Minor Scale Chart
The three minor scales — natural, harmonic & melodic — in every key
How to play
- Choose a root note and a scale type. The keys in the scale light up — orange for scale tones, red for the root — across two octaves.
- Tap any key to hear that note. Play scale runs up and back down one octave, lighting each key as it sounds.
- The readout spells the scale and shows its step pattern in semitones (2 = whole step, 1 = half step, 3 = a step-and-a-half).
- Compare a major scale with its natural minor to hear the difference, or try the blues and pentatonic scales. Vol sets volume. Keyboard — Tab + Enter/Space.
These are minor scales. This virtual instrument enable you to experiment with all three type of minor scales available in each musical key.
Play this by clicking piano keys on the screen, or use your computer keyboard for a easier experience. You will hear how each one is differenter. You will also see visually where the tones is in each scale.
How to Use the Piano Tool
Beginning with a root note are the first step. You can pick this from the buttons just below. It will set your initial pitch which determine what happens next. Next select a scale type from the row below which then shows you how these notes relates to each other. The selection update immediately on the keyboard and it also highlights selected notes in orange. The chosen root note appear in red, so you are never confused about the location of center of your chosen scale.
Clicking on each of the black and white keys on this piano diagram will play that note individually. Alternatively you do not need to reach out with a mouse at all but instead press keys on your computer keyboard and it sounds. To navigate around the controls, press the tab key to shift focus from control to control. Press the space bar or enter to select. It is well labelled as to what key maps to what based off your device.
By tapping on the Play Scale button you get to listen to a complete run through of the chosen pattern. In this demo, it lights up each key in turn as it plays then ascends one octave before descending again. So it’s a fast and easy method of training your ear to identify the distinctive intervals used in the melodic, harmonic or natural minor scale. Switch from one to another and play it again to hear how they differ more than others.
Use the volume slider on the lower right of the interface to adjust the overall volume. This is useful if sound is too high for your location or if you are playing more than one virtual instrument at the same time and need to balance the mix. Your choice will be remembered next time, so there’s no need to readjust each time you reopen it.
Below this is where the readout area sits for traditional seven-note scales, however beneath these is the diatonic chords. These are the triads that arises naturaly from the key signature you have selected. Simply click on one of these chord buttons and it will play through as a stacked harmony. This give a look into what happens with scales beyond being simply a sequence of single note sounds in real music.
If you’re looking to refresh your memory of an element’s function, there’s also a Help panel which will give you short descriptions (similar to this article) but with the added bonus of being available within the widget itself for quick reference. Depending on how much room you’d like for other items on your screen, you can turn it on and off at will. There is also a Fullscreen button which will take up all of your monitor so you can see everything in a cleaner way.
For example, try a different mode such as Phrygian and Dorian to experience how changing the tonal centre changes the mood. Listen out for how the intervals create the emotion in the sounds of major pentatonic compared to the darker sounding blues scales. Use the keyboard shortcuts to get a feel for improvising short melodic lines above the backing tones shown on display.
So take some time to explore them and get used to moving around in the interface. If you listen and learn the sounds this tool makes, there really isn’t a right or wrong way to use it. Begin by playing a C natural minor scale and progress through other keys at a pace that suits you. Soon you’ll notice the subtle difference between each pattern with your ears.