The Melodic Minor Scale is unique among scales because some of the notes change depending on whether you are going up or down the scale…
C Melodic Minor Scale Theory…
- The scale structure of the Melodic Minor Scale is always 1-2-b3-4-5-6-7 ascending and 1-b7-b6-5-4-b3-2-1 descending, no matter what key you are in.
- The Solfege syllables of the Melodic Minor Scale are always Do-Re-Me-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do ascending and Do-Te-Le-So- Fa-Me-Re-Do descending, no matter what key you are in.
- The only thing that changes when you change keys are the letter names.
Comparative Scale Study
The melodic minor scale is no more “melodic” than other minor scales. It is called that because in some musical contexts, the melodic line sounds better when you play La and Ti going up and Le and Te going down.
When going up the Melodic Minor Scale, 6(La) and 7(Ti) are the exact same notes used in the Major Scale!
When going down the Melodic Minor Scale, b7(Te) and b6(Le) are the exact same notes used in the Natural Minor Scale!
Solfege Ear Training
Reading, playing, and singing the Solfege Syllables out loud is an extremely effective way to tune up your ears and to internalize the unique sound-feeling of each note in the scale with respect to the key center Do. Make sure to do this slowly enough for the unique sound-feeling of each Solfege Syllable to make a meaningful impression on your mind’s ear.
C Melodic Minor Scale: Linear, Ascending…
C Melodic Minor Scale: Linear, Descending…
C Melodic Minor Scale: Do-X-Do, Ascending…
C Melodic Minor Scale: Do-X-Do, Descending…
Note: While it’s possible to continue by singing a bunch of other musical patterns, the 80-20 Principle teaches us that a more efficient approach is to get your ear training material directly from the music that YOU want to play!