A minor scale guitar notation and TAB – how to play one, two and three-octave A minor scales on guitar. Covers natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales, plus music theory.
Three Types Of A Minor Scales
There's only one A major scale, but three A minor scales in traditional music harmony. The three types of A minor scale are:
- A natural minor
- A harmonic minor
- A melodic minor
The A natural minor scale is probably the most widely-used A minor scale in rock and pop music. The A harmonic minor scale, with its "classical" sound, is also fairly common. The A melodic minor scale is a little more specialised (we'll find out why further down the page) and used mainly by jazz musicians.
On this page, you'll find out how to play all three types of A minor scale on guitar. Tabs and notation have been provided. Try the different scales out and get used the sound of each one.
- You can see the chords in the key of A minor on this page: A Minor Chords
- Use the scales on this page to improvise over these chord progressions: A Minor Chord Progressions
- Play bass? You can find out how to play A minor scales on bass on this page: A Minor Bass Scales
Note that fingerings, where given, are suggestions only. As with many things on guitar, there is more than one way to play an A minor scale. Feel free to adapt the fingerings we've provided if you feel your own might be more suitable for a particular application.
A Natural Minor Scale Guitar Scale
You can find out more about natural minor scales (including diagrams for playing the scale in other keys) on this page: Natural Minor Scale Guitar
1 Octave A Natural Minor Scale
2 Octave A Natural Minor Scale
3 Octave A Natural Minor Scale
A Natural Minor Scale Theory
Notes in an A natural minor scale: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
The A natural minor scale uses the same notes as a C major scale, but starting and ending on an A, rather than a C. For this reason, it can also be viewed as being a modal scale – the A Aeolian scale.
You can learn more about modes and modal scales on this page: Guitar Modes.
To illustrate, a C major scale contains the notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, while an A natural minor scale contains the notes: A, B, C, D, E, F, G.
The natural minor scale starts on the sixth degree of the major scale (i.e. an A) and continues upwards, using the same notes as a C major scale, but starting and ending on A rather than C.
A Harmonic Minor Guitar Scale
1 Octave A Harmonic Minor Scale
2 Octave A Harmonic Minor Scale
3 Octave A Harmonic Minor Scale
A Harmonic Minor Scale Theory
Notes in an A harmonic minor scale: A, B, C, D, E, F, G#
The key signature of A minor contains no sharps or flats. (Therefore, A minor is the relative minor of C major, which also lacks either sharps or flats.)
However, you'll often see G# notes in music written in the key of A minor – particularly in classical music. The G# comes from the A harmonic minor scale, which is the same as an A natural minor scale, except that the seventh note – the G – is sharpened.
Music, particularly classical music of the Baroque and Classical periods, is often harmonized using chords from the harmonic minor scale. From the A harmonic minor scale, we get the E7 chord - the dominant chord in A minor, and one that is often used in all genres of music.
If you're improvising over an A minor chord progression and you come across an E7 chord, you could switch to an A harmonic minor scale, as it contains the G# note that is also in the chord.
Using the A harmonic minor scale can give your melody lines and / or lead guitar solos a classical sound, and this type of minor scale is also common in Latin music.
A Melodic Minor Guitar Scale
1 Octave A Melodic Minor Scale
2 Octave A Melodic Minor Scale
3 Octave A Melodic Minor Scale
A Melodic Minor Scale Theory
Notes in an A melodic minor scale (ascending): A, B, C, D, E, F#, G#
Notes in an A melodic minor scale (descending): A, B, C, D, E, F, G (e.g., the same notes as the A natural minor scale.)
A melodic minor scale has two forms, depending on whether the scale is going up or down.
- In its ascending form (which is used when the scale is rising), the sixth and seventh notes are each raised a semitone. In the key of A minor, this means that the F and G become F# and G#.
- In the descending form, the sixth and seventh notes are played as written in the key signature (A minor has no sharps or flats, so the 6th and 7th notes would be F and G.)
Note that the ascending form of the A melodic minor scale could be considered to be an A major scale with a flattened third note, and that the descending form contains the same notes as an A natural minor scale.
This complex scale evolved as a means of softening the harsh sound caused by the 3-semitone gap (in music theory, an augmented second) between the 6th and 7th notes of the harmonic minor scale.
The ascending form of the melodic minor scale is also known as a 'jazz minor scale' or 'jazz melodic minor scale'. You can read more about this scale here: Jazz Minor Scale.
How To Play A Minor Guitar Scales All Over The Fretboard
You can use movable guitar scale shapes to play A minor scales all over the guitar fretboard. This way, you only have to learn the fingering for one major scale in order to play them all, by playing the same shape in different positions on the fingerboard.
You can see examples of movable minor scale guitar shapes on these pages: Harmonic Minor Scale Guitar, Jazz Minor Scale.
You can see a collection of scales for guitar on this page: Guitar Scales
Guitar Scales Chart Book by Guitar Command
You'll find movable scale shapes for the natural, harmonic and melodic scales, and a wide variety of other common and exotic scales, in our Guitar Scales Chart Book.
