[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHIOTw4MB3U[/embedyt]

Howdy!

Today’s quick video is on D natural minor/harmonic minor scale. In this video, we’ll look at the 1-octave version of the scale, just to get a feel for it and the key signature. Enjoy!

D minor scale – natural and harmonic

Sheet for D natural and harmonic minor scale

Other beginner scales

Below is a list of the other beginner scales we’ve made videos for so far – Everything on this list is 1 octave, and hands separate. For more scales, please visit the “Categories” page.

C major scale (1 octave)

F major scale (1 octave)

A natural minor scale (1 octave)

A harmonic minor scale (1 octave)

D major scale (1 octave)

A major scale (1 octave)

E major scale (1 octave)

Why scales?

Scales are often thought of as tedious and dry, but they’re extremely useful to know and understand as a musician. Knowing scales – and their individual flavors of sharps or flats – allows you to instantly understand key signatures (the sharps/flats that hover at the beginning of a line of music).

Most songs are based on a “key”. For example, if we say a song is in the “Key of C major”, what we’re saying is that it’s based off C major scale, and therefore has no sharps or flats (unless otherwise indicated in the music).

So in the case of D minor scale, if you see a piece that has one flat in the key signature, you can bet that the piece is based on D minor scale.

(Unless it’s not: Every minor scale has a major counterpart. For more info on how that works, check out this video on Major and Minor doppelgangers.)

xo,
Allysia

1 Comment

  1. Tutorial: Mozart's Fantasia in D minor, K. 397 on October 20, 2015 at 10:10 am

    […] in the key signature, and the fact that the piece opens on a D minor chord. You can check out the D minor scale if you’d like to get better acquainted with this […]