Every major scale has a closely related minor scale.
This is called its RELATIVE MINOR scale.
The relative minor scale is built on the sixth note of the major scale and progresses from this note to its octave following the notes of the major scale.
This results in a scale called the NATURAL MINOR scale.
For example; in the key of ‘C’ major the relative minor scale is built on its sixth note, ‘A’ and progresses up to its octave only using the notes of the ‘C’ major scale. This produces the ‘A’ natural minor scale.
A B C D E F G A
You may have noticed that the relative minor scale has exactly the same notes as its relative major scale. This is correct. The difference is the series of intervals that make up this scale.
T = Tone
S = Semitone
The HARMONIC MINOR scale is formed by sharpening the seventh note of the natural minor scale. When a piece of music is written in a minor key it uses the harmonic minor scale.
For example, when the seventh note of the ‘A’ natural minor scale is sharpened it produces the ‘A’ harmonic minor scale.
The PENTATONIC MINOR scale is created by removing the second and sixth notes from the natural minor scale.
When these notes are removed from the ‘A’ natural minor scale, the following notes remain to produce the ‘A’ pentatonic minor scale.
A C D E G A
The BLUES scale is created by adding a flattened fifth note to the pentatonic minor scale.
For example, ‘Eb’ is added to the ‘A’ pentatonic minor scale to produce the ‘A’ blues scale.
A C D Eb E G A
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Summary
The relative minor scale is built on the sixth note of the major scale.
The series of notes going from the sixth note to its octave is called the natural minor scale.
When the seventh note of the natural minor scale is sharpened this forms the harmonic minor scale.
When the second and sixth notes of the natural minor scale are removed this creates the pentatonic minor scale.
When a flattened fifth note is added to the pentatonic minor scale this forms the blues scale.
In the top row of the table below is the ‘C’ major scale going up two octaves. In the rows below this are its RELATIVE MINOR scales, built on the sixth note ‘A’.
© Carlos Thrale 2014 / 2025
