Editing Minor scale (section)

===Construction===
The distinctive sound of the harmonic minor scale comes from the [[augmented second]] between its sixth and seventh scale degrees. While some composers have used this interval to advantage in melodic composition, others felt it to be an awkward leap, particularly in [[vocal music]], and preferred a [[whole step]] between these scale degrees for smooth melody writing. To eliminate the augmented second, these composers either raised the sixth degree by a [[semitone]] or lowered the seventh by a semitone.

The '''melodic minor scale''' is formed by using ''both'' of these solutions. In particular, the raised sixth appears in the ascending form of the scale, while the lowered seventh appears in the descending form of the scale. Traditionally, these two forms are referred to as:
* the ''ascending melodic minor scale'' or [[jazz minor scale]] (also known as the Ionian {{music|flat}}3 or Dorian {{music|natural}}7): this form of the scale is also the 5th mode of the [[acoustic scale]].
* the ''descending melodic minor scale'': this form is identical to the natural minor scale .
The ascending and descending forms of the A melodic minor scale are shown below:

:<score sound="1"> {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f\relative c' {
  \clef treble \time 7/4 \hide Staff.TimeSignature
  \override Voice.TextScript.font-size = #-2
  a4^\markup { Ascending melodic minor } b c d e fis gis
  a^\markup { Descending melodic minor } g! f! e d c b a2 }
}

</score>
The ascending melodic minor scale can be notated as

: 1, 2, {{music|b}}3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

while the descending melodic minor scale is

: 8, {{music|b}}7, {{music|b}}6, 5, 4, {{music|b}}3, 2, 1

Using these notations, the two melodic minor scales can be built by altering the parallel major scale.