Minor scales
E melodic minor scale
The E melodic minor scale is E F♯ G A B C♯ D♯ E going up, E D C B A G F♯ E coming down. It uses the key signature of G major, one sharp (F♯), and raises the sixth and seventh notes on the way up only. Here it is for both hands with the standard fingering.
- 1 sharp: F♯
- Relative major: G 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
E minor has one sharp, F♯, the same key signature as G major, its relative major.
| Degree | Going up | Coming down | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | RH | LH | Note | RH | LH | |
| 1Tonic | E | 1 | 5 | E | 1 | 5 |
| 2Supertonic | F♯ | 2 | 4 | F♯ | 2 | 4 |
| 3Mediant | G | 3 | 3 | G | 3 | 3 |
| 4Subdominant | A | 1 | 2 | A | 1 | 2 |
| 5Dominant | B | 2 | 1 | B | 2 | 1 |
| 6Submediant | C♯ | 3 | 3 | C | 3 | 3 |
| 7Leading note | D♯ | 4 | 2 | D | 4 | 2 |
| 8Tonic | E | 5 | 1 | E | 5 | 1 |
Key signature
E minor has one sharp (F♯) in its key signature, the same as G major, its relative major. The melodic minor adds two accidentals going up, C♯ and D♯, and takes them back coming down.
What makes it melodic minor
The melodic minor raises the sixth and seventh notes going up, C to C♯ and D to D♯, so it climbs smoothly to the tonic, without the harmonic minor’s gap. Going up, it differs from E major only in its third note, G.
Coming down, it is the natural minor: D and C 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 G to A. The fourth finger plays D♯: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is. Over two octaves, the E 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 B to C♯. The fourth finger plays F♯: 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 E in the middle takes the thumb.
Fingered like C major in both hands. The right thumb tucks under from G to A; in the left hand the thumb plays B and the third finger crosses over onto C.
Chords in E 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 E minor
- ii F♯ minor
- III+ G augmented
- IV A major
- V B major
- vi° C♯ diminished
- vii° D♯ diminished
Music in E minor
- Chopin’s Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4
- Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony (No. 9)
- Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto
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 E melodic minor scale?
- E F♯ G A B C♯ D♯ E going up, E D C B A G F♯ E coming down.
- What is the fingering for the E melodic minor scale?
- Going up one octave from E: 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 E minor have?
- One sharp (F♯), the same as its relative major, G 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.