Which minor scale has lowered 3rd ascending and natural minor descending?

Which minor scale has lowered 3rd ascending and natural minor descending?

• A. Natural minor
• B. Harmonic minor
• C. Melodic minor
• D. Major

Answer: (C)

Some minor scales use different patterns when you go up versus when you come down. The melodic minor scale keeps the third degree lowered like natural minor, but when you ascend it raises the sixth and seventh degrees, and when you descend it returns to natural minor. So describing a scale that has a lowered third on the way up and then follows natural minor on the way down fits the melodic minor. The other options don’t match this ascending–descending difference: natural minor stays the same in both directions, harmonic minor alters only the seventh, and major isn’t a minor scale.

Some minor scales use different patterns when you go up versus when you come down. The melodic minor scale keeps the third degree lowered like natural minor, but when you ascend it raises the sixth and seventh degrees, and when you descend it returns to natural minor. So describing a scale that has a lowered third on the way up and then follows natural minor on the way down fits the melodic minor. The other options don’t match this ascending–descending difference: natural minor stays the same in both directions, harmonic minor alters only the seventh, and major isn’t a minor scale.