Melodic Minor Part 1: The Modes of Melodic Minor

Hi everyone!

I'm starting this blog to share some of my favorite things regarding guitar harmony as well as more line-based ideas. It also acts to document my thought processes in learning some newer concepts I'm exploring. I haven't done much in the melodic minor modes so I will start on that.

Basically, the melodic minor scale is the major scale with a b3.

Hence, C Major is:

C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

C Melodic Minor is:

C D Eb F G A B C
1 2 b3 4 5 6 7 1

There are 7 modes in the scale which are:

C Melodic Minor -From the root
D Dorian (b2) - from the 2nd degree
Eb Lydian Augmented - from the b3 degree
F Lydian b7 - from the 4th degree
G Mixo (b13) - from the 5th degree
A Locrian (natural 9) - from the 6th degree

and

B Superlocrian/ B Altered - from the 7th degree

The most commonly used of these modes are the:

7th Mode - Altered (used over Altered Dominants- dominant chords with a b13)
4th Mode - Lydian b7 (used for subV7 chord-chord resolving a half-step down and non resolving down a fifth dominant7 chords)
1st Mode - Melodic Minor (used over Tonic Minor Chord- minor 6, minor 6/9, minor/major7)

I'm currently exploring more of the b3rd degree, because it is one of the modes that I love the sound but is not really comfortably in my playing as yet. In the next post, I'm going to explore more of what lurks in the scale.

Till later, play on!