And if the G isn't changed there's no reason to change the F, either.

On the way down, a melody isn't going to need that raised 7th degree because it's not leading to the tonic - so the G can be used without alteration. We call that 'melodic minor,' presumably because the change was made for melodic reasons. So then the F gets raised as well, and you end up with a minor scale from A that reads: A, B, C, D, E, F#, G#, A. That's 'harmonic minor,' because this change to G was made for harmonic purposes.īut if the A minor melody had an F before the G it might be good to raise the F, too, if the composer wants to avoid the exotic-sounding augmented second of F to G#. So in the scale on A that would be G# instead of G. When a minor melody is upward-bound, the 7th degree is often raised a half step so that it will make a 'leading tone' to the tonic. And of course thay same pattern of steps can be played starting on any note - like D natural minor, which is D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C, D. Start with the natural minor - that's the pattern of the white keys if you play from from A to A on the piano.

D.L.Īnswer: It's not really all flats coming down. Question: What is the difference between the harmonic a minor scale and the melodic a minor scale? I know one is the same going up and coming down and one is all flats coming down. harmonic minor What is the difference between the harmonic a minor scale and the melodic a minor scale?

G harmonic minor scale