A♭ melodic minor scale

5 flats: A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ · pattern W–H–W–W–W–W–H

A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – D♭ – E♭ – F – G

Step patternWHWWWWH

Chords in A♭ melodic minor

iA♭m

iiB♭m

III+C♭aug

IVD♭

VE♭

vi°Fdim

vii°Gdim

Scale degrees

Degree	Note	Name	Half steps from A♭
1	A♭	Tonic	0
2	B♭	Supertonic	2
3	C♭	Mediant	3
4	D♭	Subdominant	5
5	E♭	Dominant	7
6	F	Submediant	9
7	G	Leading tone	11

About this scale

Melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th (F and G) to smooth out the leap in harmonic minor. Classical players use it ascending and return to natural minor descending; in jazz it’s used both ways and is the source of many modern chord colours.

Seventh chords in A♭ melodic minor scale

i(maj7) A♭m(maj7)ii7 B♭m7III+7 C♭maj7♯5IV7 D♭7V7 E♭7viø7 Fm7♭5viiø7 Gm7♭5

Other A♭ scales

A♭ major A♭ natural minor A♭ harmonic minor A♭ major pentatonic A♭ minor pentatonic A♭ blues A♭ Dorian A♭ Mixolydian

Melodic minor scale in other keys

C C♯D E♭E F F♯G A B♭B

Questions

What are the notes of the A♭ melodic minor scale?

A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F, G, and back to A♭.

How many sharps or flats are in A♭ melodic minor scale?

5: A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭.

What is the step pattern of the melodic minor scale?

W–H–W–W–W–W–H, where W is a whole step (two keys) and H is a half step (the next key). Start that pattern on A♭ to get this scale.