The staff shows the 8 notes of a natural minor scale, and your task is to recognize which one it is. On easy you choose from 4 options; on hard you first pick the root note and then its accidental.
Tip: The natural minor scale has exactly the same notes as its relative major. Find the tonic (the lowest note, where the scale starts) and check the pattern of whole steps and half steps: W-H-W-W-H-W-W.
What is the natural minor scale?
The natural minor scale (also called the Aeolian mode) has 8 notes and the pattern 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). It is the basic form of the minor scale and the starting point for the harmonic and melodic forms.
Its key signature is the same as the one of its relative major, whose tonic is a minor third above the minor tonic. A natural minor and C major, for example, use exactly the same notes and no accidentals.
Example: A natural minor
A natural minor: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A. It has no accidentals and uses the white keys of the piano from one A to the next. Its relative major is C major.
The 15 natural minor scales
As with the major scales, there are 15 natural minor scales, one for each key. Each shares its key signature with the relative major: A minor with C major (no accidentals), E minor with G major (1♯), B minor with D major (2♯), and so on up to seven accidentals. On the flat side: D minor (1♭), G minor (2♭), C minor (3♭).
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 written on one side of an A4 sheet, half with a key signature and half with the accidentals before each note. The name of each scale is written below it. 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 writing and writing with a key signature, and in the scales index you can create custom worksheets, mixing whichever types you like.