F♯ melodic minor scale (G♭ melodic minor)
F♯ melodic minor scale is F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D♯ – E♯, with F♯, G♯, C♯, D♯ and E♯. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
The notes, one step at a time
The step pattern is W H W W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between G♯–A and E♯–F♯.
| Degree | Note | Interval from F♯ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F♯ | root | |
| 2 | G♯ | major second | |
| ♭3 | A | minor third | |
| 4 | B | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | C♯ | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | D♯ | major sixth | |
| 7 | E♯ | major seventh |
What F♯ 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.
Its chords include B and C♯, both with major thirds, so a melody in F♯ melodic minor can sit over a major IV and V while the tonic stays F♯m.
Compared with F♯ natural minor scale, F♯ melodic minor scale has D♯ and E♯ where the other has D and E; the other five notes are shared. Hear F♯ natural minor scale and compare.
Playing F♯ melodic minor
F♯, G♯, C♯ and D♯ are on black keys; the rest are white. E♯ 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 2nd fret of the low E string and spans frets 0–6: 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 F♯ melodic minor scale; the ones that differ from the major set are what give the scale its color. Tap to hear each one.
Moving it around the guitar
The root, F♯, sits at frets 2 and 14 on the low E string and 9 on the A string. Work up the neck in five positions (low E string frets 2, 4, 7, 9 and 11) and you'll have it everywhere. 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, F♯ melodic minor scale uses 4 black keys (F♯, G♯, C♯ and D♯) and 3 white.
Try it in thirds to stop it sounding like an exercise: F♯–A, G♯–B, A–C♯, B–D♯, C♯–E♯, D♯–F♯, E♯–G♯, then back down.
Drills for F♯ melodic minor
Once F♯ melodic minor is comfortable up and down, break the order. Each pattern below uses only its 7 notes.
- Groups of three: F♯ G♯ A · G♯ A B · A B C♯ · B C♯ D♯ · C♯ D♯ E♯ · D♯ E♯ F♯.
- Land on D♯: F♯ D♯ F♯ D♯ F♯: the raised 6th and 7th make the top half sound major.
Try next, from F♯
Melodic minor scale in every key
F♯ melodic minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the F♯ melodic minor scale?
F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯. As degrees: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7.
How many sharps or flats are in the F♯ melodic minor scale?
Five: F♯, G♯, C♯, D♯ and E♯.
What chords are in the F♯ melodic minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives F♯m (i), G♯m (ii), Aaug (III+), B (IV), C♯ (V), D♯dim (vi°) and E♯dim (vii°).
What's the difference between F♯ melodic minor scale and F♯ natural minor scale?
D♯ and E♯ in F♯ melodic minor; D and E 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.