Your Online Guide to Playing Better Jazz Guitar
Melodic Minor
The Melodic Minor Mode is the first mode of the Melodic Minor Scale and it contains 7 notes. These notes are:
Root – M2nd – m3rd – P4th – P5th – M6th – M7th
So, for a C Melodic Minor Mode, these notes would be:
C – D – Eb – F – G – A – B
There are three different fingerings presented for both the one and two octave Mode. These fingerings start with your index, middle and pinky fingers respectively. Not everyone will find every fingering comfortable or practical, so feel free to experiment with these different fingerings and find one, or two or three, that fit well with your hands.
Notice how the Melodic Minor Mode is only one note different than the Ionian Mode, we’ve added a flat 3rd compared to the Ionian Mode. Knowing this will not only raise your theory chops, but it also makes it easier to learn these fingerings on the guitar. Just take any Ionian Mode, lower the 3rd by one fret, and voila, instant Melodic Minor Mode.
Each fingering is presented on a C Melodic Minor Mode, but make sure to practice these in all 12 keys so that you learn you neck, as well as take these fingerings into every possible spot on the neck. Click on any example to see a larger, printable version of the page.
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Melodic Minor Mode One Octave Fingerings
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Melodic Minor Mode Two Octave Fingerings
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8 Responses to "Melodic Minor"
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matt when you say practice in all 12 keys – can i apply the circle of fifths technique to achieve this on the above or any of the melodic minor scales thx.
Hey Adam,
Sure thing, you can practice chromatically or with any cycle you want to work on, doing both is also good.
Hi Matt
love your site,its packed with great information.
I would like to enquire about the Melodic Minor Scale and its 5 shapes…this is new to me,so please bear with me….the other modes of the Melodic Minor..Dorian b2 etc….do they each have their own 5 shapes or are these other modes the actual shapes within the Melodic Minor mode??.ie: playing each shape one after the other along the neck (caged) ….eg: Ionian mode and its shapes: Ionian,Dorian,Phrygian , Mixolydian , Aeolian (Caged shapes)…any help would be appreciated…and if each mode within the Melodic minor has its own 5 shapes,would it be possible to put them up on your site in the CAGED format…
Regards, Mark.
Hey Mark
I don’t ever really use the caged system, it never really worked for me. I know some people really dig it but i just never really got into it.
For the five positions, each mode could have it’s own group of ive different fingerings, or you could use the five i wrote out to outline each chord.
First position-mMaj7
Second position-7susb9
Third position-maj7#5
Fourth position-7b5
Fifth position-m7b5
To play altered, just play the first position one fret above the root of the chord, then for 7#11, just play position three two frets below the root of the chord.
Hope that helps
Hi Matt,
thanks for the reply.
For me,the Caged system is really helping me progress on guitar. At the moment i have learned all the Major and Minor Pentatonics , and the other modes..Ionian,Dorian etc etc…and i find it very useful.I realise you dont use them yourself,but would there be an chance that maybe you could submit them on your site to help me to continue my progression on guitar?If not,would you know where i could find this caged format for the Melodic Minor mode?
Yours gratefully,
Mark.
Hey,
Yah i have some other articles limed up this month but i can put that together coming up soon.
Thank you so very much Matt,
i greatly appreciate that…looking forward to checking out the Caged format for Melodic Minor…and maybe in the future,Harmonic Minor too..
by the way,i am really enjoying the licks in the two free ebooks ,they are cool!
Cool, glad you are digging the licks on the books!