C Melodic Minor Scale

What is the C Melodic Minor Scale?

The melodic minor scale raises both the 6th and 7th degrees of the natural minor (ascending), smoothing out the augmented 2nd gap found in harmonic minor. It's a cornerstone of jazz improvisation because it spawns some of the most important modes in modern harmony, including the altered scale and Lydian dominant. Here's how the C Melodic Minor Scale lays out on the fretboard.

Notes and Positions

Minor with raised 6th and 7th. Jazz staple. On bass, the fretboard view helps you visualize where the important tones sit for building lines across positions. Use a finger-per-fret approach first, then add shifts only when the line needs a wider range. In the key of C, the notes are: C, D, Eb, F, G, A, B.

How to Use It

You'll often hear it in Jazz, Fusion, and Contemporary Classical. A good way to internalize the sound is to sing the root, then sing a few scale degrees before you play them.

Start with the root on beat 1, add the 5th on beat 3, then work the other scale tones in as passing notes. Use the interactive fretboard above to spot repeats of the same note on different strings and frets.