Minor Keys and Scales
Many songs are written in a minor key. Songs in a minor key use notes taken from a minor scale. There are three types of minor scale - the natural minor scale, the harmonic minor scale and the melodic minor scale. Written below are the three D minor scales, each having its own pattern of tones and semitones. The degrees of each scale as they would relate to the major scale are written under the note names.
Notice the distance of 1 tones between the 6th 7th degrees of the harmonic minor scale. This scale is often described as having an "Eastern" sound.
In the D melodic minor scale the 6th and 7th notes are sharpened when ascending and returned to natural when descending. This is the way the melodic minor is used in Classical music. However, in Jazz and other more modern styles, the melodic minor descends the same way it ascends. An easy way way to think of this scale is as a major scale with a flattened third degree.
