Minor Scales Question


After watching Howie's tutorial I started putting together scale templates and when I got to the Minor Scales I started thinking which one is more commonly used in house.

I know it all depends on the track and you should use your ears. Whatever sounds good is good and all that but still curious.

My guess would be the Natural Minor as opposed to the Harmonic or Melodic Minor. What do you guys think?

You can use them all. It depends on the mood.



You should focus on it like a right brained person would. Not as what is logical, but how does it make you feel. Thats all that matters. Does it convey the mood you want it to convey…

pretty sure major scales are used much more than the others. almost all my mp3 i have show that their in major scales according to mixed in key, probably a 7:1 ratio

I think A minor is used alot in trance productions etc…, but again i guess its down to the feel your after with your track.

[quote]tommyt (28/05/2010)[hr]pretty sure major scales are used much more than the others. almost all my mp3 i have show that their in major scales according to mixed in key, probably a 7:1 ratio[/quote]



I really wouldn’t trust that software Tommy. It really is easy to use your ear & it will be alot more accurate than that.

[quote]tommyt (28/05/2010)[hr]pretty sure major scales are used much more than the others. almost all my mp3 i have show that their in major scales according to mixed in key, probably a 7:1 ratio[/quote]



Its not…



Happy Hardcore is written in major scales. Compare that to house and you will notice a significant difference.

wow thank u for that tip howie :slight_smile:

this is how i describe the Music Key scales.

Minor= sad, melancholy mysterious, dark ,

Major = Happy , Happy , too happy :slight_smile:

so like howie says doesnt matter the root of key. u just need to jam and have a sense what you want your results to sound :wink:

[quote]alinenunez (30/05/2010)[hr]this is how i describe the Music Key scales.

Minor= sad, melancholy mysterious, dark ,

Major = Happy , Happy , too happy :slight_smile:

so like howie says doesnt matter the root of key. u just need to jam and have a sense what you want your results to sound ;)[/quote]



There are variations of mood in a minor scale. So, find the one that best fits your mood or the mood you are trying to convey…

Very true Howie.



For example the melodic minor scale is identical to the major scale except for the all defining minor 3rd. that’s all that separates the two scales.



but things can be deceptive because the melodic minor generates some very dissonant chords …more so than the other minor scales. for example here’s the C minor melodic chords.

Cmin Dmin Ebaug Fmaj Gmaj Adim Bdim

with 2 diminished and one augmented things can get very dark.