A minor scale is the darker-sounding partner of the major scale. Natural minor follows the pattern tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone (A B C D E F G A on the white keys). Harmonic minor raises the 7th note, and melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th on the way up.
By Dan Vrancic, music theory teacher · Reviewed October 2026
The natural minor scale
Natural minor uses exactly the notes of its key signature. Its steps follow a different pattern from major, which moves the semitones and gives minor its darker sound:
Natural minor pattern
TTone
SSemitone
TTone
TTone
SSemitone
TTone
TTone
In American terms: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. The semitones fall between notes 2–3 and 5–6.
A natural minor: all white keys, with semitones between B–C (2–3) and E–F (5–6).
Relative major and minor
A natural minor scale uses the same notes as a major scale, starting on that major scale's 6th degree. The two keys share a key signature and are called relative keys.
C major above, A natural minor below: the same notes, starting on different degrees.
To find the relative minor of a major key, count three semitones down from its tonic, which also moves down two letter names.
C, B, B♭, A: three semitones down from C reaches A, the relative minor.
Harmonic minor raises the 7th note by a semitone. The step from 7 to 8 becomes a semitone, giving the scale a leading tone that pulls up to the tonic, just as in major.
A harmonic minor: G is raised to G♯. The gap from F to G♯ is three semitones, the scale's distinctive sound.
The melodic minor scale
Melodic minor smooths out that three-semitone gap. Going up, it raises both the 6th and the 7th. Coming down, it returns to natural minor.
A melodic minor: F♯ and G♯ going up, G♮ and F♮ coming down.
The three forms side by side
A minor
Notes
Natural
A B C D E F G A
Harmonic
A B C D E F G♯ A
Melodic, going up
A B C D E F♯ G♯ A
Melodic, coming down
A G F E D C B A
Relative and parallel minor
A relative minor shares a major key's signature but starts on a different note: C major and A minor. A parallel minor starts on the same note but has a different signature: C major has no flats, while C minor has three, B♭, E♭ and A♭. To find the parallel minor's signature, take the relative major three semitones up: C minor is relative to E♭ major.
Try it: name the minor key
Question 1 of 8
Which minor key has this signature?
See it step by step
The interactive explainer from Lesson 12, with sound. Step through it at your own pace.
See it take shape · Interactive story
The same notes, a new home
Keep a major scale on the staff and move its starting point down to the 6th degree. The notes and the key signature stay; the scale you hear becomes its relative minor.
Step 1 of 10
C major: eight notes, tonic to tonic. Tap or arrow along the keys to hear any note.
Major scale
Start from a major scale
Here is C major, numbered 1 to 8 from tonic to tonic. A minor scale doesn’t need new notes: it starts somewhere else in these same notes.
Every major scale already holds a minor scale.
Use the arrow keys while a story control is focused.
Read the story as text
Start from a major scale
Here is C major, numbered 1 to 8 from tonic to tonic. A minor scale doesn’t need new notes: it starts somewhere else in these same notes.
Find degree 6
Count up C major to its 6th degree: A. In Lesson 11, the mode that starts on degree 6 was the Aeolian mode.
Start on the 6th: A natural minor
Move the starting point down to A and play the same white keys from A to A. This Aeolian mode is the natural minor scale; hear how the same notes sound darker from A.
Relative major and relative minor
C major and A minor share every note and the same key signature, so they are relative keys. A minor is the relative minor of C major; C major is the relative major of A minor.
Three semitones down
You don’t have to count up to 6. From the major tonic go down three semitones, C to B to B♭ to A, and the letter name moves down two: C, B, A.
G major and E minor: one sharp
G major has F♯ in its key signature. Its relative minor, E minor, starts three semitones below G and keeps the same key signature, so its F is sharp too.
Every major key has a relative minor
Choose a key to see its pair. The key signature stays and the starting point drops three semitones, for sharp keys and flat keys alike.
Semitones between 2–3 and 5–6
E natural minor uses G major’s notes, so it has the same two semitones, F♯–G and B–C. Counted from E, they fall between degrees 2–3 and 5–6 instead of 3–4 and 7–8.
Write D natural minor
Go up three semitones from D to find its relative major, F, and write F major’s key signature: one flat, B♭. Then write one note on each line and space from D to D.
Find the relative minor
Find the relative minor of each major key on the keyboard and give it its name. Then name the minor key that each key signature belongs to.
Practice on paper
Free printable worksheets on this topic, each with an answer key.
Natural minor uses only the notes of its key signature. Harmonic minor raises the 7th note by a semitone. Melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th notes going up, and returns to natural minor coming down.
What is the natural minor scale formula?
Tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone. In American terms: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole.
How do you find the relative minor of a major key?
Go down three semitones (a minor third) from the major key’s first note, or up to its 6th note. The relative minor of C major is A minor; of G major, E minor; of F major, D minor.
What is the relative minor of C major?
A minor. Both use only the white keys, with no sharps or flats in the key signature.
What is the difference between relative and parallel minor?
A relative minor shares the major key’s signature but starts on a different note (C major and A minor). A parallel minor starts on the same note but has a different signature (C major and C minor, which has three flats).
Why does harmonic minor raise the 7th note?
Raising the 7th puts a semitone between notes 7 and 8, creating a leading tone that pulls strongly to the tonic. It also turns the chord on the 5th degree into a major chord, which makes cadences in minor keys sound complete.
Learn it properly
The course teaches minor scales in 2 video lessons with practice questions, graded quizzes and printable sheets.
