F♯ Melodic minorScale

Formula

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

F♯ Melodic minor on the chromatic circle

F♯ 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 F♯I Melodic minor 2 G♯II Dorian ♭2 ♭3 AIII Lydian augmented 4 BIV Lydian dominant 5 C♯V Mixolydian ♭6 6 D♯VI Locrian ♮2 7 E♯VII Altered F♯ Melodic minor
The whole neck

F♯ 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 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 1
Harmony

Chords in F♯ 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
iF♯m(maj7)F♯ A C♯ E♯
iiG♯m7G♯ B D♯ F♯
♭III+Amaj7♯5A C♯ E♯ G♯
IVB7B D♯ F♯ A
VC♯7C♯ E♯ G♯ B
vi°D♯m7♭5D♯ F♯ A C♯
vii°E♯m7♭5E♯ G♯ B D♯
Context

Where F♯ 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.

F♯ 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

F♯ Melodic minor scale questions

What notes are in the F♯ Melodic minor scale?

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

What is the F♯ 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 F♯ Melodic minor scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of F♯ 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 E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape to the G shape.

What chords are in the F♯ Melodic minor scale?

F♯m(maj7) (i), G♯m7 (ii), Amaj7♯5 (♭III+), B7 (IV), C♯7 (V), D♯m7♭5 (vi°), E♯m7♭5 (vii°).

When is the F♯ 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.