This melody is played around the circle of fourths starting in concert C minor. both these notes and the harmonic minor scale in general is used frequently in both baroque music (Bach) and bebop (Sonny Stitt, Bud Powell etc…). Although these notes sound mildly dissonant when sustained in a vertical harmonic structure, they are quiet melodic when used in a linear, or horizontal context. Often times dogmatic music pedagogy tells us the b9 on a -7b5 chord is an ‘avoid note’ or that a natural 11 over a dominant 7th chord is an ‘avoid note’. If you examine the modes of harmonic minor you’ll see that the 2nd mode outlines the -7b5 7th chord and that the 5th mode outlines a dominant 7 with a b9. For example in a D-7b5 (ii), G7b9,b13 (V7) and C-maj7(i) progression, a C harmonic minor scale is used throughout. To do this we use the harmonic minor scale of the i chord. The grey coloured fingerings represent the fingerings for descending melodic minor – follow the black and white fingerings for ascending and replace the same ones with grey fingerings for descending.This exercise is an example of using a harmonic minor scale to create a melody over a minor ii-V-i progression. Please note that the scales here are not arranged by order of difficulty, but rather in a chronological order. Of course, if you have only been playing harmonic minor in the previous grades, this may be a bit overwhelming (you are required to learn all 12 melodic minor scales for grade 6), so it is always better to start learning them 1-2 grades earlier (after you have mastered the harmonic minor scales, to avoid confusion). So this is a compilation of all melodic minor scales. However, from grade 6 onwards, students are required to play melodic minor for their exams. I usually encourage students to choose harmonic minor as it is easier to learn and remember the fingering and notes (you do not need to remember 2 different sets of notes and fingering for ascending and descending).
For grades 1 to 5, students are given a choice of playing either harmonic or melodic minor scales.
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