The natural minor scale produces more of a sad, melancholy sound than the major scale. In this lesson we will be studying the A natural minor scale, which is also called the Aeolian mode. We will cover all the modes in the advanced section of this website. The Aeolian mode is the sixth mode of the major scale. Just as the C major scale is also referred to as the Ionian Mode. Both scales contain all the white keys on the piano because there are no sharps or flats within the scale. Although both scales contain the same notes they have different starting points. For this reason the scale has a different step pattern than the C major scale. The formula for the A natural minor scale is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (A B C D E F G) The scale is the relative minor to C major because A is the sixth note of the C major scale. (C D E F G A B) Note: The sixth note of all major scales is its relative minor.

Below are four examples of the a-minor scale.
Example 1	Example 2
Example 3
Example 4