As a bassist, it’s critical for you to properly define the key and the chords of a piece of music. When a song is in a minor key, the notes making up the song’s chords, melody and bassline mostly come from the natural minor scale. Much like the major scale, the notes of the natural minor scale serve as basis for many, many songs. That means there are a total of 12 natural minor scales. You can build the natural minor scale on any of music’s 12 notes. This is the only scale using this unique set of intervals. The natural minor scale is constructed with the intervals: M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, m7, and P8. Intervallic Construction of the Natural Minor ScaleĪnother way of looking at a scale’s construction is the intervals between the root and each of the other notes in the scale. Compare it to the major scale’s whole-step/half-step construction.
#Minor scale pattern series
It is the only scale that has this unique series of whole-steps and half-steps. The location of the two half-steps between the 2nd and 3rd degrees, and the 5th and 6th degrees, is what gives the natural minor scale its unique sound. The natural minor scale whole-step/half-step construction is: WHWWHWW You should remember a half-step is the smallest musical interval and a whole-step is equal to two half-steps. Most scales are often described as a series of half- and whole-steps. To understand the next two sections, be sure you have studied the basic musical intervals.
Whole-Step/Half-Step Construction of the Natural Minor Scale Click the play button on the diagrams to reveal the fingering and hear the notes. To descend the scale, play the same fingering backwards. Shift one string higher and play 1 and 3. Shift to the next higher string, play 1, 3, 4. To finger the natural minor scale, begin on the E-string or A-string and play fingers 1, 3, 4. This fingering works anywhere on the fretboard of the bass when begun on the E-string or A-string.
Starting on finger one may take some getting used to, so pay attention. The initial major patterns you've probably already learned and practiced (major scale, major triad, etc.) begin on your second finger. Most of the easier minor scale and chord pattern fingerings begin on your first finger. You will advance more quickly if you always use the exact same fingering. Be very consistent with your fingerings for any scale or pattern you learn. You will want to use one finger per fret to cover the four-fret range. The first fingering to learn for the one octave natural minor scale is fairly easy. We would then say the natural minor scale has a flatted 3rd, flatted 6th, and flatted 7th.Īll scales and patterns can be played many different ways on the bass fretboard. In the natural minor scale the 3rd, 6th, and 7th scale degrees are all a half-step lower than they are in the major scale. The natural minor scale differs from the notes of the major scale by three notes. Majorįor reference, musicians often talk about scales in how they compare to the major scale. Like the major scale it contains a Root (R), 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. The natural minor scale is a seven-note scale (don’t count the octave). For example, if a song is said to be in the key of G minor it means the song is built using, and revolves around, the notes of the G natural minor scale. When this happens we say the music is in a minor key. Like the major scale, many songs revolve around the notes of the natural minor scale. The natural minor scale is one of music’s most commonly used scales.
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