Now its good time for us to expand our horizons and learn something about Indian Classical Music

(ICM).

There is plethora of information floating on net and its very hard to find a consolidated and systematic way to learn. I am
starting this thread with the purpose to learn and understand ICM step by step. I would like to emphasis on word
"understand" because without it you will not appreciate ICM.

All of you who want to come along with me on this exciting voyage are most welcome!

So lets start answering with the most basic question:

"How will I map Sa Re Ga Ma ..." on Guitar?

The only thing require for remembering this mapping is that western's note "C" maps to Indian's note "Sa".

Here is complete mapping:

C - Sa
D - Re
E - Ga
F-m
G - Pa
A - Dha
B - Ni

Why I have used 'm' instead of 'Ma' will require more knowledge to understand which will get cleared in subsequent posts.
For the time being just denote Ma with 'm'.

Here is fretboard with Indian Notes:

e|-F/m---|-------|-G/Pa--|-------|-A/Dha-|-------|-B/Ni--|-C/Sa--|-------|-D/Re--|-------|
B|-C/Sa--|-------|-D/Re--|-------|-E/Ga--|--F/m--|-------|-G/Pa--|-------|-A/Dha-|-------|
G|-------|-A/Dha-|-------|-B/Ni--|-C/Sa--|-------|-D/Re--|-------|-E/Ga--|-F/m---|-------|
D|-------|-E/Ga--|-F/m---|-------|-G/Pa--|-------|-A/Dha-|-------|-B/Ni--|-C/Sa--|-------|
A|-------|-B/Ni--|-C/Sa--|-------|-D/Re--|-------|-E/Ga--|-F/m---|-G/Pa--|-------|-------|
E|-F/m---|-------|-G/Pa--|-------|-A/Dha-|-------|-B/Ni--|-C/Sa--|-------|-D/Re--|-------|

I have highlighted 3 "Sa"-s. These are in comfortable zone of hand. Later we will find that most of the raags require
movement on 3 octaves and hence frets 5 to 8 I find more convenient to play them.

Just practice Sa Re Ga m... in ascending and descending order till we meet again with more exciting stuff.

Sooner you have to brushup your hindi as well, so lets start with two words:
Ascending -> Arohan
Descending -> Avarohan

If you are curious on what are we going to learn next then I can give a hint that by the end of next session you will be
playing your first raag, you will be knowing most of the important terms used in a raag and if you are looking for more then I
will give you hindi songs which have been composed on the raag that you have just learned. Howz that!!!

Its always good to know some history of our Hindustani music system, its origin and development.

The origin of Indian music is said to be rooted in the Vedas. According to Hindu mythology, Music originated from the first
sound ever to be heard in the universe, the NaadBrahma or OM. In the early Vedic period, the Svaras were called Krushta,
Prathama, Dvitiya, Tratiya, Chaturtha, Mandra and Atisyarya. Later, these were called Shadja, Rishabha, Gandhara,
Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada." Or, Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni as they are sung.

Brahma is said to be the author of the four Vedas, of which the SamaVeda was chanted in definite musical patterns. Vedic
hymns were sung in plain melody, using only 3 notes. The Hindustani musical scale is said to have evolved from 3 notes to a
scale of 7 primary notes, on the basis of 22 intervals. A scale is divided into 22 shrutis or intervals. A Saptak is a group
of 7 notes. The first and fifth notes (Sa and Pa) do not alter their positions on this interval. The other 5 notes can change
their positions in the interval, leading to different raagas.

What is Raaga?

The combination of several notes weaved into a composition in a way which is pleasing to the ear is called a raaga. Each
raaga creates an atmosphere which is associated with feelings / emotions / sentiments. A raaga is based on the principle of a
combination of notes selected out the 22 note intervals of the octave.
Raaga is neither a scale, nor a mode. It is, however, a scientific, precise and melodic form with its own peculiar ascending
and descending movement which consists of either a full octave, or a series of six or five notes. Raaga has its own principal
mood such as tranquility, devotion, eroticism, loneliness, pathos, heroism, etc. Each raaga is associated, according to its
mood, with a particular time of the day, night or a season.

Raaga, in the Sanskrit dictionary, is defined as "the act of coloring or dyeing" (the mind in this context) and "any feeling or
passion especially love, affection, sympathy, vehement desire, interest, joy, or delight". The root word for the term 'Raaga' is
the Sanskrit word 'Ranja' meaning to please, to colour or to tinge.

A raaga is basically a set of Vedic-rooted rules for how to build a melody. It specifies rules for movements up (arohi) and
down (avrohi) the scale, which notes should figure more and which notes should be used more sparingly, phrases to be used,
phrases to be avoided, and so on. As raagas were never codified but transmitted orally from teacher to student, some raagas
can vary greatly across regions, traditions and styles. Indian classical music is always set in raaga, but all raaga music is not
necessarily classical.

Fox Strangeway defines a raaga as: "An arbitrary series of notes characterised as far as possible as individuals, by proximity
to or remoteness from the note which marks the general level of melody, by a special order in which they are usually
reinforced by a drone". - Music of Hindustan, Oxford University, 1914.

What is Thaat?

The tune of seven ascending and descending notes is called 'Thaat'. A system created by Pandit Bhatkande in the 1920's in
order to classify all raagas into one of ten parent scales. Although flawed in certain respects the system acts as a good
starting point for learning raagas containing varying notes.

A Thaat must have seven notes out of the twelve notes [Seven Shuddha, Four komal (Re, Ga, Dha , Ni), one teevra (Ma) ],
placed in an ascending order. Both the forms of the notes can be used.

Thaat has only an Aaroha

Thaats are not sung but the raags produced from the Thaats are sung.

Thaats are named after the popular Raaga of that Thaat. For example Bhairavi is a popular Raagaand the thaat of the
RaagaBhairavi is named after the raag.

The music books record ten basic thaats:

 Kalyan
 Bilawal
 Khamaj
 Bhairav
 Bhairvi
 Asawari
 Todi
 Poorvi
 Marwa
 Kafi

There are problems whenever one is talking about the number of thaats. Generally only ten are acknowledged; twenty are in
common usage; while 32 are possible given present concepts of scale construction.

What are the important Terms in Raaga?

Vaadi (Sonant) - The most prominent note of the raaga which gets emphasized in the raaga and used very often.

Samvaadi (Consonant) - The second most important note of the raaga. It used lesser than the vaadi but more than the
other notes of the raaga. This is the fourth or fifth note from the Vaadi.

Anuvaadi - The other notes of the raaga (other than Vaadi and Samvaadi)

Vivadi - The meaning of vivadi is "one which produces dissonance ". Which is not present in the raaga. But still a vivadi sur
is used in a raaga by able singers in such a way that it enhances the beauty of the raaga. This is done very rarely. For
example some times in the raaga "Yaman" Shuddh Madhyam is used in between two Gandhar (Ga)

Arohi - Ascend of the notes. Here each note is higher than the preceding note. Example : Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni

Avrohi - Descend of the notes. Example : Ni, Dha, Pa, Ma, Ga, Re, Sa

Aurav - A raaga of five notes

Khaurav - A raaga of six notes. Also called Khado or Shudav

Sampooran - A raaga of seven notes

Pakad - A small group of notes which describe the unique features of the raaga.

Challan - A series of melodic notes pattern

Jaati - Gives the number of notes in Arohi as well as the Avrohi of the raaga. Odav has 5 notes. Shadav has 6 notes and
Sampoorn has 7 notes. Thus there are 9 jaati based on Odav, Shadav, Sampoorn in Arohi and Avrohi.
Samay - Each Raaga has a specific time at which it can be performed. This is so as those notes are supposed to be more
effective at that particular time.

What are musical terms of a Raaga in vocal style?

Asthaee - The first part of the composition. Mainly develops in the lower and the middle octave.

Antra - Second part of the composition. Develops in the middle or higher note.

Mukhadaa - The first line of the composition.

Khyaal - This is the most prominent genre of Hindustani (vocal) music. A khyaal is also composed in a particular raaga and
taal and has a text. The text is very brief. The composition again consists of two parts: Asthaee and antra. The khyaal text
range from praise of kings or seasons, description of seasons, divine love, sorrow of separation etc. The text contains rhyme,
alliteration, and play on words. A khyaal performance is of two types: bara Khayaal and chhota Khayaal each of which has a
two-part )Asthaee + antra) composition and extensive improvisation. Baraa and chotaa Khayaal are performed in slow tempo
or Madhya laya medium tempo and chotaa Khayaal is always in phrase of the Asthaee (or the antra) is called Mukhraa. This
vital phrase serves as the cadence phrase and remains intact during the improvisation. The melody of the baraa Khayaal is
relatively unimportant compared to the text, taal and the mukhra. Khyaal recital typically consists of one or two male/female
vocalists accompanied by sarangi or harmonium, taanpura and tabla.

One thing that is exciting to know is what are the feelings these raagas communicate.

Feelings communicated by the music of Raagas

 Soohi - joy and separation

 Bilaaval - happiness
 Gaund - strangeness, surprise, beauty
 Sri - satisfaction and balance
 Maajh - loss, beautification
 Gauri - seriousness
 Aasa - making effort
 Gujri - satisfaction, softness of heart, sadness
 Devgandhari - no specific feeling but the Raagahas a softness
 Bihaagra - beautification
 Sorath - motivation
 Dhanasari - inspiration, motivation
 Jaitsree - softness, satisfaction, sadness
 Todi - this being a flexible Raagait is apt for communicating many feelings
 Bhairaagi - sadness, (Gurus have, however, used it for the message of Bhakti)
 Tilang - this is a favourite Raagaof Muslims. It denotes feeling of beautification and yearning.
 Raamkali - calmness
 Nat Narayan - happiness
 Maali Gaura - happiness
 Maaru - giving up of cowardice
 Tukhari - beautification
 Kedara - love and beautification
 Bhairav - seriousness, brings stability of mind
 Basant - happiness
 Sarang - sadness
 Malaar - separation
 Jaijawanti - viraag
 Kalyaan - Bhakti Ras
 Vadhans - vairaag, loss (that is why Alahniya is sung in this Raagawhen someone passes away)
 Parbhati - Bhakti and seriousness
 Kaanra - Bhakti and seriousness
Ok guys, as promised, here is you first playable raaga.

This raaga is based of Thaat Bhilawal (ancient name Velavali). Bilaval had become the basic scale for North Indian music by
the early part of the 19th century. Its tonal relationships are comparable to the Western C- major scale.

Raagas of Bilawal Thaat:

1. Raaga Bhilawal (Alhaiya Bhilawal)

2. Raaga Pahadi

3. Raaga Deshkar

In Bhilawal Thaat only one note Ma is komal and its shown with small letter (m).

Raaga Bilawal or Alhaiya Bhilawal

Arohi: S – GR – GP – DN - S'

Avrohi: S'N - DP, DnDP, mG – mR - S

[[Listen to this raaga in attached file]]

Bhilaval appears in the Ragmala as a ragini of Bhairava, but today it is the head of the Bhilaval thaat. The Ragmala gives
Bhilaval as a putra (son) of Bhairav, but no relation between these two raagas is made today. Bhilaval is a morning raaga to
be sung with a feeling of deep devotion and repose, often performed during the hot months.

Literally, Bhilaval means ‘delight’ and therefore this raaga is often sung in the spring season.

This raaga is sung at the first part of the day i.e., from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. The season of its recitation is spring (basant) i.e.,
during February and March

It is a morning Raaga, and uses all the seven notes in the ascending and descending order. All notes are shuddha (full).
The derivative raagas out of this structure are grouped under the broad head of Bilawal Thaat.

Its vaadi (main sur) is Dha and samvaadi (the second important sur) is Ga

Its pakad is GPDnS',S'NDnDP-mGmRS

Its jaati is Shadav-Sampoorn. The repeated notes are not count is defining jaati. Its bhaav is Shadj-Madhyam. Important
anuvaadi is Pa.

Songs of Raaga Bilawal

1. Ik pyaar ka nagma hai

2. Choo ker mere man ko

Raaga Yaman is derived from Thaat Kalyan. Its a sampurna raaga performed in the first part of the night. Vadi is Ga and
Samvadi is Ni.

Aroha : 'Ni Re Ga M Pa Dha Ni Sa'

Avroha: Sa' Ni Dha Pa M Ga Re Sa

Notice that I have written "Ma" using capital letter "M" and not with "m" which I had used in Raaga Bhilawal. Reason is that
by default "Ma" is komal and is denoted by just "m" but when you have to tell the Sharp of Ma then we use capital "M".

Here is how these notes layout on fretboard:

e|-------|-------|-------|-------|-A/Dha-|-------|-B/Ni--|-C/Sa--|-------|
B|-------|-------|-------|-------|-E/Ga--|-------|-F#/M--|-G/Pa--|-------|
G|-------|-------|-------|-B/Ni--|-C/Sa--|-------|-D/Re--|-------|-------|

Songs on this raaga:

Old : Ahsaan tera hoga mujhpar - Janglee
New : Tera Suroor

Raaga: Pahadi

It is drived from thaat Bhilawal. It can be sung at any time. It consists of just 5 notes in aroh..

Sa Re Ga Pa Dha

This raaga is used in most of the old hindi songs. My favorite is song from movie Taj Mahal : Jo vada kiya
vo nibhana padega

Charukeshi raaga is mainly in Carnatic music (south indian classical music) and has been recently import
to Hindustani music (North indian classical music).

It contains all 7 notes, Dha and Ni are flat:

Aroha : Sa Re Ga m Pa dha ni Sa'

Avroha : Sa' ni dha Pa m Ga Re Sa

Film Songs:

1. Bedardi balama tujh ko mera man yaad karta hai - Aarzoo

2. Kisi Raha mein - Mere Humsafar

Learn How to play songs on Guitar ( Basic Notes Theory )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Guys, as my tutorial title sounds a complete vast world in itself, but

its really possible to learn playing on guitar perfectly and easily.

We will learn playing tunes via following lessons :-

Lesson 1 : Learn the FretBoard Pattern ( Attached with THREAD ).

Lesson 2 : Practsing Basic Scale.
Lesson 3 : Practical Song Practise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lesson 1 : Learn the FretBoard Pattern

The the long neck of your guitar is known as FRETBOARD. Frets are seperated via thin metal sticks. Each Fret consists of 6
Music notes.
As we know the notes that are present on Guitar, are combined in
various forms to form a song or tune. So, first we should learn these
notes and there locations where they are present on FretBoard.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE 'FRETBOARD Image' ATTACHED With This TUTORIAL.

I assume that you have downloaded the FretBoard. The 6 Strings of a

Guitar are referred as

E -------> 1st String (Thinnest)

B--------> 2nd String
G--------> 3rd String
D--------> 4th String
A--------> 5th String
E--------> 6th String (Thickest)

These are also called 'OPEN' Notes. That means when first string is played
without pressing any note on FretBoard, 'E' note is played. Same is applied to all other Strings.

Now, as we have learnt Open Notes, we just can't use them alone to play a
song. Thus we play notes on FretBoard, to play a song.

The Note Pattern is like this -->

'E' -- 'F' -- 'F#' -- 'G' -- 'Ab' -- 'A' -- 'Bb' -- 'B' -- 'C' -- 'C#' -- 'D' -- 'D#'

That is the next immediate note on FretBoard will follow the above pattern ( See FretBoard Image for Better
Understanding ).

You might question, these notes are absent in above pattern -->
Gb, G#, A#, Db

Actually they are same as ( Refer to above pattern ),

Gb --> F#
G# --> Ab
A# --> Bb
Db --> C#

Suppose You are starting to play a tune, from 'D' note, you can go
Up and Down, according to FretBoard Pattern.
Now try to practise the scales from different different position on
the FretBoard. And check that you are playing the Correct pattern.

The point is, you should be able to do following things :-

1) Point out any Note on FretBoard.
2) Play the above given Pattern from that note.

Practising this regularly, will definately give you command over the
Guitar and Yes It WORKS !!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lesson 2 : Practising Basic Scale

You can get a better command over the FretBoard by practising some Basic
Scales. I have Presented 'Am' Scale here. Try this out and learn it.

Fret 578578574575685
String 666555443332221
Note ABCDEFGABCDEFGA

Try to play this 'Am' Scale over your Guitar. You can also try the above
scale on Nut Position ( i.e. Near 1st Fret and Open Notes ).

Practise this scale from various locations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 3 : Practical Song ( Dancing Eyes )

Hey buddy, Congrats we are going great. As i suppose we have

learnt the Basic Notes Theory. Lets try our hands out on a
Classic Song which follows 'Am' Scale. I'm sure, you are going to
love it.

Fret 5 5 5 5 : 5 6 5 7 : 7 7 5 7 5
Note E E E E : E F E D : D D E D E
String 2 2 2 2 : 2 2 2 3 : 3 3 2 3 2

Fret 5 - - - : 5 5 7 5 4 5 : 7 5 6 5 7 5 4
Note C - - - : C C D C B C : D E F E D C B
String 3 - - - : 3 3 3 3 3 3 : 3 2 2 2 3 3 3

Fret 7 5 7 5 4 5 4 : 7 :
Note A E D C B C B : A - - - :
String 4 2 3 3 3 3 3 : 4 :

This Old classic Song is sure to cherish your mood and

Uh Uh, do keep practising the Notes Theory too.

Well buddy, i leave you now and promise to be back with

something really good soon.

REMEMBER : " To Play a Song Correctly, First Listen To it Correctly. "

Music Theory 1-Intervals

Well ive been on this site for some months and thought id contribute. So im gonna try start a music
theory section. In this 1st section im gonna start with Intervals. intervals are the basics to ur music
theory, so u better know em bfore u go further...k...lets start!

An interval describes the distance between two notes.

yp..thats it!......end of thread!!..sayonara!
...kidding   (do bear with me!!)

Types of intervals:
Perfect Intervals
Major intervals
Minor Intervals
Now an interval can be only one of the above, that is it can be perfect,major or minor. Not perfect and
minor etc.

Now dont u worry..ill be going over all of them.

Perfect Intervals:

Lets take a Cmajor scale=

C(1)--D(2)--E(3)-F(4)--G(5)--A(6)--B(7)-C(8).
(- indicates a half step,i.e a jump from say Cto C# or E to F)
The 1st note C is the root.
The 8th note which again is C is called the Octave.
The Root,4th,5th and the Octave are our Perfect Intervals.
The 4th note is called the Perfect Fourth and the 5th note is called the Perfect Fifth(ie. Perfect
4th w.r.t our root which is C in this case)

Thus we can see that 2 and a 1/2 half steps lead to a perfect fourth and then another 2 steps give u the
perfect 5th.
So u can get the Perfect 4ths and 5ths for any root note!

So the Perfect 4th of D is G,E is A, etc

and the Perfect 5th of D is A, E is B and so on.

Major and Minor Intervals:

In a major scale everything that isnt perfect is major!

So again in our Cmajor scale:
C(1)--D(2)--E(3)-F(4)--G(5)--A(6)--B(7)-C(8).
The 2nd(D),3rd(E),6th(A) and 7th(B) are all major.
Hence the are called Major 2nd,Major 3rd etc.
Hence the Major 2nd of C is D and so on.

And finally Minor Intervals: they are half a step behind Major intervals.
Thus the minor 2nd of C is Db, minor 3rd of C is Eb etc.
But beware, u cant say that the minor 3rd of C is D#. That is by rule.
While naming an interval we must include the basic interval note name

Thus u can now get the perfect,major and minor notes for any given root!...yay   

..well thats the end the first part.

We have got 2 alterations left which are known as Augmented and Diminished..ill be talking about them
after I take a little break!

Augmented And Diminished Intervals

Augmented and Diminished are alterations. 

Now dont worry if I dont make sense, go on reading.

Augmented and Diminished as an alteration to The perfect Interval:

Augmented raises by half step.

Diminished lowers by half step

Thats kinda like a theorem..so learn it by heart.

Now clearing it up with an example
Lets take our Cmajor scale again
C(Root) D(Major 2nd) E(Major 3rd) F(Perfect 4th) G(Perfect 5th) A(Major 6th) B(Major 7th)

Now our Augmented 4th will mean add half a step to the Perfect Fourth. Thus we have our perfect 4th F,
add a half step so we get F#.
And Diminished means lower by a half step, so our diminished 4th becomes Fb(F flat).
Now there may be one doubt..aint Fb=E?..so i shoud be able to right Diminished 4th from C =E?....No!!!!!!
We will only right it as an Fb(even though Fb may be E). This is by rule.
When naming intervals we always name them relative to the basic interval notes name
..its kinda like one of those mathematical axioms.
Augmented and Diminished as an alteration to the Major/Minor Interval:]

Augmented raises a major interval by half step whereas diminished lowers a minor interval(yes

minor not major) by half step.
Again from our C major scale:
C(Root) D(Major 2nd) E(Major 3rd) F(Perfect 4th) G(Perfect 5th) A(Major 6th) B(Major 7th)
major 2nd is D
minor 2nd is Db
augmented 2nd=half step+major 2nd=D#
diminished 2nd=minor second-half step=Dbb(yes D flat flat,not C)

Thats pretty much it.

Now there maybe one question lingering in your mind...why in the name of the holiest of holies should I
waste my time through such complicated stuff!!!??
Honestly..thats what I thought when i was going through this the first time.
The answer is simple..if u wanna learn how to construct chords(triads) and scales then u gotta first know
the above. theres no two ways, learning intervals is a must. So I suggest learn the stuff above. 

Possible Exercises:
Write the Perfect 4th,5th Major and Minor 2nds, augmented 4ths,2nds and diminished 4ths,2nds of the A
major scale.
The A major scale:
A B C# D E F# G

Major scale follows the relationship

Root W W H W W W H

where W = Whole step, H = Half step

So for Ab major scale (also written only as Ab with the major being implied), u'd have

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (or 1) 
WWHWWWH
Ab Bb C Db Eb F G Ab

U derive the Ab major chord by taking 1 3 and 5 of the major scale, in this case u get Ab C Eb, which is
what has already been explained.

Musicians use major scales as starting point to denote and derive chords, so u derive the Ab minor chord
by flatting the 3rd of the Ab major scale to get the Ab minor chord which would be Ab Cb Eb (read
bandbaaja and dennis other threads for more details - esp. on why u call it a Cb and not a B etc.).

Now the Ab minor scale is a whole different animal !! Won't go too deep into minor scales but let me say a
few things. There are 3 types of minor scales (already confused, yeah! that's why I won't go too deeply
into this + I am no expert in minor scale theory anyway).
1. Natural minor - built on the 6th note of the corresponding major scale. That's relatively (pun
intended !) easy to understand, the 6th note of the Ab major scale is "F" - voila, u can now build an F
minor scale just by following the same sequence of notes as the Ab major scale. The "relative" of the
relatively is highlighted bcos u say the F is the relative minor of Ab major.
So, u have

F minor scale (natural minor scale if u want to be precise), built on the relative major, would be

F G Ab Bb C Db Eb F

Note that the natural minor scale now has the relationship

"Minor Root" W H W W H W W (I think I saw ananth mention this in some thread - was it this same
thread?).

So, where does all of this mumbo jumbo leave the Ab minor scale (and u must be thinking why the heck
did this idiot jump into F minor scale when I was talking about Ab minor - well..., that digression is
important to understand the Ab minor scale, which I'll get to right below).

So, to get to the Ab minor scale, u can use the relationship above for minro scales and derive it. But if u
want to expand ur music theory and get to consistent understanding, the better approach (IMHO) is to
find the the relative major of Ab minor - its simple, u jump 1 1/2 step from Ab and get to Cb (go back and
re-read why its not B but Cb even though they are enharmonic) and voila again, Cb is the relative major
of Ab minor, u can check this by writing down the Cb major scale and noting that Ab falls into the 6th
degree of the Cb major scale.

SUMMARY
----------
Learn the major scale, use the 6th degree of the major scale and play the exact same notes as the major
scale but starting with the 6th note (or degree) and u get the corresponding natural minor scale. What u'll
note (no pun intended !) is
the natural minor scale doesn't belong to the same key or is not part of the major scale by the
same name, in this example, Ab minor scale belongs to the Cb major scale or uses the key
signature of Cb AND NOT Ab, in fact the F minor scale uses the same key signature as the Ab
major scale 

However, u still create the Ab minor chord from the Ab major scale by flatting the 3rd. 

Briefly, I'll just mention the other 2 types of minor scales (enuff already on the natural minor, so this u
can skip or get to some other time).
2. Harmonic
3. Melodic

This is a lot to digest, try to answer a simple question to see if u figured out all of this, what is the key
signature of E minor i.e. which major scale is E minor related to? 

And please all ya pros, correct me if I have said some nonsense above.