C♯ melodic minor scale

6 sharps: C♯ D♯ F♯ G♯ A♯ B♯ · pattern W–H–W–W–W–W–H

C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B♯

Step patternWHWWWWH

Chords in C♯ melodic minor

iC♯m

iiD♯m

III+Eaug

IVF♯

VG♯

vi°A♯dim

vii°B♯dim

Scale degrees

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

About this scale

Melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th (A♯ and B♯) 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 C♯ melodic minor scale

i(maj7) C♯m(maj7)ii7 D♯m7III+7 Emaj7♯5IV7 F♯7V7 G♯7viø7 A♯m7♭5viiø7 B♯m7♭5

Other C♯ scales

C♯ major C♯ natural minor C♯ harmonic minor C♯ major pentatonic C♯ minor pentatonic C♯ blues C♯ Dorian C♯ Mixolydian

Melodic minor scale in other keys

C D E♭E F F♯G A♭A B♭B

Questions

What are the notes of the C♯ melodic minor scale?

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

How many sharps or flats are in C♯ melodic minor scale?

6: C♯, D♯, F♯, G♯, A♯, B♯.

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 C♯ to get this scale.