Playing C Melodic Minor from the 8th Fret
C, D, Eb, F, G, A and B form the C melodic minor scale. Only the Eb separates it from C major, and the major 6th and 7th remove the awkward gap that harmonic minor has.
With no open string to rely on, find the root on the 8th fret of the low E string or the 3rd fret of the A string. The tonic chord is the minor-major seventh Cm(maj7). A look at playing scales over chords shows where this scale fits in jazz.
Play the C melodic minor scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the C melodic minor scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | Root | 0 |
| D | 2 | Major 2nd | 2 |
| Eb | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| F | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| G | 5 | Perfect 5th | 7 |
| A | 6 | Major 6th | 9 |
| B | 7 | Major 7th | 11 |
Structure
C melodic minor scale notes:
How the melodic minor scale is built:
The melodic minor scale is built from the degrees 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7, which gives the step pattern W-H-W-W-W-W-H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. That makes it a 7-note scale.
It is the parent scale of its own modal family.
It is also known as Jazz Minor.
C Melodic Minor Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (B)
Box pattern — position 1
Box pattern — position 2
Box pattern — position 3
Box pattern — position 4
Box pattern — position 5
3 notes per string — position 1
3 notes per string — position 2
3 notes per string — position 3
3 notes per string — position 4
3 notes per string — position 5
Chords in the C melodic minor scale
Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.
Related modes
These scales share the same notes as the melodic minor scale, starting from a different degree.
The melodic minor scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
