C♯ melodic minor scale (D♭ melodic minor)
C♯ melodic minor scale is C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B♯, with C♯, D♯, F♯, G♯, A♯ and B♯. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7. Press play and follow the keys.
C♯ melodic minor scale, note by note
Counted in steps it goes W H W W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between D♯–E and B♯–C♯.
| Degree | Note | Interval from C♯ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C♯ | root | |
| 2 | D♯ | major second | |
| ♭3 | E | minor third | |
| 4 | F♯ | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | G♯ | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | A♯ | major sixth | |
| 7 | B♯ | major seventh |
What C♯ melodic minor sounds like
Melodic minor raises both the 6th and the 7th of natural minor. Classical teaching uses it going up and natural minor coming down; jazz players use this ascending form both ways, so that's what's shown here.
Coming down, classical players switch to the natural form: C♯ – B – A – G♯ – F♯ – E – D♯ – C♯. Jazz keeps A♯ and B♯ both ways.
Compared with C♯ natural minor scale, C♯ melodic minor scale has A♯ and B♯ where the other has A and B; the other five notes are shared. Hear C♯ natural minor scale and compare.
Where your hands go
C♯, D♯, F♯, G♯ and A♯ are on black keys; the rest are white. B♯ is a white key with a sharp or flat name, because each letter can appear only once in the scale.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 9th fret of the low E string and spans frets 7–13: 18 notes, low string to high.
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords that fit C♯ melodic minor scale; the ones that differ from the major set are what give the scale its color. Tap to hear each one.
C♯ melodic minor scale across the fretboard
Anchor points for C♯: low E string fret 9, A string fret 4. Most guitarists learn it in five overlapping positions; on the low E string they begin around frets 2, 4, 6, 9 and 11. Classical teaching plays it with the raised notes going up and natural minor coming down; jazz players keep it the same both ways.
On the piano, C♯ melodic minor scale uses 5 black keys (C♯, D♯, F♯, G♯ and A♯) and 2 white.
Thirds make the scale sound musical instead of step-by-step: C♯–E, D♯–F♯, E–G♯, F♯–A♯, G♯–B♯, A♯–C♯, B♯–D♯.
Drills for C♯ melodic minor
Once C♯ melodic minor is comfortable up and down, break the order. Each pattern below uses only its 7 notes.
- Three-note runs: C♯ D♯ E · D♯ E F♯ · E F♯ G♯ · F♯ G♯ A♯ · G♯ A♯ B♯ · A♯ B♯ C♯.
- Target A♯: C♯ A♯ C♯ A♯ C♯: the raised 6th and 7th make the top half sound major.
Scales to compare with C♯ melodic minor
Melodic minor scale in every key
C♯ melodic minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the C♯ melodic minor scale?
7 notes: C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A♯ and B♯.
How many sharps or flats are in the C♯ melodic minor scale?
Six: C♯, D♯, F♯, G♯, A♯ and B♯.
What chords are in the C♯ melodic minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives C♯m (i), D♯m (ii), Eaug (III+), F♯ (IV), G♯ (V), A♯dim (vi°) and B♯dim (vii°).
What's the difference between C♯ melodic minor scale and C♯ natural minor scale?
A♯ and B♯ in C♯ melodic minor; A and B in the other. Everything else is the same.
Generated from the step pattern 2-1-2-2-2-2-1 and checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.