piano scale
A♭ melodic minor
A♭1B♭2C♭♭3D♭4E♭5F6G7
Minor third, major sixth and seventh — the ascending form, and the parent of most of the altered sounds below.
The same sounds spelled from the other side are G♯ melodic minor.
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
A♭WB♭HC♭WD♭WE♭WFWGHA♭
What is true of it
A♭ melodic minor is A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F and G, and back to A♭.
Its steps are W – H – W – W – W – W – H, where W is a whole step and H a half.
On the same tonic, A♭ major differs from it by exactly one note.
Chords made only of these notes
D♭majorD♭7dominant seventhE♭majorE♭augaugmentedE♭7dominant seventhFdimdiminishedFm7♭5half-diminished seventhGdimdiminished
Found by testing every chord in the catalogue against these 7 sounds, not chosen.
Other scales on A♭
C mel minC♯ mel minD♭ mel minD mel minD♯ mel minE♭ mel minE mel minF mel minall 374