C Melodic minorScale

Formula

W H W W W W H 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7
The family

C Melodic minor on the chromatic circle

C Melodic minor is the 1st mode of the Melodic minor family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W H W W W W H 1 CI Melodic minor 2 DII Dorian ♭2 ♭3 E♭III Lydian augmented 4 FIV Lydian dominant 5 GV Mixolydian ♭6 6 AVI Locrian ♮2 7 BVII Altered C Melodic minor
The whole neck

C Melodic minor across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5
Harmony

Chords in C Melodic minor

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
iCm(maj7)C E♭ G B
iiDm7D F A C
♭III+E♭maj7♯5E♭ G B D
IVF7F A C E♭
VG7G B D F
vi°Am7♭5A C E♭ G
vii°Bm7♭5B D F A
Context

Where C Melodic minor fits

Jazz minor: over minor-major 7 and minor 6 chords, the tonic of a minor key in jazz. Its modes give jazz most of its altered sounds.

C Melodic minor is mode 1 of the melodic minor family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Melodic minor scale in every key

C Melodic minor scale questions

What notes are in the C Melodic minor scale?

C D E♭ F G A B. As degrees from the root: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7.

What is the C Melodic minor scale formula?

1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7, or in steps between the notes, W H W W W W H (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the C Melodic minor scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of C Melodic minor up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the C shape to the A shape to the G shape to the E shape to the D shape.

What chords are in the C Melodic minor scale?

Cm(maj7) (i), Dm7 (ii), E♭maj7♯5 (♭III+), F7 (IV), G7 (V), Am7♭5 (vi°), Bm7♭5 (vii°).

When is the C Melodic minor scale used?

Jazz minor: over minor-major 7 and minor 6 chords, the tonic of a minor key in jazz. Its modes give jazz most of its altered sounds.