
In the melodic minor scale, the sixth and seventh degree are.The melodic minor scale seems to be a big mystery to many jazz musicians. Since the natural minor key is itself on the Circle of 5ths - A minor on circle of 5ths, this means that this is a commonly used melodic minor scale key.There are two kinds of minor scales - the melodic minor scale and the harmonic minor scale. This melodic minor scale is based on the natural minor scale with the same key / tonic note - A natural minor scale. The A melodic minor scale has 2 sharps.

Natural minor (also known as Aeolian): 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8The melodic minor scale has all of the same notes from the parallel major scale starting on the same note, except it has a b3rd instead of a natural third (since it is a minor scale).In classical theory, the melodic minor is unique in that the 6th and 7th scale degree are different depending on whether you are ascending or descending. The harmonic minor scale has the 7th sharpened to create a leading tone. There are 5 types of minor scales:The natural minor scale is the equivalent of the Aeolian mode. The melodic minor scale is of course a minor scale, which means it contains a minor chord with the root, b3rd, and 5th.
The lydian dominant chord is associated with a 7(#11) scale (lydian has a #4 and dominant/mixolydian has a b7, so lydian dominant has both #4 and b7). Each one of these modes is used regularly in jazz improvisation in different contexts, and is associated with a different chord.The melodic minor chord is associated with a min(Maj7) chord. 4 Common Melodic Minor ModesFour of the most important modes of the melodic minor scale include: melodic minor, lydian dominant, super locrian (altered), and lydian augmented. The 7 modes are, respectively:Super locrian (Altered scale): 1 b2 #2 3 #4 b6 b7 8For more information, visit the wikipedia page for modes of the melodic minor. Thus, for the jazz musician, the melodic minor scale is 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 when ascending and also when descending (See Figure 1).The melodic minor scale has 7 modes just like the major scale. However, in jazz, scales are vehicles for improvisation, which means that it doesn’t make much sense to have two different pitch collections for ascending and descending.

