Scale formula

I thought I had an article here, but haven’t so that will go on the to-do list. In short …

Scale formulas all relate to the major scale. The major scale has 7 notes numbered from one 1 to 7, starting at the root. So C major for example has the notes C D E F G A B. C is 1, D is 2 etc.

If we flat the 3rd of C major we get C D Eb F G A B and the formula becomes 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7.

Another example… A major scale notes are:

A B C# D E F# G#

They are numbered 1 to 7 as usual.

A=1, B=2, C#=3, D=4, E=5, F#=6, G#=7.

The formula for any major scale is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.

The formula for any natural minor scale is 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7

Therefore, if we apply the natural minor formula to the major scale we take the major scale notes and flatten the 3rd, 6th and 7th. We end up with this:

A B C D E F G

Hope that makes sense?
If not, let me know and I’ll try again 🙂

Yeah, pretty much. Just remember all of these formulas reference the major scale which has just numbers 1 to 7 with no flat or sharp scale degrees. That’s not to be confused with flat or sharpened notes, e.g., A major has sharp notes, c#, f#, g#. These notes are the 3rd, 6th and 7th “degrees” of the scale. Therefore, let’s say A melodic minor scale has the formula 1 2 3b 4 5 6 7. To make this scale we need to flatten the 3rd of A major. Compare the two below:

A Major:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

A B C# D E F# G#

A melodic minor:

1 2 b3 4 5 6 7

A B C D E F# G#

The scale root is always 1. Therefore in …

C major; C is 1

C# major: C# is 1

D major: D is 1

And so on ..

Thanks Adam 🙂