meganutt7

I'll just add that I also have never once heard of this as "melodic major." Mixolydian b6 is the name I'm familiar with. Also, the name "melodic major" is misleading. That would imply that it's just like melodic minor but with a major third. However, that's just the major scale. There is a scale called "harmonic major" that is harmonic minor with a major third. Thanks for the reiteration, Jeremy... I needed to prove to myself that I am not insane... I do like the Harmonic major scale though, sonically.. Mick Goodrick actually encourages many people to explore this scale after the other "bcommonplace scales: major, melodic minor, harmonic minor, whole tone and diminished...

Just a quick addendum... What you name something, more often than not, hasa HUGE impact on how you approach it musically... With chrods, for example.. You can write a chord as Cmaj7.. but the same chord could also be written Em/C... or G6(no5)/C... or Bsus4#5/C... If you look at the NOTES contained in each named chord, they are IDENTICAL. But if you see Cmaj7, you think of Cmaj7 arpeggios, or Ionian or Lydian, usually... If you see Em/C, you might think of the Em triad more... or some Em tonality OVER the C.. Etc. This, to me, is a fascinating subject that really requires alot more exploration on our part, especially when writing our own tunes... You can really get specific with regard to how you want other musicians to perceive the chord changes by being a bit more thoughtful rather than just using the easiest form of shorthand to convey the desired notes you want in a voicing... Make sense???

Cheers guys, mos - yeh that's the only real piece I could find referring to it as "melodic major". meganutt - thank you yes that makes sense. Not sure if it's just me, but I have a habit of referring to each scale independent of its modal function. e.g. the "Spanish scale" is a mode of harmonic minor (known as Phrygian dominant), but it is also a scale in its own right if you see what I mean. To me it defines its function more clearly. In other words, I don't see "melodic major" (if like you say it can justifiably be called that) as necessarily being used as part of a larger modal function, but often just as an alternative for the tonic I chord. I understand you completely. The problem arises from trying to convey these names to other people. For instance, to ME, the Spanish Scale is a hybrid scale that is Phrygian/Phrgyian Dominant, meaning: containing both the b3 and 3. The formula for that would be: 1,b2,b3,3,4,5,b6,b7. This is precisely why I think that the FORMULA SYSTEM is far superior to namegiving... If you look at that old Alan Holdsworth instructional video, Just For The Curious, HE has his OWN TERMINOLOGY that he SAYS he expects very few, if any, to understand or relate to... he names them as he wishes, VERBALLY, or he names them by FUNCTION, in which case, EVERYONE can understand it... When one person says Melodic Mionr, they could be referring to the jazz way of playing it, where the 6 and 7 are raised in ascending AND descending fashion, whereas in classical or some rock and pop contexts (listen to some Beatles tunes, or Bach) they use the traditional way of ascending in Melodic and descending in Natural Minor (the Aeolian mode). Modes (in the MAJOR SCALE) evade this because it is a clear inversion/permutation of the existing formula that is in place. So that is pretty incontestible. But when you start calling a scale HUNGARIAN MINOR or SAPNISH... Do you think that in Hungary they call that scale HUNGARIAN MINOR?? or simply MINOR??? Doubtful... They may call it American Minor, or the GYPSY SCALE, or some other thing. The fact remains that the FORMULA for it, the notes involved increating that tonality, REMAIN THE SAME NO MATTER WHAT YOU CALL IT. Some people have argued with me in the past about the 7th mode of Melodic minor, often called the Altered Scale.... Some people call it Super Locrian, some call it Diminished Whole Tone, etc. etc. etc. There ARE a few scales that are COMMONPLACE as far as their NAME... For many modes of more exotic scales (or even more common ones), their NAMES are debatable... The fourth mode of HARMONIC MINOR, for instance... I use that scale alot. I like the sound of it. The SPELLING OF IT would be: 1,2,b3,#4,5,6,b7 What would YOU call it?? I call it Dorian #11. THAT, to ME, is a good definition of how I personally hear that sound... Others might call it Lydian Dominant b3, or Lydian Dominant Minor, or DoroLydian, or some other such thing.. Which is correct?? All and none.. The TRUTH lies in: 1,2,b3,#4,5,6,b7. Math is the universal language for a good reason, it would seem.

There's a little piece here about it..scroll down a bit. http://www.tonalcentre.org/Melodic.html Wow... I stand corrected... NEVER have I heard of that scale being reffered to as Melodic Major... and truth be told, according to traditionjal theory it SHOULDN'T be called that. If anything, the third mode of Melodic Minor should be called Melodic MAJOR (though it is known as Lydian Augmented, due to the raised 4 and 5), as the relativity between major and minor usually involves the minor third apart "rule"... I am shocked that THAT is the name they used to define the sound of that tonality. That is why I like Wayne Krantz' idea of just using formulas, and no names for anything. Names get confusing and debatable. A fromula like 1,2,3,4,5,b6,b7 is beyond contestation.

This is seldom, if ever, called melodic major. What it is, is the fifth mode of Melodic Minor... Sometimes it is referred to as Mixolydian b6... I have used it extensively.. I love the sound it creates, particularly over a sus2 chord from the tonic.. The ambiguity is great... If you take this scale and spell it... Say you're in C... it would be: C, D, E, F, G, Ab, Bb. As you can see, if you start from the F, you get the melodic minor scale... F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, E There is a HARMONIC MAJOR scale, but, to my knowledge, no MELODIC MAJOR, since Melodic minor implies a flatted third but the rest of the notes are structured EXACTLY like a Major scale... Does that make sense to you?? Also, by the way, to hear this scale in use in a popular context, you can take another listen to Kashmir by Led Zeppelin... The section in the middle where the strings come in, they play the scale pretty much verbatim in ascending fashion, to create that grandiose resolution to the D major chord, after crawling up to it through the b6 and b7... A wonderful effect...