The melodic mininor function was to make the melody sound cohesive to the major minor sytem.It borrows the Majors scales melodic function by raising the minors 6th and 7th note going UP only and then returning them when descending.Check Out Bach Bouree from thre E minor Lute suite or Jethro Tulls version.This also alters the chords when going UP making the IV and V major chords. This is something that will pay dividends.Thanks! im definitely guilty of taking a sec to memorize the name of each note, especially with the whole sharps and flats situation.Īnd of course what's most important is application.A harmonic minor scale i function is to create a V major chord.In natural minor the V chord is a minor chord.very cool for rock but doesn't have that "classical" sound.hence "harmonic"(chord) Alot of people just start playing the scale without actually knowing which notes they are playing just from the physical memory of where the fingers go. This is something that will pay dividends.Īnd lastly, force yourself to mentally name the note you are playing and force yourself to do the fingering. Just playing major chords might help your hand technique but you can adjust your exercises to actually make the work do more for you.Īnd lastly, force yourself to mentally name the note you are playing and force yourself to do the fingering. You will also conceptualize the scale in a much more indepth manner which makes memorization easier. Scales without foundation, except for perhaps improving your hard arm wrist technique. You will find the practice alot more fruitful. You should get an iphone ipad and have a log book so you can really maximize your practicing. The more you change things up, the better your grasp. Don't always start on the first scale degree. Every day, change the actual starting note. One day use the root c and play all your scales from there and make a mental note how scales are different. If you really try to dissect each scale degree of the chord, which scale degree is the soprano not of the chord, which notes have common tones with different chords.Īlso change the order in how you play them. People tend to just go thru the motions when practicing scales in that manner. Try practicing scales in relation to the given key by using chords to get a feeling of the scale being supported by different chords.