Natural Minor Scales using song "Apple" (Яблочко)

Natural Minor Scale

The Russian Sailor Dance "Яблочко" (transliterated Ya-bloch-ka) uses all of the notes of the natural minor scale.

The natural minor scale uses the notes of its related major scale.  The natural minor of "C" Major is "A" natural minor. So a natural minor scale based on "C" Major are the notes from "A" to "A."

So practice the major scales using the three fingering patterns (finger 2 on C, finger 3 on C, and finger 4 on C).

Then go down two steps and practice the same scales from "A" to "A."

A lot of songs use minor keys, so it is good to get comfortable with the fingering pattern of a minor scale. 

After you get comfortable with the natural minor scale, add in chords, arpeggios, note patterns and chromatics.

Theme and Variations

A lot of songs are played in the form of theme and variations, in which more and different notes are played each time the song is repeated.

The following video demonstrates this style of playing using the song "Яблочко."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi4jV4BAWEY

The song's notes:

A   A   E F G      E  F  D   A  E  C      A  D  D  A  B  C      C   B   A  B  C   A  

A  D  D  A  B  C      C  B  A  B  C  A