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Music Theory

Natural Minor Scales

The natural minor scale is the basic minor scale of the tonal system. It has 8 notes and follows this pattern of intervals: whole step – half step – whole step – whole step – half step – whole step – whole step. (A whole step is a tone in UK terms, and a half step is a semitone.) Apply the pattern from any note and you get the natural minor scale of that note.

How is a natural minor scale built?

Every natural minor scale has 8 notes in stepwise order that follow the pattern:

Whole step – half step – whole step – whole step – half step – whole step – whole step

The staff (UK: stave) below shows A natural minor as an example:

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

Move this pattern to any tonic and you get the natural minor scale of that note.

The scales are shown in two equivalent forms: with the accidentals written inside the scale, and with a key signature. Which one you need depends on the exercise.

All 15 natural minor scales

Scale1234567Accidentals
A natural minorABCDEFGNone
E natural minorEF♯GABCD1♯: F♯
B natural minorBC♯DEF♯GA2♯: F♯ C♯
F♯ natural minorF♯G♯ABC♯DE3♯: F♯ C♯ G♯
C♯ natural minorC♯D♯EF♯G♯AB4♯: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯
G♯ natural minorG♯A♯BC♯D♯EF♯5♯: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯
D♯ natural minorD♯E♯F♯G♯A♯BC♯6♯: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯
A♯ natural minorA♯B♯C♯D♯E♯F♯G♯7♯: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯
D natural minorDEFGAB♭C1♭: B♭
G natural minorGAB♭CDE♭F2♭: B♭ E♭
C natural minorCDE♭FGA♭B♭3♭: B♭ E♭ A♭
F natural minorFGA♭B♭CD♭E♭4♭: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭
B♭ natural minorB♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭5♭: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭
E♭ natural minorE♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭6♭: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭
A♭ natural minorA♭B♭C♭D♭E♭F♭G♭7♭: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭

Accidentals written inside the scale

Natural minor scales with sharps

E natural minor

E natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: E, F♯, G, A, B, C, D, E. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

B natural minor

B natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, A, B. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

F♯ natural minor

F♯ natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

C♯ natural minor

C♯ natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

G♯ natural minor

G♯ natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

D♯ natural minor

D♯ natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

A♯ natural minor

A♯ natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♯. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

Natural minor scales with flats

D natural minor

D natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: D, E, F, G, A, B♭, C, D. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

G natural minor

G natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

C natural minor

C natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

F natural minor

F natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

B♭ natural minor

B♭ natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

E♭ natural minor

E♭ natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

A♭ natural minor

A♭ natural minor, with the accidentals written next to each note: A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭. Between one note and the next: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.

Accidentals in the key signature

Natural minor scales with sharps

E natural minor

E natural minor with a key signature of 1 sharp: E, F♯, G, A, B, C, D, E.

B natural minor

B natural minor with a key signature of 2 sharps: B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, A, B.

F♯ natural minor

F♯ natural minor with a key signature of 3 sharps: F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯.

C♯ natural minor

C♯ natural minor with a key signature of 4 sharps: C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯.

G♯ natural minor

G♯ natural minor with a key signature of 5 sharps: G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯.

D♯ natural minor

D♯ natural minor with a key signature of 6 sharps: D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯.

A♯ natural minor

A♯ natural minor with a key signature of 7 sharps: A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♯.

Natural minor scales with flats

D natural minor

D natural minor with a key signature of 1 flat: D, E, F, G, A, B♭, C, D.

G natural minor

G natural minor with a key signature of 2 flats: G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G.

C natural minor

C natural minor with a key signature of 3 flats: C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C.

F natural minor

F natural minor with a key signature of 4 flats: F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F.

B♭ natural minor

B♭ natural minor with a key signature of 5 flats: B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭.

E♭ natural minor

E♭ natural minor with a key signature of 6 flats: E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭.

A♭ natural minor

A♭ natural minor with a key signature of 7 flats: A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F♭, G♭, A♭.

Order of the minor keys with sharps

  1. E minor has 1 sharp.
  2. B minor has 2 sharps.
  3. F♯ minor has 3 sharps.
  4. C♯ minor has 4 sharps.
  5. G♯ minor has 5 sharps.
  6. D♯ minor has 6 sharps.
  7. A♯ minor has 7 sharps.

The order of the sharp keys comes from going up a perfect 5th each time, starting from A.

Order of the minor keys with flats

  1. D minor has 1 flat.
  2. G minor has 2 flats.
  3. C minor has 3 flats.
  4. F minor has 4 flats.
  5. B♭ minor has 5 flats.
  6. E♭ minor has 6 flats.
  7. A♭ minor has 7 flats.

The order of the flat keys comes from going down a perfect 5th each time, starting from A.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a natural minor scale built?
A natural minor scale has 8 notes that follow this interval pattern: whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step. Apply the pattern from any note and you get the natural minor scale of that note.
How is the natural minor scale different from the major scale?
The natural minor scale has its third, sixth and seventh degrees a half step lower than the major scale. This gives it its darker sound. The major scale follows the pattern W-W-H-W-W-W-H, while the natural minor follows W-H-W-W-H-W-W.
How many natural minor scales are there?
There are 15 natural minor scales in the standard set of keys: A minor (no accidentals), 7 with sharps (E, B, F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯) and 7 with flats (D, G, C, F, B♭, E♭, A♭). Each one is the relative minor of a major scale.
What are the notes of the G natural minor scale?
The G natural minor scale has the notes G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭ and F. It has two flats (B♭ and E♭) and it is the relative minor of B♭ major.
How is the natural minor scale related to the major scale?
Every natural minor scale has the same notes as a major scale: it is the relative minor. The minor tonic is a minor third below the tonic of its relative major: A minor → C major; E minor → G major; B minor → D major.