For that reason it's earned it's nickname - the spy chord.Each major key uses a different set of notes (its major scale). For example, as the last chord in the James Bond theme and The Pink Panther. It’s also used in film soundtracks quite often. I especially like to use this scale over the i chord in a Minor 2-5-1.

This minor-major-7 chord isn’t heard often in classical music, but it’s a favorite in jazz circles. The notes of this scale form a minor-major-7 chord. The first of the melodic minor modes is the melodic minor scale itself. I find that easier to comprehend musically that way. But moving forward, I've changed each scale to start and end on C. Up until this point I've written all the modes within the root key of C Melodic Minor. For each of them I'll share their notes, chord tonality, and the most common type of chord to use with the mode. In the following sections I'll break down each of the modes individually.

Breaking down each of the melodic minor modes

Instead, melodic minor modes give us scales that we can use over certain types of chords, especially ones with altered extensions.įor example, if you come across a G7#11 chord, you can use the 4th melodic minor mode, Lydian Dominant, to create solo lines. We often hear tunes written within a given tonality from a major mode, but that's not usually how we use melodic minor modes. What can you do with melodic minor modes? I've bolded those notes in the diagram above. Also, just like the major modes, 7th chords can be formed by grabbing every other note, starting with the root.

E flat melodic minor scale