A Melodic Minor — Plectrum Banjo

A Melodic Minor is 7 notes to the octave (common family), drawn here across the Plectrum Banjo's CGBD strings with every A marked, so home stays visible from anywhere in the pattern.

Minor at the bottom, major at the top — the b3 keeps it minor while the natural 6 and 7 lift the upper half into a smooth climb home. Bittersweet rather than dark, with a polished, modern-jazz sheen.

Heard in: Jazz lines over minor and altered chords, film scoring, and classical melodies rising to the tonic — Bach, Mozart, and bebop alike.

The long neck puts the same note in more places than four strings usually offer, so these maps show the whole CGBD field and leave the choice of route to you.

Run it against a click at a tempo where every note gets the same weight. On a banjo an uneven scale is audible immediately — the instrument gives you no sustain to hide behind.