The minor scale is one of the fundamental scales in music. A minor scale is a sequence of 8 notes (7 unique notes, with the 8th repeating the 1st an octave higher) that follow a specific pattern of whole and half steps. The minor scale follows this specific pattern: Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole. If you want to think of it as a phone number it would be 212-2122. You can apply this pattern to any starting note, and it will create a minor scale.

Minor scales have a sad or morose sound. They’re common in all types of music and serve as the foundation for understanding other scales and chords.

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Basic Chords and Variations

Basic Chords and Variations Chart

Other Scales

I’ve included some other scales for reference. The following diagrams are all in the key of A (unless otherwise noted). Acoustic Scale Altered Dominant Scale Asavari Scale – G Blues

E Minor Scale

The notes of the E Minor Scale are E, F#, G, A, B, C, D. The Chords in the E Minor scale are: Minor Dim Major Minor Minor Major Major