Editing Minor scale (section)

==Other minor scales==
Other scales with a minor third and a perfect fifth (i.e. containing a [[Minor chord|minor triad]]) are also commonly referred to as minor scales.

Within the [[Diatonic scale|diatonic modes of the major scale]], in addition to the [[Aeolian mode]] (which is the natural minor scale), the '''[[Dorian mode]]''' and the '''[[Phrygian mode]]''' also fall under this definition. Conversely, the [[Locrian mode]] has a minor third, but a ''diminished'' fifth (thus containing a [[diminished triad]]), and is therefore not commonly referred to as a minor scale.

The '''[[Hungarian minor scale]]''' is another [[Heptatonic_scale|heptatonic]] (7-note) scale referred to as minor.

The '''[[Jazz minor scale]]''' is a name for the melodic minor scale when only the "ascending form" is used.

Non-heptatonic scales may also be called "minor", such as the '''[[Pentatonic_Scale#Minor_pentatonic_scale|minor pentatonic scale]]'''.<ref>Bruce Benward and Marilyn Nadine Saker (2003), ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', seventh edition (Boston: McGraw Hill), vol. I, p.&nbsp;37. {{ISBN|978-0-07-294262-0}}.</ref>

===Limits of terminology===
While any other scale containing a minor triad could be defined as a "minor scale", the terminology is less commonly used for some scales, especially those further [[Scale_(music)#Non-Western_scales|outside the Western classical tradition]].

The hexatonic (6-note) '''[[blues scale]]''' is similar to the minor pentatonic scale and fits the above definition. However, the flat fifth is present as a passing tone along with the perfect fifth, and the scale is often played with microtonal mixing of the major and minor thirds – thus making it harder to classify as a "major" or "minor" scale.

The two '''[[Neapolitan scale]]s''' are both "minor scales" following the above definition, but were historically referred to as the "Neapolitan Major" or "Neapolitan Minor" based rather on the quality of their [[major sixth|''sixth'' degree]].