Major&Minor Scales

Hi again, having some trouble understanding scales. For me its kinda like driving a car but not knowing where i,m going, I can play all the notes fine but finding it hard to grasp the concept of it all. Specifically can someone tell me why the steps are the same in the A minor and the C minor? this is what I get

A minor WS HS WS WS HS WS WS
C minor WS HS WS WS HS WS WS

Why are the scales the same? its different between C major and A minor so why not C minor?

Help me please before my head explodes! lol

Originally Posted by: pick294Specifically can someone tell me why the steps are the same in the A minor and the C minor?

Becase all minor scales have the same formula (the same set, or specific series of internal intervals). That is the defining characteristic. That is what makes them a minor scale. :)

Likewise, all major scales have formula unique to themselves.

Scale formula for every major scale:
(1) WS (2) WS (major 3) HS (4) WS (5) WS (major 6th) WS (major 7th) HS (1)

Scale formula for every minor scale:
(1) WS (2) HS (minor 3) WS (4) WS (5) HS (minor 6th) WS (minor 7th) WS (1)

Make sense?

For more info, see GF 2 chapter 1:

http://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=2

And my brief intro to music theory:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=495

Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes. Best of success.

Ok so let me get this right, an A minor scale is the same as a C minor scale just that they start on different notes? ie A scale and C scale?

By the way really enjoying your lessons!

Paul
UK

Originally Posted by: pick294Ok so let me get this right, an A minor scale is the same as a C minor scale just that they start on different notes? ie A scale and C scale?

Precisely. :)

The formula can be applied to any of the 12 possible chromatic musical alphabet letter notes. Any given scale has two defining characteristics.

1. The root note, or the 1st, is how it gets it name. C major scale.
2. The quality of scale determined by the interval formula. C major scale.

Glad you are getting value from the site and my lessons.

Thanks this really helped. Now i can stop using my head banging off the wall as a metronome :p

Originally Posted by: pick294Thanks this really helped.[/quote]
You are quite welcome.
[QUOTE=pick294]Now i can stop using my head banging off the wall as a metronome :p

Ouch! Glad to have helped you stop that behavior. :)