
Minor:  C  D   Eb  F  G  A    Bb  C   -- C Dorian Minor
Minor:  C  Db  Eb  F  G  Ab  Bb  C   -- C Phrygian Minor
           I  II    III  IV V  VI  VII  I

I hope that this helps.

Offline T-Block

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Re: Please help!
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2007, 05:20:37 PM »
Great explanation once again rspindy.

Is there a way that I can remember to find the harmonic minor from the major scale?  For some reason, that's not coming clear.  I guest I don't understand how to go from the major to a minor its relative minor and the harmonic minor and so on.  Can someone help me understand it better!!!!

Maybe it's just me, but could u reword the question.
Real musicians play in every key!!!
Music Theory, da numbers work!
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