You can get more diagrams in the tuning of your choice by using my interactive web app here. You can learn how to form other melodic and harmonic minor scales at our main piano music scales section. The scale in all keys can be downloaded as a pdffile. 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. Like major scales, minor scales have eight notes, with the top and bottom tonic notes. Each scale has a different use and application in jazz piano. These make great handouts for piano teachers to use with students. A closer look at the major and minor pentatonic scales in the traditional ionian major and aeolian natural minor scales, there exists a tritone augmented 4 th diminished 5 th between the 4 th and 7 th scale degrees in ionian and the 2 nd and b6 scale degrees in aeolian. Scales, arpeggios and cadences, two octaves margaret denton, piano. Playing scales on piano has the added benefit of encouraging visual memory. Minor scales are built on the 6th scale degree of a major scale. To summarize, the most important scales to learn first are the major, dorian, and mixolydian scales because they help you navigate major 7th, minor 7th, and dominant b7 chords, respectively. But there are several different types of chords, depending on the different intervals between the notes.
Minor scales are no less important or smaller in size than major scales. Scroll down the page for the free pdf download links. The circle of fifths is a very useful diagram which shows us what keys are most closely related to each other. For instance, the sixth tone in the c major scale is a, therefore the relative minor of c is a minor. Learn how to play all the 12 major scales on the piano, easily.
Feb 24, 2011 how to play c major and a minor scales and arpeggios. Natural minor scale a scale that contains halfsteps between 23 and 56 scale degrees the natural form. My interactive pentatonic scales chart for piano shows fingering diagrams for both pentatonic major and pentatonic minor scales. Includes fingering annotation and typeset in latex, exported in pdf.
All improviser that learned to use major and minor scales have to learn, after that, to use the relative minor scale. Music theory fundamentals 40 right hand fingerings above, left hand fingerings below. Bellingham music teachers association scale and arpeggio fingering chart for piano major and minor scales and arpeggios two octaves chromatic scale. The minor third is down a fifth three times and up and octave twice. 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. If you need staff paper, you may print the staff paper12 pdf file. Apr 23, 2016 two ways to find major and minor scales method to memorize scales.
Two ways to find major and minor scales method to memorize. Piano class 1, music majors jacobs school of music. You can make a major and a minor scale starting with any note on the piano. The a minor scale include exactly the same notes as the c major scale which makes them relative. Here they are, printable with fingering and study guide. 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.
From each key on the piano you can start either a major or a minor scale. The most common scales when playing the piano, are major and minor scales. This pdf download sheet contains the modes of the major scale in all keys. We call scales relative if they share the same key signature. It illustrates the similarities and the differences between major and minor scales that the minor scale can be regarded as a major scale with lowered third, sixth and seventh notes why learn about major scales. Nov 18, 2008 at the piano db major is actually far easier to play than c major. The associated chord is the cmmaj7 chord which is not found in major scale harmony. Chord progressions in all major and white key minor keys. The relative minor scale is built upon the sixth tone of the major scale. Major, minor and chromatic scales zeckwer, richard.
If you dont want notes, here are picture scales with all the major scales plus fingering for each hand. When we are dealing strictly with major scales we really only have one scale to draw our notes and melodies from. Here is a pdf of the 36 important scales major, dorian, and. Major and minor pentatonic scales avoid significant harmonic. Contrary to the major scale, there are not one but three minor scales, which all will be presented here.
Tip 4 for piano scales, start with e major chopin used to teach his students this, as the hand naturally forms the correct shape in order to play c major and others properly. Major scales with relative minor pentatonic scales major and minor. Here you see an overview of some of the most common scales. I have also included the 5 box patterns you need to learn in order to memorize the scales in all keys. The best way to practice all major scales is by using the circle of fifths. If you hear someone mention that a piano sonata by the composer and pianist franz schubert is played in a major, it means that it depends on the a scale. 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. Mar 11, 2015 recently i did a post about the 3 most important jazz scales for beginning improvisers. However, there are in fact 3 minor scales which you will come across and can use. Apr 09, 2010 ive already taught using a brilliant scaleteaching aid from natalie wickham. All scales are made with a specific pattern of whole steps tones and half steps semitones.
Relative minor and major scales simplifying theory. Just as it did in major scales, starting the minor scale pattern on a different. Building piano scales major, minor, etc in all keys. 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. This scale can sometimes confuse people because it is in a way identical to the major scale. We provide downloads for common scales including major, the three minor scales natural, harmonic, and melodic, the blues scale, and others. Printable piano music scales for beginners online piano coach. Download free piano sheet music for major, minor harmonic, and minor.
All major and minor scales, arpeggios and blocked and broken triads. 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. Below is a detail from the major and minor scale handout that you can get by clicking the text above. The modes of the major scale play a fundamental role in jazz improvisation. 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. 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. The natural minor scale is often referred to simply as the minor scale. Relative minor scale is really used in improvisation, because it gives more ideas to solo. Free printable pdf downloads with notes and fingerings for scales in every key. The pentatonics are fun 5 note scales that are essential to blues and country music.
In classical music, you play the true melodic minor scale ascending and the natural minor scale descending. Free major and minor scales for piano sheet music dion moult. B major and b minor are awkward arpeggios, no matter which. Learn all 12 major scales for piano easily online piano coach. But in jazz, we play the true melodic minor scale both up and down, and call it the jazz melodic minor scale. Print and learn piano music scales with fingering in all major and minor keys. The difference between these two scales is the pattern of. Understanding minor scales in this brief tutorial we are going to try to demystify minor scales. Each scale is provided as a separate pdf download with finger numbers above each note. You need to understand something right away to be a piano or keyboard player. 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. Major, and f minor share no common pattern when played h.
Natural, harmonic and melodic forms about minor scales. The minor scale is the scale which sounds negative it is used by composers to depict sad, melancholic or even angrydramatic moods. Melodic minor scales jyttes piano sheet collection. Printable piano music scales in all major and harmonic minor keys.
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. Select landscape mode to get best results printing it out. However, we have 3 different types of minor scales when working in minor keys. Melodic minor modes and altered scale the jazz piano site. Download our piano scale finger charts for the major scale, harmonic minor scale and more. Major, minor and chromatic scales zeckwer, richard imslp. 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.
Print the scales free pdfs, and follow the study guide below to learn how to practice all scales in the simplest order. Natural, harmonic, and melodic forms margaret denton, piano minor scales. Major and natural minor scales for piano with fingerings. All 12 major scales share the same pattern of whole and half steps between the notes. Digital piano score scales in all major keys two octaves with fingering. What is the difference between major and minor scales.