Minor keeps the same 1-to-7 numbering, but three degrees slide down a semitone: ♭3, ♭6, ♭7. Solfège renames them me, le, te. Of the three, ♭3 matters most: it's the single note that makes minor sound minor.
The scale, numbered
A minor, degree by degree, octave included. Pick any home note and the scale rebuilds around it. Shapes mark the anchors: 1 wears the star, ♭3 the triangle, 5 the pentagon.
Home note · sets the minor key
The notes of A minor · tap a degree to hear do, then the degree
Every degree has a name tag
Vocabulary
The formal titles carry over from major, with one change at the top: natural minor's ♭7 is the subtonic, a whole step under home, not a leading tone. Below are the names for the notes in A minor. Tap a row to hear the 1, then that degree.
NoteHzDegreeSolfègeFormal title
The tell-tale third
One semitone separates mi from me. Both runs start on A: same root, same fifth; only the third moves.
These are the major 3rd and minor 3rd intervals.
Quiz
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Which degrees flatten in the minor scale?
Score 100% on every quiz and game to complete this lesson. A perfect run sticks: a later miss never undoes it.Three flavors of minor →