Minor Scales & Modes

A photograph of Ben Cooper, playing an acoustic guitar while seated on stage. American singer-songwriter Ben Cooper, performing as Radical Face in Rees, Germany in 2017. Popular and folk music often makes use of different modes to create distinct melodies and harmonies.
(Alexander Kellner | CC BY-SA-4.0)

In addition to the major scale, other heptatonic scales are commonly used in 12TET music, each with their own unique characteristics.

Modes

Each major scale is defined by two characteristics: the key signature, which indicates which notes are in the key, and the identification of a particular note as tonic.

A staff showing an A flat scale beginning in octave 4: A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E flat, F, G, and A flat. Below the notation, a single octave of a piano keyboard shows the notes in the scale highlighted, with a star on the A flat.
Figure 1: An Ab major scale notated on the staff and piano keyboard. The tonality is defined by the collection of notes and which note is treated as tonic.

By using the same collection of notes but changing which note is treated as tonic, we create a different scale. This process of rotating a scale pattern to begin on a different note results in a related but different scale, called a mode of the original scale or key. Each of the six modes based on the major scale are given a specific name as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: Every major scale has six modes, each of which share the same key signature but start on different tonic notes.

Because it is so commonly used in 12TET music, many listeners tend to hear a major tonality by default: to establish the tonality of a different mode, a composer must highlight the notes that differentiate the mode from a major scale.

Minor Scales

One of the most commonly used modes in 12TET music results from taking a major scale and using 6 as tonic. This scale is sometimes referred to as the aeolian scale but is most commonly called the minor scale. Where the major scale has half steps between 3 and 4 and between 7 and 1, the minor scale has half steps between 2 and 3 and between 5 and 6.

A staff showing an A major scale beginning in octave 4: A, B, C sharp, D, E, F sharp, G sharp, A; below that, a staff showing an F sharp minor scale beginning in octave 4: F sharp, G sharp, A, B, C sharp, D, E, F sharp. The sixth scale degree in the top scale, F sharp is shown as correlating with the tonic in the bottom scale, which is also F sharp.
Figure 3: An A major scale and an F# minor scale, both of which use the same notes but have a different tonic note. Because it shares the same key signature, F# minor is referred to as the relative minor of A major.

Each major scale has a relative minor scale with the same key signature, just as each minor scale has a corresponding relative major.

Comparing a minor scale to a major scale built on the same tonic highlights the differences between the two tonalities: in a minor scale, 3, 6 and 7 are lowered. Many people perceive this as a darker sound than major.

A staff showing a D major scale beginning in octave 4: D, E, F sharp, G, A, B, C sharp, D; below that, a staff showing an D minor scale beginning in octave 4: D, E, F, G, A, B flat, C, D. The third, sixth and seventh scale degrees, which are different between the two scales, are each highlighted.
Figure 4: A D major scale and a D minor scale, both of which have the same tonic but use different notes. Because it shares the same tonic, D minor is referred to as the parallel minor of D major.

A minor scale with the same tonic as a given major scale is called the parallel minor.

Harmonic Minor

Unlike the major scale, the minor scale has a whole step between 7 and 1. Because this interval often plays an important role in chord resolutions and harmonic progressions, many composers choose to raise 7 by a half step to add more tension to the chords which use that note. This alteration, called raising the leading-tone, is traditionally done with accidentals in the music, and not reflected in the key signature.

Measures 9 to 12 of `Au pays dévasté` by Cécile Chaminade, showing a passage in G minor with the Fs raised with accidentals to F sharps.
Figure 5: Measures 9–12 of the Au pays dévasté, a 1919 piece by French composer Cécile Chaminade. In this passage, which is in G minor, uses accidentals to show the raised leading-tone, F#.

A minor scale that has a raised leading-tone is called the harmonic minor scale; in contrast, the unaltered version of the scale is called the natural minor scale.

On top, an F natural minor scale beginning in octave 4: F, G, A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E flat, F. Underneath, an F harmonic minor scale beginning in octave 4: F, G, A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E natural, F.
Figure 6: An F natural minor scale and an F harmonic minor scale, showing the raised leading-tone, E natural in the latter.

Melodic Minor

The harmonic minor scale represents the collection of notes most often used to create chords for a piece in a minor key. When composers write melodies in minor, however, they often avoid the interval between 6 and #7, which spans one and a half steps and sounds dissonant.

To remove the large leap between 6 and #7, composers often make another alteration to the scale depending on the direction of the melodic line. For ascending melodic lines, a common technique is to raise 6 to #6, which reduces the interval to a whole step while retaining the raised leading-tone.

Measures 1 through 4 of the chorale in Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata `Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland,` which is in B minor. Measures 1 and 2 of bass part and measure 2 of the alto line feature an ascending line of G sharp leading to A sharp, and measure 1 of the bass part, measure 3 of the bass part and measures 3 and 4 of the alto line feature A natural leading to G natural.
Figure 7: Measures 1–4 of the chorale movement of Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62 by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. This harmonization features ascending lines with #6 moving to #7, as well as 6 following and unaltered 7.

Descending melodic lines often do not need the tension created by the raised leading-tone, so composers instead move #7 back to 7 and use the natural minor scale.

Theorists illustrate these two options together as the melodic minor scale, which is usually shown in both ascending and descending forms.

The C melodic minor scale in octave 4: C, D, E flat, F, G, A, B, C, C, B flat, A flat, G, F, E flat, D, C.
Figure 8: The C melodic minor scale. Melodic minor scale are usually shown in ascending and descending forms to illustrate the differing usage of 6 and 7.

Natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor are tools used by composers when writing in minor, and are not considered tonalities or keys of their own.

Minor Modes

One of the most notable characteristics of the minor tonality is distance between 1 and 3, which is a half step smaller than in the major scale. Two other modes of the major scale have this same characteristic. These three modes are often considered collectively as minor modes.

Dorian

Using 2 of the major scale as tonic results in the dorian mode, which has half steps between 2 and 3 and between 6 and 7.

A staff showing an E minor scale beginning in octave 4: E, F sharp, G, A, B, C, D, E; below that, a staff showing an E Dorian scale beginning in octave 4: E, F sharp, G, A, B, C sharp, D, E.
Figure 9: The E natural minor scale and the E Dorian scale. The color tone of the Dorian scale is #6.

When compared with the natural minor scale, the Dorian scale has a raised 6. This note is the color tone for Dorian; when omitted, listeners will likely hear a natural minor or Aeolian tonal context.

Measures 21 through 25 of Lana Del Rey's `Blue Jeans,` showing a melody in F minor with the lyrics `I will love you 'til the end of time, I would wait a million years.` Measures 23 and 24 consist entirely of the note D natural.
Figure 10: Measures 21–25 of Blue Jeans, a 2012 song by American singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey. The melody emphasizes D natural to establish an F Dorian tonality.

Phrygian

The other minor mode based on the major scale is phrygian, which results from using 3 of the major scale as tonic. The Phrygian scale has half steps between 1 and 2 and between 5 and 6.

A staff showing a G minor scale beginning in octave 4: G, A, B flat, C, D, E flat, F, G; below that, a staff showing a G Phrygian scale beginning in octave 4: G, A flat, B flat, C, D, E flat, F, G.
Figure 11: The G natural minor scale and the G Phrygian scale. The color tone of the Phrygian scale is b2.

The color tone of the Phrygian scale is 2, which is lowered from its position in the natural minor scale. Because this note creates an unusual dissonance in relation to 1, the Phrygian scale is used less commonly than natural minor or Dorian modes.

Measures 2 through 7 of `Rumores de la Caleta,` by Isaac Albéniz. The piano piece has a B flat in the key signature, but uses A as tonic as evidenced by strong A chords in measures 2, 4 and 6.
Figure 12: Measures 2–7 of Rumores de la Caleta, a movement from the 1887 collection Recuerdos de Viaje by Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz. Though Albéniz uses an occasional C#, this section is predominantly in A Phrygian.

Major Modes

Like minor, there are two other modes of the major scale which feature the larger distance between 1 and 3.

Lydian

Using 4 of the major scale as tonic results in the lydian scale, which — like major — has a half step between 7 and 1, but also has a half step between 3 and 4.

A staff showing an E flat major scale beginning in octave 4: E flat, F, G, A flat, B flat, C, D, E flat; below that, a staff showing an E flat Lydian scale beginning in octave 4: E flat, F, G, A, B flat, C, D, E flat.
Figure 13: The Eb major scale and the Eb Lydian scale. The color tone of the Lydian scale is #4.

The color tone in Lydian is 4, which is raised in comparison to major.

The main theme from the television series `The Simpsons,` which is written in C lydian.
Figure 14: The primary theme from the 1989 television series The Simpsons, by American composer Danny Elfman. Because it uses C as tonic and includes an F#, the melody can be analyzed as being in the Lydian mode.

Mixolydian

The other major mode results from using 5 of the major scale as tonic. This scale, called mixolydian, has half steps between 3 and 4 and between 6 and 7.

A staff showing a D major scale beginning in octave 4: D, E, F sharp, G, A, B, C sharp, D; below that, a staff showing a D Mixolydian scale beginning in octave 4: D, E, F sharp, G, A, B, C, D.
Figure 13: The D major scale and the D Mixolydian scale. The color tone of the Mixolydian scale is b7.

Mixolydian's color tone is 7, which is lowered in comparison to major. Because the term leading-tone refers to a half step below the tonic, the lowered 7 in Mixolydian — and other modes which have a whole step between 7 and 1 — is called the subtonic.

Measures 8 through 12 of `Manic Depression` by Jimi Hendrix, showing the vocal part and guitar line. The passage is in the key signature of A major and contains, in addition to some other occasional chromatic alterations, a consistent use of G natural.
Figure 16: Measures 8–12 of Manic Depression, a 1967 song by American singer/songwriter Jimi Hendrix. As is common in rock music, this piece uses a b7 — in this case, G natural — to create a Mixolydian tonality.

Locrian

The remaining mode drawn from the major scale is locrian, which can be constructed by using 7 from the major scale as tonic, and which features half steps between 1 and 2 and between 4 and 5.

A staff showing an A minor scale beginning in octave 4: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A; below that, a staff showing an A Locrian scale beginning in octave 4: A, B flat, C, D, E flat, F, G, A.
Figure 17: The A natural minor scale and the A Locrian scale. While the color tones of the Locrian scale can be heard as b2 and b5, the tonality is unstable and almost never used in practice.

While Locrian has the same distance between 1 and 3 as the other minor modes, it is a very unstable tonality; it is difficult to distinguish its tonic note from an unresolved leading tone in the relative major. As a result, composers rarely use Locrian except as deliberate proofs of concept.

Figure 18: The Locrian Song, a 2012 piece by composer and singer David Newman, illustrating the difficulty of establishing a Locrian tonality.

Minor Scales & Modes: Summary

  • Modes are scales or keys created by changing the tonic in a given collection of pitches.
    • The most commonly used modes are those based on the major scale.
    • Because of its ubiquity, listeners often hear major tonality in the absence of notes unique to a different mode.
  • A minor scale results from starting on 6 of the major scale.
    • A minor scale with no alterations is called a natural minor scale.
    • A minor scale with a raised 7 is called a harmonic minor scale, and is often used to build chords
    • Composers often raise both 6 and 7 for ascending melodies and use the natural minor scale for descending melodies. A scale demonstrating these motions is called a melodic minor scale.
  • Minor modes have the same distance between 1 and 3 as the minor scale, giving them a darker quality.
    • The dorian mode is similar to natural minor, but with a raised 6.
    • The phrygian mode is similar to natural minor, but with a lowered 2.
  • Major modes have the same distance between 1 and 3 as the major scale, giving them a brighter quality.
    • The lydian mode is similar to major, but with a raised 4.
    • The mixolydian mode is similar to major, but with a lowered 7.
  • The locrian mode shares some characteristics with other minor modes, but is unstable and rarely used.

Exercises

Exercise 1: Description of Exercise

Exercise 2: Description of Exercise

Next: Intervals