Minor scales
D melodic minor scale
The D melodic minor scale is D E F G A B C♯ D going up, D C B♭ A G F E D coming down. It uses the key signature of F major, one flat (B♭), and raises the sixth and seventh notes on the way up only. Here it is for both hands with the standard fingering.
- 1 flat: B♭
- Relative major: F major
- RH 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
- LH 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1
Listen with the cursor following the notes, or play along: the music waits for each note, and the keys show which finger to use.
The notes
D minor has one flat, B♭, the key signature of F major, its relative major.
| Degree | Going up | Coming down | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | RH | LH | Note | RH | LH | |
| 1Tonic | D | 1 | 5 | D | 1 | 5 |
| 2Supertonic | E | 2 | 4 | E | 2 | 4 |
| 3Mediant | F | 3 | 3 | F | 3 | 3 |
| 4Subdominant | G | 1 | 2 | G | 1 | 2 |
| 5Dominant | A | 2 | 1 | A | 2 | 1 |
| 6Submediant | B | 3 | 3 | B♭ | 3 | 3 |
| 7Leading note | C♯ | 4 | 2 | C | 4 | 2 |
| 8Tonic | D | 5 | 1 | D | 5 | 1 |
Key signature
D minor has one flat (B♭) in its key signature, the same as F major, its relative major. The melodic minor adds two accidentals going up, B and C♯, and takes them back coming down.
What makes it melodic minor
The melodic minor raises the sixth and seventh notes going up, B♭ to B and C to C♯, so it climbs smoothly to the tonic, without the harmonic minor’s gap. Going up, it differs from D major only in its third note, F.
Coming down, it is the natural minor: C and B♭ again, written here with courtesy accidentals. (Jazz players use the ascending form both ways, and call it the jazz minor.)
Fingering
Right hand: 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 going up. Going up, the thumb passes under the third finger from F to G. The fourth finger plays C♯: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is. Over two octaves, the D in the middle takes the thumb instead of the fifth finger, and the pattern starts again.
Left hand: 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 going up. Going up, the third finger crosses over the thumb from A to B. The fourth finger plays E: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is. Over two octaves, the left hand starts on the fifth finger only once, at the bottom; the D in the middle takes the thumb.
Fingered like C major in both hands. The right thumb passes under from F to G; in the left hand, B♭ (or B in melodic minor) falls under the third finger as it crosses over the thumb.
Chords in D minor
The triads built on each note of the scale going up. Most music in a minor key mixes chords from all three forms; the ones below are the melodic minor’s.
- i D minor
- ii E minor
- III+ F augmented
- IV G major
- V A major
- vi° B diminished
- vii° C♯ diminished
Music in D minor
- Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
- Mozart’s Requiem and his Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466
- Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31 No. 2
How to practise it
- Hands separately first, slowly, saying the finger numbers. Fingering learned slowly stays; fingering found at speed changes every time.
- Practise the thumb crossings alone: play just the notes either side of each crossing, back and forth, until the thumb is in place before it’s needed.
- Then hands together, one octave, then two. The hands cross their thumbs at different places, which is what makes scales hands together hard at first.
- Use “Play along” above: it waits for each note, so you can check every note and finger at your own pace. Then Listen at ♩ = 72 and play with it.
Quick answers
- What are the notes of the D melodic minor scale?
- D E F G A B C♯ D going up, D C B♭ A G F E D coming down.
- What is the fingering for the D melodic minor scale?
- Going up one octave from D: right hand 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5, left hand 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1. Coming down: right hand 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1, left hand 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5. 1 is the thumb.
- What key signature does D minor have?
- One flat (B♭), the same as its relative major, F major.
Scales, then real music
Pianomi is a free app that listens to your MIDI keyboard. It takes you through scales and arpeggios at a steady tempo, grading every note and beat, and gives you new music to sight-read every day, at your level.