Why can't I choose Ab minor

I don’t understand why Scaler doesn’t give me an option for Ab minor–as seen in the screenshot. It only gives me G# minor. I know that G# minor, of course, sounds the same as Ab minor. But why won’t Scaler offer me Ab minor? That’s the chord I want.

Ab = G#

Ab = G#

Ab = G#

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@firstmile

You are absolutely correct when you say that Ab minor and G# minor are enharmonic (i.e. the scales use the same notes).

I believe the reason that G# minor is preferred to Ab minor is around scoring the music (something which we computer based composers rarely worry about,)

The relative major for Ab minor is Cb major which has 7 flats! The relative major for G# minor is B major with only 5 sharps. There is a lot more music written in B major than Cb major, therefore musicians are more familiar with playing in a key with 5 sharps.

I guess the developers have just followed this approach.

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Also if you click on the G# Minor in the scale selector you will have the enharmonic Ab Minor

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Also, check your preferences for Sharps/Flats.

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My guitar player & collaborator wrote a song. He played these chords on his guitar: Am, C, F, G. BUT he tuned his guitar down 1/2 step. So…he, therefore, tends to think of it as: Ab minor, B, E, Gb.
Which is logical. But , in order for me to communicate with him simply, I’d like to name my chords in Scaler the same way. But it can’t quite figure out how.

I can’t find any relevant settings.

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Also, check your preferences for Sharps/Flats.

no option found

As well as me. Also can’t find

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I think there is no such option.
He just wished there was an option.
:joy:

There is no “Key” of Ab Minor, as that would be the relative Minor of Cb Major, a theoretically valid key, but seldom used as such. Cb Major is the enharmonic equivalent of B Major. The chord Ab Minor is the chord of the 2nd degree of the Gb Major scale. So if you want an Ab Minor chord use the Gb Major Scale.

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Thank you very much. I appreciate your keen insight. !

He maybe means:


What I think is that the question is: why can´t I see the enharmonic scales of e.g. G#? Why is it shown as G# although I want to see it in Ab…?
Even if you take the Am, C, F, G into a pattern and transpose it 1 semitone deep you do not get the “Ab” but “G#”. It´s not about the harmonic equality but about the view on the naming concept.

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He asked for the Ab minor, you showed the Ab major

I believe that a scale may be described as a group of notes or pitches that form a harmonic series. And a key signature may be described as the group of sharps or flats that indicate the key of the scale or composition.

Therefore, I hate to disagree but I think there is a key of Ab minor with three common minor scales associated with the key: the natural minor scale, the harmonic minor scale and the melodic minor scale.

All these scales share the same key signature of 7 flats as does the relative major, Cb major.

The natural minor scale is enharmonic with the aeolian mode of the major scale hence the Ab minor natural has the same notes and key signature as Cb major and is described as the relative minor of Cb major.

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thanks!

Thanks for the screenshot, it made me understand

That’s what I find really fascinating about music theory.

So much of it is actually redundant, it just gets a different name depending the context from where you look at it (tonic mostly?). Once you understand that it’s actually less daunting, imho.

Right, this is for sure correct for the harmonic/theory perspective. But you cannot “see” a Ab minor Scale, it´s always been shown as Cb maj. That is the point.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand

The Cb major scale is Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb; whilst the Ab natural minor scale is Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Fb Gb.

They have different tonic notes (Cb and Ab respectively) and different tonal sequences:

Cb major is T T S T T T S, Ab natural minor is T S T T S T T.

The only things they have in common are the key signature and using the same notes, but based on a different pitch.