Contrary to the major scale, there are not one but three minor scales, which all will be presented here. Scales, arpeggios and cadences, two octaves margaret denton, piano major scales, arpeggios, and cadences, 2 octaves these scales are arranged pianistically by groups according to fingering patterns to facilitate memorization harmonic form of the minor scale is shown. Free printable pdf downloads with notes and fingerings for scales in every key. All scales are made with a specific pattern of whole steps tones and half steps semitones. Major pentatonic scale the major pentatonic scale shares five notes with the major scale. Each scale has a different use and application in jazz piano. Major scale fingerings harmonic minor scale fingerings pdf thanks. Major scales with relative minor pentatonic scales major and minor. Digital piano score scales in all major keys two octaves with fingering.
Like major scales, minor scales have eight notes, with the top and bottom tonic notes. Major scales keyboard fingerings c major c d e f g a b c rh 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5. Major scales for piano c major 1 2 312 3 4 1 3 1 5 1 4 1 3 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 g major 12 3 12 34 1 31 5 14 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 1 3 1 4 1 1 d major 12 3 1 2 34 1. The major and natural minor form the basis of most.
There are both pentatonic major and minor the minor is slightly more often used. The modes of the major scale play a fundamental role in jazz improvisation. Just as it did in major scales, starting the minor scale pattern on a different. Jan 04, 2018 in this piano tutorial, we look at an easy method to build major and minor chords. Piano adventures scale and chord book 1 major 5finger.
Natural, harmonic and melodic forms about minor scales. In this piano tutorial, we look at an easy method to build major and minor chords. Music theory fundamentals 40 right hand fingerings above, left hand fingerings below. The two scales you use most frequently when you play the piano and the most famous scales in western music are the major and the minor scales. The difference between these two scales is the pattern of.
Remember that for the melodic minor scale, when descending, you play the natural minor scale. This scale can sometimes confuse people because it is in a way identical to the major scale. Piano scales and minor scales piano tips and free piano. D minor pentatonic has the same notes as f major pentatonic and so it goes. Applying your music theory skills in this way will save you endless hours.
Major scales are basic to your understanding of musical keys and are the scales that most piano students learn first. Natural, harmonic, and melodic forms margaret denton, piano minor scales. What is the difference between major and minor scales. All 12 major scales share the same pattern of whole and half steps between the notes. This page shows piano and treble clef diagrams of all minor scales, starting from note c. How to play a minor scale on any key of the piano youtube. The pentatonics are fun 5 note scales that are essential to blues and country music.
My interactive pentatonic scales chart for piano shows fingering diagrams for both pentatonic major and pentatonic minor scales. We call scales relative if they share the same key signature. So, based upon this c major chord would consist of the notes c, e, and g of the c major scale. Minor scales are no less important or smaller in size than major scales. But there are several different types of chords, depending on the different intervals between the notes. Major scales keyboard fingerings cmajor c d e f g a b c rh 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5. Here you see an overview of some of the most common scales. The natural minor scale is often referred to simply as the minor scale. Notes of the g major blues scale and the e minor blues scale when learning different scale fingerings or patterns for all of the above scale types, it is helpful to think about each scale as both a major and a minor scale at the same time. Learn all 12 major scales for piano easily online piano coach. The minor scale is one of the first scales youll probably come across.
For example, gabc can be the bottom tetrachord of the g major scale or the top tetrachord of the c major scale. Understanding minor scales in this brief tutorial we are going to try to demystify minor scales. Jan 10, 2016 here are your downloadable pdf s for major and harmonic minor scales. Printable piano music scales in all major and harmonic minor keys. Minor scales are built on the 6th scale degree of a major scale to quickly find a major keys relative minor, count down 3 halfsteps from the tonic note of the major scale remember to start with the tonic then. Download our piano scale finger charts for the major scale, harmonic minor scale and more. Chords for piano compiled by simon creedy please distribute freely the contents of this pdf file can be distributed freely and are available to everyone. You will also see this referred to as the root 1st, major third 3rd, and perfect fifth 5th.
All minor scales illustrated with pictures including notes and fingerings. Most everyone agrees that the scale that should be learned and mastered first is the c major scale. The scales here are not arranged by order of difficulty, but rather in a chronological order. Major and minor harmonic and melodic scales, 4 octaves, hands together, correct fingerings. Name each minor 5finger scale on the keyboard given. A major triad consists of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes or tone of a major scale. You can learn how to form other melodic and harmonic minor scales at our main piano music scales section.
Free major and minor scales for piano sheet music dion moult. Learn how to play all the 12 major scales on the piano, easily. The minor third is down a fifth three times and up and octave twice. Piano fingering chart washington state music teachers association. The pentatonic scale pentatonic scales have only five notes penta means five. Major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords as you probably know, a chord is a group of notes played simultaneously, rather than sequentially like a melody. All the scales here are in one octave, but you can of course practice each piano scale in as many octaves and in any tempo you like.
Name each major 5finger scale on the keyboard given. Print the scales free pdfs, and follow the study guide below to learn how to practice all scales in the simplest order. Each minor scale has a different use and application in jazz piano and so learning how to construct and apply each one is a vital skill. The a minor scale include exactly the same notes as the c major scale which makes them relative keys read. As a comparison, lets also look at the c natural minor scale. The pentatonic scale is frequently used in lots of popular music styles. You can make a major and a minor scale starting with any note on the piano. Minor scales cheat sheet harmonic minor raise the 7 th scale degree melodic minor raise the 6 th and 7 th scale degree ascending, revert to. Apr 09, 2010 ive already taught using a brilliant scaleteaching aid from natalie wickham. A major scale is a scale that has half steps h between scale degrees 34 and 78 and whole steps between all other pairs of notes. This pdf download sheet contains the modes of the major scale in all keys. Includes fingering annotation and typeset in latex, exported in pdf.
In classical music, you play the true melodic minor scale ascending and the natural minor scale descending. But in jazz, we play the true melodic minor scale both up and down, and call it the jazz melodic minor scale. Natural minor scale a scale that contains halfsteps between 23 and 56 scale degrees the natural form. All keys are shown, including the commonly used 12 keys of the circle of fifths diagram, and other theoretical ie. Major and minor scales are variations of the diatonic scale, which is a musical scale built with intervals of 5 whole steps and 2 half steps. Minor scales are built on the 6th scale degree of a major scale. Notice that both the degrees and the intervals vary in relation to the major scale. The most common scales when playing the piano, are major and minor scales.
If youve ever heard a song that sounds sad or moody, youll find it to be written in the minor key. All minor scales harmonic for those who want to learn or revise all the harmonic minor scales, all scale diagrams and videos are complied here. The minor scale uses the wh wwh ww pattern of intervals. From each key on the piano you can start either a major or a minor scale. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdffile. Select landscape mode to get best results printing it out. The idea behind doing this was basically that i couldnt find any chord diagrams that werent either being charged for or. There are 12 major scales and at least 36 minor scales, including harmonic minors, melodic minors and natural minors. If you need staff paper, you may print the staff paper12 pdf file.
When we are dealing strictly with major scales we really only have one scale to draw our notes and melodies from. The associated chord is the cmmaj7 chord which is not found in major scale harmony. Heres a diagram of the melodic c minor scale on piano. If youre using your laptop in the studio, just resize one of the diagrams so that the scale youre teaching fills the the screen, then put the laptop on top of the piano. Minor scales cheat sheet harmonic minor raise the 7th scale degree melodic minor raise the 6th and 7th scale degree ascending, revert to natural minor descending. Major and natural minor scales for piano with fingerings.
Download our free pdf versions of each scale with fingering. Doing this allows us to count the notes between each note. Download free piano sheet music for major, minor harmonic, and minor. Note that a minor pentatonic has identical notes with c major pentatonic but in different order. There are two tetrachords in the major scale, each with the same order half and wholesteps wwh. Major scales and key signatures s o, now you can use the letters a through g to name notes on the treble and bass staff and accidentals to create major and minor seconds, aka, whole and half steps if you cant do this yet, stop here, go back to the previous chapters, and practice until you can. In piano scales, two main scales are the major and minor scales. Melodic minor modes and altered scale the jazz piano site. B major and b minor are awkward arpeggios, no matter which fingering is used. Scroll down the page for the free pdf download links. Playing scales on piano has the added benefit of encouraging visual memory. You need to understand something right away to be a piano or keyboard player.