In Lesson 8, you learned how to write major scales. For the Quiz after Lesson 9, you wrote all of the major scales on a Scale Reference Sheet. Please do not do this lesson unless you fully understand the construction of a major scale.

Take a look at this scale:

This is an F-major scale in which the accidental (B-flat) has been used in place of a key signature. Each note of the scale has been numbered. As you can see, we call the final note '1' because it is simply a repeat of the first note of the scale ('F'). Write this scale on a piece of manuscript paper.

Each note of a scale has a so-called "Technical Name" associated with it. A technical name is a word that identifies the note, and we often speak of the "function" of the note by using a technical name. Here they are:

In lesson 9, you learned how to write key signatures. Every major scale has its own particular key signature, and we can identify major scales by referring to that key signature. For instance, if I say, "I'm thinking of a major scale that has one flat," you know that I am thinking of an F-major scale. That's because F-major is the only major scale that has one flat. Now, here's a new bit of information: There is also a MINOR SCALE that has that same key signature. For every possible key signature, there is one major scale and one minor scale that use that signature. We say that the two scales are related, because they use the same key signature. Let's discover which minor scale is related to F-major.

Look at the F-major scale that you've written down. Find the sixth note. (The submediant). That note is 'D'. On the next line below your major scale, draw a treble clef, and write that note 'D':

Now draw a scale, starting on the 'D', and proceed upwards for one octave. Remember to use a flat in front of the 'B', because we're going to use the same key signature as F-major:

You've just created a D-minor scale! The D-minor scale is called the relative minor of F-major. It is called the relative minor because it is related to F-major. How is it related? It uses the same key signature. Both F-major and D-minor use one flat as their key signature. Here's what a D-minor scale looks like with a key signature:

So to find the relative minor of a major scale, find the sixth note of the major. That note is the note upon which the relative minor would be built.

The type of minor scale you just learned to write is called a natural minor scale. Sometimes you see them referred to as "Pure minor". There are two other types of minor scales you need to learn: the harmonic minor and melodic minor.

IMPORTANT:
You should play these, and all, examples in this course. It is not enough to have an intellectual understanding of musical concepts. Music lives in the ears, and you must take the time to play each example and become familiar with them.

Now you should know how to take a major scale, find the note upon which the relative minor scale will be constructed, and write the three forms of that minor scale. But what if you're simply told "Write a B-minor scale"? How do you determine the key signature?

If you don't know the key signature, it will help to find the relative major. As you know, a minor scale and its relative major will share the same key signature. In the case of B-minor, you know that 'B' is the sixth note of some major scale. Simply go up a whole tone, plus a diatonic semitone. That will get you the relative major. So a whole tone plus a diatonic semitone above 'B' is 'D'. D-major will use the same key signature as B-minor. If you've done your Scale Reference Sheet, you will already know that D-major has a key signature of two sharps. Same thing for B-minor!