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Do you know these 5 patterns alreday?
What is the minor scale? How is it different than the major scale? In this lesson we’ll break down the minor scale and its qualities and take a look at how it is applied to the guitar fretboard.
If you’re not familiar with the major scale, I would recommend checking out Major Scale: Patterns, Positions, and Theory first and coming back to this lesson. This lesson will make much more sense if you first have an understanding of the major scale.
Minor Scale Formula
Unlike the major scale that is bright and happy, the minor scale has a sad and emotional feel to it. However, like the major scale, it is a diatonic scale consisting of 7 notes and an octave note.
So what makes this scale different?
The difference lies in the 3rd degree of the scale. The major scale contains a major 3rd. That is, the 3rd of the major scale is 2 whole steps away from the root. The minor scale, however, contains a minor, or flattened 3rd degree that is 1 1/2 steps away from the root.