The minor scale and mood
Build a natural minor scale with W H W W H W W, find the relative minor of any major scale, and explain why the same seven notes can feel bright or dark.
THE OTHER LADDER
The natural minor scale
The natural minor scale is a second ladder with its own pattern: W H W W H W W. The half steps come earlier than in major, after the second note and after the fifth. It is called "natural" because there are a few altered versions of minor; this is the plain one they all start from.
Compare the two patterns. Major: W W H W W W H. Minor: W H W W H W W. The first difference is at the second step, and that is what pulls the third note of the scale down.
Build A minor: start on A and follow the minor pattern.
A B C D E F G A
W H W W H W W
In half steps:
2 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2= 12 half steps, one octave.
A minor = A B C D E F G A, all white keys.All white keys again. The half steps landed on B–C and E–F, the two natural tight spots. A minor uses exactly the same seven notes as C major, but it calls A home.
Check yourself
Sara builds E minor with W H W W H W W. Which scale does she get?
- E F G A B C D E
- E F# G# A B C# D# E
- E Gb G A B C D E
- E F# G A B C D E
Show the answer
E F# G A B C D E
Yes. E to F is only a half step, so the first whole step needs F#. After that the white keys fit the pattern all the way up.
Major and minor from the same home note
C major
C D E F G A B C. The third note, E, is 4 half steps above home. This wide, open third is the main source of the bright sound.
C minor
C D Eb F G Ab Bb C. The 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are each a half step lower. The third, Eb, is only 3 half steps above home. That one note changes the mood more than any other.
Relative minor
Every major scale has a relative minor that uses exactly the same seven notes. It starts on the sixth note of the major scale, which is also three half steps below the major's home note.
C major: C D E F G A B. The sixth note is A, so A minor is the relative minor of C major. G major: G A B C D E F#. Its relative minor is E minor, which is why Sara's E minor had one sharp, F#.
Check yourself
Because A minor uses the same notes as C major, a song in A minor sounds just like a song in C major.
Show the answer
False
The notes are the same, but the home note is different. A tune that keeps resting on A, with C a small third above it, has the darker minor colour. One that rests on C sounds major.
CENTRE OF GRAVITY
How to tell which note is home
Home is the note where the tune feels finished. Melodies circle around it, land on it at the end of phrases, and nearly always end on it. If you stop a song one note early, you feel an itch. The note that would scratch it is home.
Sing "Twinkle Twinkle" and stop on "what you…". You can hear the missing last note in your head before you sing it. That note is home, and "Twinkle" also starts on it.
Same city, different home address
Two people live in the same city with the same streets, but in different neighbourhoods. Their daily routes, their corner shop, their sense of "nearly home" are all different. C major and A minor share a city of seven notes and live at different addresses. Where the analogy breaks: people rarely move house in the middle of the day, but songs often do. A verse can sit in A minor and the chorus can open out into C major.
Check yourself
Omid's song is in G major (G A B C D E F# G). He wants a darker middle section that uses the same notes. Which scale should he move to?
- G minor
- B minor
- E minor
- D minor
Show the answer
E minor
Right. The sixth note of G major is E, so E minor shares all seven notes, F# included.
Check yourself
Major or natural minor?
- W W H W W W H
- W H W W H W W
- The third note is 3 half steps above home
- G A B C D E F# G
- A B C D E F G A
- The third note is 4 half steps above home
Show the answer
Major: W W H W W W H, G A B C D E F# G, The third note is 4 half steps above home
Natural minor: W H W W H W W, The third note is 3 half steps above home, A B C D E F G A
Check yourself
Match each major scale to the minor that shares its notes (count up to the sixth note)
Show the answer
- C major: C D E F G A B → A minor
- G major: G A B C D E F# → E minor
- F major: F G A Bb C D E → D minor
- D major: D E F# G A B C# → B minor
Lesson recap
- The natural minor scale follows W H W W H W W. A minor is all white keys.
- Compared with major from the same home, minor lowers the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes by a half step; the third matters most.
- The relative minor starts on the sixth note of a major scale and shares all its notes: C major and A minor, G major and E minor.
- What separates them is the home note, the one where the tune feels finished.
- Minor leans darker and major brighter, but tempo, rhythm and words shape the mood too.