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Harmonic Minor Scales
The first thing you should realize is that there are
3 types of minor scales:
1) Natural, or Pure, Minor
2) Harmonic Minor
3) Melodic Minor
On this page, we'll introduce the
Harmonic Minor variety.
The Harmonic Minor is VERY similar
to Pure or Natural Minor,
with one very important distinction:
The Half-Step between the 7-8 degrees
is retained from the Major mode. Thus, our 7th scale degree again
acts as a LEADING TONE to the tonic, or home pitch. The primary
reason for this is the fact that composers wanted the Dominant
Chord to be a Major chord......thus they needed the "raised"
third. (The third of the Dominant Chord is the 7th scale degree)
The 6th scale degree is in it's
pure minor form, which results in a
"strange" interval between
6-7, the AUGMENTED SECOND.
***It is this augmented second that
gives the Harmonic Minor scale a very unique and colorful flavor!
As an example, here would be the
pitches in a Bb Harmonic Minor Scale. Pay special attention to
the big "gap" (Aug. 2nd)
between the 6-7 notes:
Bb - C- Db - Eb - F - Gb - A - Bb
As with your Major Scales,
you should practice the following scales with a METRONOME
Strive for beautiful intonation and memorize these
as soon as possible.
(Not a problem if you know your Majors!)
Start slowly, learn them CORRECTLY. Then work for speed.
Don't be afraid to write positions
over any notes that give you trouble. ALTERNATE positions should
be marked for sure!
If some of these are out of your range, don't fret.
Just start them in the octave you can manage and work your way
up. Challenge yourself, though, and TRY them in the extremes of
your range.
*TIP:
once you've got a handle on all these scales, print this page.
Then, cut the scales into little strips. Fold them and put them
in your trombone case. Every day, as part of your Daily Routine,
pick 4 at random and do the Warm-up
with them.
Or, refer only to the key signatures by
printing out this handy guide: 
Just like when we learned our Major
Scales, we'll start with NO Flats and add one with each new
scale. We'll do the same with Sharps, too.
A Harmonic Minor:
D Harmonic Minor:
G Harmonic Minor:
C Harmonic Minor:
F Harmonic Minor:
Bb Harmonic Minor:
Eb Harmonic Minor:
Ab Harmonic Minor:
Db Harmonic Minor: (beware the Double-Flats...they
lower the pitch by one whole step)
OK.....enough of that double-flat
stuff. On to Sharps:
E Harmonic Minor:
B Harmonic Minor:
F# Harmonic Minor:
C# Harmonic Minor:
G# Harmonic Minor: (beware the double-sharps!
They raise a pitch one whole step)
Things just get ugly from here...too
many double-sharps.
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