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Music Theory

Melodic Major Scales

The melodic major scale is a variant of the major scale in which both the sixth and the seventh degrees are lowered by a half step (UK: semitone): 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. It keeps the major third of the major scale but takes the minor sixth and minor seventh of the natural minor scale.

Names. Besides melodic major, this scale is also called Mixolydian ♭6, Aeolian dominant, Hindu scale or Aeolian ♮3. It is the fifth mode of the melodic minor scale: the notes of F melodic minor going up (F G A♭ B♭ C D E), played from C, give C melodic major. Spanish-language conservatory teaching calls it the escala mayor mixta secundaria ("secondary mixed major scale"), because it mixes a major third with the minor sixth and seventh. The scale that lowers only the sixth degree is the harmonic major scale (the "primary mixed" scale), and the one that lowers only the seventh is the Mixolydian scale. The melodic major scale makes both changes at once.

We start from the major scale:

C major scale, no accidentals: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Between one note and the next: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

Lowering the sixth and seventh degrees by a half step gives the melodic major scale:

C melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: C, D, E, F, G, A♭, B♭, C. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: A♭, B♭.

In the examples the lowered notes appear in red to make them easy to see; in exercises you do not need to mark them.

The scales are shown in two ways: with the accidentals written inside the scale and with the key signature. Both ways are equivalent.

Interval pattern

The pattern of whole steps and half steps of the melodic major scale is W–W–H–W–H–W–W (W = whole step, H = half step). The lowered sixth degree creates a half step between the 5th and 6th degrees and a whole step between the 6th and 7th.

Degree12345678
Step from the previous degree—WWHWHWW
C melodic majorCDEFGA♭B♭C
C majorCDEFGABC

Compare it with the natural minor scale on the same tonic (C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭). The two scales differ only in the third degree: E in melodic major, E♭ in natural minor. Do not confuse the melodic major scale with the relative minor of the same key signature: C melodic major (C D E F G A♭ B♭) does not have the same notes as A natural minor (A B C D E F G).

In this scale the tonic triad is major (C–E–G), while the triads built on the fourth and fifth degrees are minor (F–A♭–C and G–B♭–D).

All 15 melodic major scales

Scale123456↓7↓Change from the major scale
C melodic majorCDEFGA♭B♭A→A♭, B→B♭
G melodic majorGABCDE♭F♮E→E♭, F♯→F♮
D melodic majorDEF♯GAB♭C♮B→B♭, C♯→C♮
A melodic majorABC♯DEF♮G♮F♯→F♮, G♯→G♮
E melodic majorEF♯G♯ABC♮D♮C♯→C♮, D♯→D♮
B melodic majorBC♯D♯EF♯G♮A♮G♯→G♮, A♯→A♮
F♯ melodic majorF♯G♯A♯BC♯D♮E♮D♯→D♮, E♯→E♮
C♯ melodic majorC♯D♯E♯F♯G♯A♮B♮A♯→A♮, B♯→B♮
F melodic majorFGAB♭CD♭E♭D→D♭, E→E♭
B♭ melodic majorB♭CDE♭FG♭A♭G→G♭, A→A♭
E♭ melodic majorE♭FGA♭B♭C♭D♭C→C♭, D→D♭
A♭ melodic majorA♭B♭CD♭E♭F♭G♭F→F♭, G→G♭
D♭ melodic majorD♭E♭FG♭A♭B double flatC♭B♭→B double flat, C→C♭
G♭ melodic majorG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭E double flatF♭E♭→E double flat, F→F♭
C♭ melodic majorC♭D♭E♭F♭G♭A double flatB double flatA♭→A double flat, B♭→B double flat

Accidentals written inside the scale

Keys with sharps

G Melodic Major Scale

G melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: G, A, B, C, D, E♭, F♮, G. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: E♭, F♮.

D Melodic Major Scale

D melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: D, E, F♯, G, A, B♭, C♮, D. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: B♭, C♮.

A Melodic Major Scale

A melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: A, B, C♯, D, E, F♮, G♮, A. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: F♮, G♮.

E Melodic Major Scale

E melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♮, D♮, E. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: C♮, D♮.

B Melodic Major Scale

B melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♮, A♮, B. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: G♮, A♮.

F♯ Melodic Major Scale

F♯ melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♮, E♮, F♯. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: D♮, E♮.

C♯ Melodic Major Scale

C♯ melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♮, B♮, C♯. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: A♮, B♮.

Keys with flats

F Melodic Major Scale

F melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: F, G, A, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: D♭, E♭.

B♭ Melodic Major Scale

B♭ melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: G♭, A♭.

E♭ Melodic Major Scale

E♭ melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: C♭, D♭.

A♭ Melodic Major Scale

A♭ melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: F♭, G♭.

D♭ Melodic Major Scale

D♭ melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B double flat, C♭, D♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: B double flat, C♭.

G♭ Melodic Major Scale

G♭ melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E double flat, F♭, G♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: E double flat, F♭.

C♭ Melodic Major Scale

C♭ melodic major scale, with the accidentals written next to each note: C♭, D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A double flat, B double flat, C♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: A double flat, B double flat.

Accidentals in the key signature

Keys with sharps

G Melodic Major Scale

G melodic major scale with a key signature of 1 sharp: G, A, B, C, D, E♭, F♮, G. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: E♭, F♮.

D Melodic Major Scale

D melodic major scale with a key signature of 2 sharps: D, E, F♯, G, A, B♭, C♮, D. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: B♭, C♮.

A Melodic Major Scale

A melodic major scale with a key signature of 3 sharps: A, B, C♯, D, E, F♮, G♮, A. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: F♮, G♮.

E Melodic Major Scale

E melodic major scale with a key signature of 4 sharps: E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♮, D♮, E. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: C♮, D♮.

B Melodic Major Scale

B melodic major scale with a key signature of 5 sharps: B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♮, A♮, B. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: G♮, A♮.

F♯ Melodic Major Scale

F♯ melodic major scale with a key signature of 6 sharps: F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♮, E♮, F♯. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: D♮, E♮.

C♯ Melodic Major Scale

C♯ melodic major scale with a key signature of 7 sharps: C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♮, B♮, C♯. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: A♮, B♮.

Keys with flats

F Melodic Major Scale

F melodic major scale with a key signature of 1 flat: F, G, A, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: D♭, E♭.

B♭ Melodic Major Scale

B♭ melodic major scale with a key signature of 2 flats: B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: G♭, A♭.

E♭ Melodic Major Scale

E♭ melodic major scale with a key signature of 3 flats: E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: C♭, D♭.

A♭ Melodic Major Scale

A♭ melodic major scale with a key signature of 4 flats: A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: F♭, G♭.

D♭ Melodic Major Scale

D♭ melodic major scale with a key signature of 5 flats: D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B double flat, C♭, D♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: B double flat, C♭.

G♭ Melodic Major Scale

G♭ melodic major scale with a key signature of 6 flats: G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E double flat, F♭, G♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: E double flat, F♭.

C♭ Melodic Major Scale

C♭ melodic major scale with a key signature of 7 flats: C♭, D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A double flat, B double flat, C♭. In red, the notes that differ from the major scale: A double flat, B double flat.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the melodic major scale?
The melodic major scale is the major scale with the sixth and seventh degrees lowered by a half step: 1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. It is also called Mixolydian ♭6, Aeolian dominant or Hindu scale. Spanish-language conservatory books call it the secondary mixed major scale (escala mayor mixta secundaria).
How is the melodic major scale different from the harmonic major scale?
The harmonic major scale lowers only the sixth degree (1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 7), while the melodic major scale lowers both the sixth and the seventh (1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7). The harmonic major scale keeps the leading tone and has an augmented 2nd between the 6th and 7th degrees; the melodic major scale has neither.
How is it different from the Mixolydian scale?
The Mixolydian scale lowers only the seventh degree (1 2 3 4 5 6 ♭7). The melodic major scale lowers the sixth as well, so it has a minor sixth where Mixolydian has a major sixth.
What are the notes of C melodic major?
C D E F G A♭ B♭. Compared with C major, A becomes A♭ and B becomes B♭.
Is the melodic major scale the same as the descending melodic minor scale?
No. The descending melodic minor scale is the natural minor scale (C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ for C minor). C melodic major has the same notes except for the third, which is E instead of E♭. It is also not the same set of notes as the relative minor of C, A natural minor. The correct relation is that melodic major is the fifth mode of the melodic minor scale: C melodic major is the fifth mode of F melodic minor.