The name of a natural minor scale appears. Your task is to draw its 8 notes on the staff. The natural minor scale (the Aeolian mode) is the "pure" minor scale, with no raised leading tone: it is what you get by playing the notes of its relative major starting from the 6th degree.
How to use the exercise: Click (or drag) on the staff to place each note. First choose the accidental with the ♭ ♮ ♯ buttons if the note needs one. Undo removes the last note and Clear restarts the exercise. The notes are sorted automatically from low to high. The magnifier shows the note you are about to place.
The pattern of the natural minor scale
The pattern is W – H – W – W – H – W – W (whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step; UK: tone and semitone). The half step between the 2nd and the 3rd degree gives the scale its minor 3rd and its character, in contrast to the major 3rd of the major scale.
| Degree | Step | A minor | E minor | D minor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | — | A | E | D |
| 2nd | W | B | F♯ | E |
| 3rd | H | C | G | F |
| 4th | W | D | A | G |
| 5th | W | E | B | A |
| 6th | H | F | C | B♭ |
| 7th | W | G | D | C |
| 8th | W | A | E | D |
The natural minor and its relative major
Each natural minor scale shares its key signature with a major scale: they are relative keys. The minor tonic is a minor third below the major tonic (or the 6th degree of the major scale). That is why A minor uses only the white keys, just like C major, but with A as the tonal center.
To lock these scales into your fingers, practice them with the online metronome at 60-70% of your target tempo, raising it by 5 BPM each time you play three repetitions without mistakes. The online tuner lets you check your tuning before you start.
Printable worksheet (PDF)
The same exercise on paper, for class: eight natural minor scales to write without a key signature, with each accidental before its note. With a separate answer sheet, with the answers in red.
It goes from easier to harder: first key signatures with few accidentals in treble clef, then more accidentals and the bass clef.
Download the worksheet (PDF A4) Answers
You may print and photocopy the worksheets freely for the classroom. There are also worksheets of this same type for identifying and writing with a key signature, and in the scales index you can create custom worksheets, mixing whichever types you like.