Aeolian Mode (Natural Minor)
Sad, melancholic, dark, emotional
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Fretboard · A Aeolian
A Natural Minor Scale
Sad, melancholic scale
Root
Chord
Scale
Secondary
Other
13
620
1.0
0.71.5
About Aeolian
The Aeolian mode is the natural minor scale. It's the most common minor sound, characterized by its sad, melancholic quality.
Key characteristics
- •Minor 3rd (fundamental minor sound)
- •Minor 6th (darker than Dorian)
- •Minor 7th
- •Classic "sad" minor sound
Famous examples
- Stairway to Heaven — Led Zeppelin
- All Along the Watchtower — Bob Dylan
- Losing My Religion — R.E.M.
Quick tips
- 1.The go-to scale for minor keys
- 2.Emphasize the minor 3rd for emotional impact
- 3.Works over any minor chord progression
- 4.Compare with Dorian to hear the difference the 6th makes
Theory
Target notes
Emphasize these for the characteristic sound.
1 (Root)b3 (Minor 3rd)5 (Perfect 5th)
Compared to the parent scale
The natural minor scale - like major starting from the 6th degree.
Works over these chord types
MinorMinor 7th
Practice progressions
Try improvising with Aeolian over these progressions:
i - bVI - bVII
i - bVII - bVI - bVII
i - iv - v
All modes
Try it in Improvisio
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