The Melodic Minor Scale | Guitar Lesson, Diagrams and Theory

How To Build The Melodic Minor Scale?

The melodic minor scale is built this way : tonic (1), second (2), minor third (b3), fourth (4), fifth (5), sixth (6) and seventh (7).

C Melodic Minor Scale	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	B
Formula	1	2	b3	4	5	6	7
Intervals	W	H	W	W	W	W	H

Difference Between Melodic Minor Scale and Dorian Mode

As you see in the chart below, the melodic minor scale contains the same notes as the Dorian mode except the seventh that is major instead of minor.

C Dorian mode	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	Bb
Formula	1	2	b3	4	5	6	b7
C melodic minor scale	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	B
Formula	1	2	b3	4	5	6	7

Difference Between Melodic Minor and Harmonic Minor

The melodic minor scale and the harmonic minor scale are very similar. The only difference is that there is a minor sixth (b6) in the harmonic minor scale whereas there is a major sixth (6) in the melodic minor scale.

C harmonic Minor	C	D	Eb	F	G	Ab	B
Formula	1	2	b3	4	5	b6	7
C melodic minor	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	B
Formula	1	2	b3	4	5	6	7

How To Use the Melodic Minor Scale?

Theoretically the melodic minor scale is related to minMaj7 chords but it can also be used over minor chords as m6, m7, m9, m11, m6/9.

Playing the minor melodic scale over a minor 7 chord creates a tension because of the major seventh present in it. You need to resolve you lick on a proper note to attenuate this tension.

One Octave Shapes

Here are two recommended guitar positions to play the melodic minor scale.

To understand and hear correctly the melodic minor scale it is important to play these shapes starting from the tonic (1) represented in orange in the diagrams.

Dont' forget to play these patterns in twelve keys by moving the tonic to the desired note keeping the same intervals.

Harmonization Of The Melodic Minor Scale

Here are the seven chords built from each degree of the melodic minor scale. Triad chords are built with three notes stacked in thirds just as well quadrads chords that are made of four notes (stacked in thirds too).

Let's take an example in the key of Cm : C minor(maj7), is built by stacking C, Eb, G and B respectively root (1), minor third (b3), perfect fifth (5) and major seventh (7).

Once you have harmonized the melodic minor scale you get :

Two dominant 7th chords on the fourth and the fifth degree.
Two minor seventh chords (which on as a major seventh) on the first and second degree.
One augmented major seventh chord (III).
Two minor seventh flat fifth chords on degrees VI & VII.

Remember that augmented chords are necessarily major and diminished chords are minor.

Degrees	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII
C melodic minor scale	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	B
Triad chords	Cm	Dm	Ebaug	F	G	Adim	Bdim
Seventh chords	C-maj7	D-7	EbMaj7#5	F7	G7	A-7b5	B-7b5

Chord Formulas

Here are the seventh chords built from each degree of the C melodic minor scale.

Chords	Notes	Formulas
CmMaj7	C-Eb-G-B	R-b3-5-7
D-7	D-F-A-C	R-b3-5-b7
EbMaj7#5	Eb-G-B-D	R-3-#5-7
F7	F-A-C-Eb	R-3-5-b7
G7	G-B-D-F	R-3-5-b7
A-7b5	A-C-Eb-G	R-b3-b5-b7
B-7b5	B-D-F-A	R-b3-b5-b7

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