guitar scale
F melodic minor
F1G2A♭♭3B♭4C5D6E7
Minor third, major sixth and seventh — the ascending form, and the parent of most of the altered sounds below.
Written out
Every accidental is written in, rather than left to a key signature, so the letters can be read one at a time.
The step pattern
FWGHA♭WB♭WCWDWEHF
What is true of it
F melodic minor is F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D and E, and back to F.
Its steps are W – H – W – W – W – W – H, where W is a whole step and H a half.
On the same tonic, F major differs from it by exactly one note.
Across the first twelve frets of the guitar its notes fall in 46 places, which is what makes a scale a shape rather than a list.
Chords made only of these notes
CmajorCaugaugmentedC7dominant seventhDdimdiminishedDm7♭5half-diminished seventhEdimdiminishedEaugaugmentedEm7♭5half-diminished seventh
Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 7 sounds, not chosen.
Other scales on F
C mel minC♯ mel minD♭ mel minD mel minD♯ mel minE♭ mel minE mel minF♯ mel minall 374