C# Melodic Minor Guitar Scale
Guitar scale in Baritone (B Standard) tuning — fretboard diagram
C# Melodic Minor in Baritone (B Standard) — Notes and Intervals
The C# Melodic Minor scale, often called the Jazz Minor, offers a more sophisticated and fluid sound than the natural minor. On Guitar, it contains the notes C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, C. It is a vital tool for modern jazz improvisation, allowing players to navigate complex dominant chords and create elegant, tension-filled melodic lines that avoid the exotic jump of the harmonic minor. The diatonic chords of C# Melodic Minor are C#m6, D#m7, E+maj7, F#7, G#7, A#m7b5, Cm7b5. Commonly used in Jazz, Fusion, Contemporary Classical, Progressive. Notable players include Pat Metheny, John Coltrane, Allan Holdsworth. Use over m(Maj7), m6 chords. Its modes cover nearly every altered dominant situation in jazz. The 'jazz minor' is the single most important advanced scale system.
Notes: C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, C
Intervals: 1P, 2M, 3m, 4P, 5P, 6M, 7M
Degrees: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7
Formula: W-H-W-W-W-W-H
Number of notes: 7
Tuning: Baritone (B Standard) (B-E-A-D-F#-B)
Diatonic Chords
C♯m6 — D♯m7 — E+maj7 — F♯7 — G♯7 — A♯m7♭5 — Cm7♭5
About Baritone (B Standard) Tuning
The baritone guitar is tuned a perfect fourth lower than standard guitar (B-E-A-D-F#-B), producing a distinctly beefy tone with serious low-end depth that sits perfectly between guitar and bass. Its rich, dark voice has made it a secret weapon in film scoring, ambient music, and moody songwriting where you need that unmistakable low-end warmth without losing clarity.
Unlike simply tuning a standard guitar down (which causes floppy strings and muddy tone), the baritone guitar uses a longer scale length (typically 27"-30") designed specifically for lower tunings. This gives each note clarity and definition even in the lowest register. Session musicians, film composers, and bedroom producers alike reach for the baritone when they need dark, atmospheric textures, doom-laden riffs, or simply a different sonic palette that standard guitar can't deliver.
Notable artists: Pat Metheny, Nels Cline, Brian Setzer, Baritone session players in Nashville
Best for: Moody songwriting, film scoring, ambient textures, doom metal, and any production that needs low-end depth with clarity
Musical Character
In jazz, only the ascending form is used (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, 7). It is the parent scale for seven crucial modes including the Altered scale and Lydian Dominant.
Chord Progressions Using This Scale
- vi – viM7 – vi7 – II (Descending Minor Cliché)Classical / Pop — Romance & Intrigue