Saxophone Challenge

Day 11 – Saxophone Minor Scales

Master your major scales on saxophone first!

Once you know your major scales, you’ll have some of the minor scales under your fingers already.  The sound of the minor scale is all about the minor third.  All the ‘minor’ scales use a minor third.  Some use a minor sixth and/or minor seventh, but those notes don’t give the minor scale it’s ‘minor’ sound (although they do change the flavor a bit).

If you play a C major scale, but start on A then it becomes an A natural minor scale.

Minor scales are slightly more involved.  There are three types- harmonic, natural, and melodic.

But you can relate the minor scales back to the major scales.

You’ll see minor chords in music all the time, so it’s useful to know the minor scales.

And it’s good to know the different kinds, since they each have a different feeling.

After you have mastered the minor scales, you might want to get into the different modes.  What that means is that you take a major scale and get a different ‘mode’ by starting on each different note.

Tip – By knowing the major scales, you know a lot of how the minor scales work.  And by hearing the sound of it, your ear will help you.

Mindset Lesson–:

Practice scales part of the time, but don’t get caught up in them!  Remember that you’re playing music.