Melodic minor
The minor scale with both the sixth and seventh degrees raised when ascending, and often reverted to natural minor when descending.
The melodic minor exists because raising the seventh alone creates an awkward leap, so classical practice raises the sixth as well on the way up to smooth the line and then returns to the natural form on the way down. Jazz players keep the raised form in both directions and use it as the parent scale for a whole family of modes. On guitar it is less a shape to run than a source of colour notes for improvisation.
Example: A melodic minor ascending contains A, B, C, D, E, F sharp and G sharp, before returning to the natural form on the way down.
See also
Related
- PageNatural minor scale
- PageHarmonic minor
- PageJazz guitar
- PageAugmented chord
- PageBlue note
- PageBlues scale
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley