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How to Write Minor Notes on a Staff

Write notes on the treble clef to create higher pitches.

Knowing how to write minor notes on a staff will make you a more accomplished musician and composer. Minor notes only exist because of their relationship to a major scale. When writing notes that you want to sound minor, you must write them with this relationship in mind. Notes by themselves do not sound major or minor; it is only when played in a melodic or harmonic manner that they become minor. Learning about minor scales will make it possible for you to write minor notes in relationship to a musical key.

Learn about the notes of the natural minor scale that differ from the major scale. These notes are considered minor: the third, sixth and the seventh. Study the melodic and harmonic minor scales. The melodic minor scale consists of a minor third on the way up and then forms a natural minor scale on the way down. The harmonic minor scale has a minor third and sixth. A minor interval is an interval that is lowered a half step.

Look at your key signature and figure out what key you are in using the circle of fifths. Use the circle of fifths to identify the number of sharps in the key signature, and then use the minor version of the key in the circle of fifths to determine the minor key. Determine the type of minor scale you wish to use, you can use natural, harmonic or melodic. The melodic minor scale is used less commonly.

Write the minor notes on the scale in the treble clef. Remember that the lines spell the notes E G B D F from bottom to top, while the spaces spell F A C E from bottom to top. You can use the bass clef as well if you like. For the lines, the bass clef spells G B D FA and the spaces spell A C E G.

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