Minor scales and both hands
Lesson 14 of 14 · Intermediate · Natural and harmonic minor, and a short piece for two hands.
The natural minor scale
A minor scale sounds darker than a major one. Its pattern of steps is whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole.
Starting on A it uses only white keys: A B C D E F G A.
Relative keys
A minor uses the same notes as C major, so they share a key signature: none. Keys that share one are relative.
Every major key has a relative minor, starting three half steps lower. G major's is E minor, with one sharp (F♯).
The harmonic minor
Raise the 7th note by a half step and you get the harmonic minor: A B C D E F G♯ A.
G♯ pulls strongly up to A, which is why minor pieces are full of it.
Both hands together
Playing different things with each hand is a big step. Learn each hand alone first, then put them together slowly, one step at a time.
In the piece at the end of this practice, the left hand plays one low note at the start of each group while the right hand plays the tune.
Practice
Minor scales.
A natural minor, right hand, up and down.
A harmonic minor, up: listen to the G♯ lead into A.
A short piece in A minor for both hands: left hand on the low notes.
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