Chapter 6 of 12 · Part 2: Scales before modes
Natural, harmonic, and melodic minor
Direct answer
Natural minor has flat 6 and flat 7. Harmonic minor raises 7. Jazz melodic minor raises both 6 and 7, and players normally keep those notes on the way down too.
Common mix-up: Melodic minor is not a relative-major shape with identical notes. Against natural minor it changes two pitch classes, and classical descending melodic minor may revert to natural minor while jazz usage usually does not.
One root, two switches
Keep A, B, C, D, and E fixed. Natural minor ends with F and G. Harmonic minor changes G to G-sharp. Melodic minor also changes F to F-sharp. Side by side, the three scales feel related instead of looking like three more boxes to memorize.
G-sharp sits a half step below A, so it pulls hard toward home and gives you an E or E7 chord resolving to Am. F-sharp removes the wide F-to-G-sharp jump and gives melodic minor a smoother upper half.
Which melodic minor do guitarists mean?
Classical lessons often raise 6 and 7 on the way up, then return to natural minor on the way down. Jazz and contemporary players usually keep 1 2 flat 3 4 5 6 7 in both directions. OpenFret's scale page and Arcade Scale Run use that jazz form.
Say which convention you mean when you teach it or write a part. Both are real; they solve different melodic and harmonic jobs.
Formulas, notes, and what to hear
| Scale or mode · hear it | Formula | Notes | Listen for |
|---|---|---|---|
A natural minor | Formula1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 | NotesA B C D E F G | Hearsoft whole-step approach from flat 7 |
A harmonic minor | Formula1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7 | NotesA B C D E F G♯ | HearG-sharp pulls hard to A |
A melodic minor (jazz) | Formula1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 | NotesA B C D E F♯ G♯ | Hearminor 3 below a bright major-scale upper half |
Songs that use the minor-scale family
Metallica — “Nothing Else Matters”
In E minor. The open-string intro outlines Em, and the verse melody fills in natural-minor notes around it.
Ozzy Osbourne — “Mr. Crowley”
Randy Rhoads uses the raised 7 in the outro lines to pull hard back to the minor root. That pull is the harmonic-minor clue.
Wes Montgomery — “Four on Six”
The tune is a good place to hear jazz minor language move beyond natural minor. Listen for lines that use the natural 6 and 7 over minor harmony.
Fretboard map
Standard tuning, frets 0-12. Blue is the root, and the light-blue ring marks the characteristic note.
Tap any dot to hear that exact pitch. Swipe sideways to see the full neck. With a keyboard, use Tab and press Enter or Space.
Choose a dot to hear its pitch
Interactive lab
Four-way minor listening lab
Play one scale at a time and listen for the changed degrees. Tap the playing card again to stop.
Original tab exercises
Play slowly enough to hear the interval named in this chapter. Every exercise is original OpenFret material, so you can practice the idea without copying a song.
Swipe sideways to follow the full line.
Original OpenFret exercise · standard tuning unless marked otherwise
Swipe sideways to follow the full line.
Original OpenFret exercise · standard tuning unless marked otherwise
Swipe sideways to follow the full line.
Original OpenFret exercise · standard tuning unless marked otherwise
Practice assignment
Take this to the guitar
Play the three original minor-family tabs without stopping. Say flat 6/flat 7, flat 6/7, or 6/7 before the final two degrees of each scale.
Mastery check
Play-through and four-question quiz
Play the chapter piece first. Score 75% on the quiz to pass. You can retake it right away.
Chapter play-through
Play the whole chapter
Play natural, harmonic, and jazz melodic minor as one piece. The last two sections make your ear track exactly what happens to 6 and 7.
- Find F and G in natural minor.
- Hear G-sharp pull back to A in harmonic minor.
- Keep F-sharp and G-sharp on the way down in the jazz melodic-minor section.
Swipe sideways to follow the full line.
Original OpenFret exercise · standard tuning unless marked otherwise
0 of 4 questions answered
Answer the remaining 4 questions to check your work.
The minor-scale family FAQ
What changes from natural minor to harmonic minor?
Only degree 7 rises by a semitone, creating a leading tone and a major V chord.
What changes from harmonic minor to melodic minor?
Degree 6 rises by a semitone. Both keep the natural 7 in the jazz ascending form.
Does melodic minor descend differently?
Classical melodic minor often descends as natural minor. Jazz melodic minor normally keeps natural 6 and 7 in both directions; this course labels that convention explicitly.