The minor scale
As you probably guessed by the title, Major Minor Ding Dong changed from major to minor halfway through and the underlying chord sequence went from G / C / D to Gm / Cm / Dm. The melody, as a result, became a lot moodier.
The natural C minor scale looks like this:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| C | Db | D | Eb | E | F | Gb | G | Ab | A | Bb | B |
To show just how versatile minor keys can be, try listening to Hotel California by The Eagles, I See Fire by Ed Sheeran, All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, Turning Tables by Adele, Umbrella by Rihanna, Just Dance by Lady Gaga, Wonderwall by Oasis, Wrecking Ball by Miley Cirus or Losing My Religion by REM. That’s quite a diverse set of songs.
Here’s another example of a track that moves between major and minor. This one’s in 3/4. The C F G chords shift over to Cm Fm G and back again throughout the piece:
Instruments on Cristal:
Rhythm guitar 1: VG-Sparkle from ujam
Rhythm guitar 2: String Studio from AAS
Drums: Studio Drummer from Native Instruments
Lead synths: Studio Player from ROLI
Bass: VB-Royal from ujam
Horns: Kontakt library from Native Instruments
There’s a lot more variety to the scales used in minor keys. The harmonic minor scale sharpens the seventh note in the scale:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| C | Db | D | Eb | E | F | Gb | G | Ab | A | Bb | B |
Here’s an example called Poblano, another 3/4 piece, this time in E minor. It repeats the same Em G C7 B7 chord sequence throughout. The trumpet and the lead guitar only divert from the harmonic minor scale in a couple of places to bring out the Bb note in the C7 chord and this adds a bluesy feel (more on this below).
Instruments on Poblano:
Trumpet, organ and bass: Kontakt library from Native Instruments
Drums: Studio Drummer from Native Instruments
Plus a (real) Fender Stratocaster for the guitar solos.