Natural Minor vs Harmonic Minor vs Melodic Minor (finally explained properly)

The three minor scales confuse more intermediate players than almost any other theory topic. Natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor — they sound like they should be completely different animals, but they're actually closely related, differing by only one or two notes from each other. At the level of music you'll typically be learning and playing — rock, blues, indie — only two of them really matter: natural minor and harmonic minor. Melodic minor has its place in jazz and classical music, but it rarely turns up in the songs covered in this programme. What does turn up constantly, including in Arctic Monkeys songs you'll want to play, is the shift between natural and harmonic minor — and understanding exactly what changes between them, and why, is the goal of this lesson.

What you will learn:

•       The formula for the natural minor scale and how it differs from the major scale

•       What the harmonic minor scale is and the one note that changes

•       Why the harmonic minor is used — the Andalusian chord progression and the E major chord

•       What the melodic minor is and when it's relevant

•       How to tell which minor scale a song is using, with Arctic Monkeys examples

The Natural Minor Formula

• Intervals from the root: root, major 2nd, minor 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, minor 6th, minor 7th, octave

• Compared to the major scale: flattened 3rd, flattened 6th, flattened 7th

• Those three flattenings are what give it the darker, more melancholic quality

• A minor has no sharps or flats — start here before moving to the altered versions

The Harmonic Minor

• Same as natural minor but with the 7th degree raised by one semitone

• In A minor: G becomes G#

• Creates a darker, more dramatic sound — more classical, more tense

• The raised 7th creates an augmented 2nd interval between the 6th and 7th degrees — this is its characteristic flavour

• Used in metal, flamenco, and at this level — Crying Lightning by Arctic Monkeys

Why the Harmonic Minor Exists

• In a minor key using the Andalusian progression, the V chord is often E major — which contains G#

• The natural minor contains G natural, which clashes with that chord

• The harmonic minor raises the 7th to G# so the scale fits the chord — that's the practical reason for the change

The Melodic Minor

• Raises both the 6th and 7th degrees of the natural minor

• Developed to smooth out the awkward augmented 2nd interval in the harmonic minor when ascending

• Worth knowing about — not a priority in rock and indie playing

Telling the Difference in Real Songs

• Listen for the 7th degree — that's the note that tells you which scale you're in

• G natural in the melody or riff = natural minor

• G# in the melody or riff = harmonic minor

• Crying Lightning — Arctic Monkeys — the clearest example at this level: the G# is what gives it that distinctive tense quality