A Melodic Minor Scale on Guitar

The A melodic minor scale is A, B, C, D, E, F# and G#. Think of A major with a lowered 3rd, or A natural minor with F and G both raised a half step, and you get the smooth, jazz-friendly sound this scale is known for.

The open A string rings the root, which returns on the 5th fret of the low E string. The chord on the 4th degree is the dominant seventh D7, a trait that sets it apart from the other minor scales. See mixing major and minor modes for more colours.

Play the A melodic minor scale

Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.

Notes of the A melodic minor scale

NoteDegreeIntervalSemitones from root
A1Root0
B2Major 2nd2
Cb3Minor 3rd3
D4Perfect 4th5
E5Perfect 5th7
F#6Major 6th9
G#7Major 7th11

Structure

A melodic minor scale notes:

A B C D E F# G#

How the melodic minor scale is built:

The melodic minor scale is built from the degrees 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7, which gives the step pattern W-H-W-W-W-W-H (W = whole step, H = half step).

Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. That makes it a 7-note scale.

It is the parent scale of its own modal family.

It is also known as Jazz Minor.

A Melodic Minor Scale Guitar Patterns

Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - On one string (A)

On one string (A)

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - Box pattern — position 1

Box pattern — position 1

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - Box pattern — position 2

Box pattern — position 2

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - Box pattern — position 3

Box pattern — position 3

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - Box pattern — position 4

Box pattern — position 4

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - Box pattern — position 5

Box pattern — position 5

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - 3 notes per string — position 1

3 notes per string — position 1

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - 3 notes per string — position 2

3 notes per string — position 2

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - 3 notes per string — position 3

3 notes per string — position 3

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - 3 notes per string — position 4

3 notes per string — position 4

A Melodic Minor Scale scale guitar pattern - 3 notes per string — position 5

3 notes per string — position 5

Chords in the A melodic minor scale

Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.

DegreeTriadSeventh chord
1 Am Am(maj7)
2 Bm Bm7
b3 Caug Cmaj7(b13)
4 D D7
5 E E7
6 F#dim F#m7(b5)
7 G#dim G#m7(b5)

Related modes

These scales share the same notes as the melodic minor scale, starting from a different degree.

Dorian b2 Scale Lydian Augmented Scale Lydian Dominant Scale Mixolydian b6 Scale Aeolian b5 Scale Super Locrian Scale

The melodic minor scale in other keys

C C# Db D D# Eb E F F# Gb G G# Ab A A# Bb B

All about the melodic minor scale →

Giancarlo Facoetti, founder of FaChords Guitar

Created by

Giancarlo Facoetti

Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher