Ab melodic minor scale
- Notes
- Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F G
- Formula
- 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7
- Steps
- W H W W W W H (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- Ab jazz minor, Ab ascending melodic minor
Seven notes from Ab up to the next Ab. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
Ab melodic minor on the piano
From Ab4 to Ab5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from Ab
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ab | 1 | root | 0 |
| Bb | 2 | major second | 2 |
| Cb | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| Db | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| Eb | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| F | 6 | major sixth | 9 |
| G | 7 | major seventh | 11 |
Ab melodic minor on the guitar
Standard tuning, high e on top as in tablature, open strings to fret 12. Every dot is a note of the scale; the pattern repeats from fret 12 up.
The seven chords of Ab melodic minor
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on Ab, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Abm (same notes, spelled G#m on its chord page) | Ab Cb Eb | |
| ii | Bbm | Bb Db F | |
| bIII+ | Cbaug (same notes, spelled Baug on its chord page) | Cb Eb G | |
| IV | Db | Db F Ab | |
| V | Eb | Eb G Bb | |
| vi° | Fdim | F Ab Cb | |
| vii° | Gdim | G Bb Db |
Seventh chords
This scale is where the V chord of G# minor comes from; the key page lists it with the other chords of the key.
How Ab melodic minor is built
The natural minor with both its 6th and 7th raised (E becomes F and F# becomes G), which removes the awkward three-semitone gap of the harmonic minor. It is the same as Ab major with only the 3rd lowered: C becomes Cb.
In classical teaching this is the ascending form only: coming down, the melody falls back to the G# natural minor (F# E D# C# B A# G#). Jazz players use the raised form in both directions and call it the jazz minor; the diagrams here show that form.
Played some notes and not sure which scale they come from? The scale finder listens to the piano, a MIDI keyboard or the microphone and ranks all 180 scales.
What this page cannot do
- One spelling per scale. the root is spelled the way that needs the fewest sharps and flats.
- Equal temperament only. Blues and many folk traditions bend notes between these pitches, and Arabic and Turkish maqam scales use quarter tones that a piano cannot play.
- The guitar diagram shows standard tuning only and does not suggest fingerings; any note can be played in several places.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, not a recorded instrument.