The Natural Minor Scale is widely used in modal music and also provides the key signature for tonal minor music…
C Natural Minor Scale Theory…
Hint: Me is pronounced “May”, Le as “Tay”, and Te as “Tay”
- The scale structure of the Natural Minor Scale is always 1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7-1, no matter what key you are in.
- The Solfege syllables of the Natural Minor Scale are always Do-Re-Me-Fa-So-Le-Te-Do, no matter what key you are in.
- The only thing that changes when you change keys are the letter names.
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 Natural Minor Scale: Linear, Ascending…
C Natural Minor Scale: Linear, Descending…
C Natural Minor Scale: Do-X-Do, Ascending…
C Natural 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!