Originally Posted By: swingbabymix
I don't understand why it's 3b instead of 3
Finally, I realized that although I chose Am, I actually chose A major.
Because the scales in A major are Am, Bm, C # m, D, E, F #, G # dim


The flat three comes about as result of creating minor scales by using the major scale as the starting point. This is one of the popular schools of thought for helping people to understand scales.

For example

The A major scale is...

A B C# D E F# G# A

And the A natural minor scale is...

A B C D E F G A

When the notes of A natural minor are compared to the notes of A major we can see that the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are flattened.

Therefore, a way of writing the natural minor scale as a derivation of the major scale is....

1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7, 1

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Also, as an extension of this way of thinkng, the A dorian scale is...

A B C D E F# G A

When using the major scale as the starting reference scale, the Dorian can then be thought of as...

1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7, 1

==========

Knowing the above, will help you understand the following webpage about the various scale modes.

https://muted.io/modal-scales/

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2025