Harmonic Minor Guitar Scale Diagramsīelow is a selection of harmonic minor guitar scale diagrams: Harmonic Minor Scale Harmonic Minor Scale 2 Harmonic Minor Scale 3 Harmonic Minor Scale 4 Harmonic Minor Scale 5 Harmonic and Melodic Minor Scales All of the scales above are natural. One interesting feature of the harmonic major scale is that it shares the chromatic note implied by its relative minor (if also in harmonic form). To change an Am to an A chord you have to raise that C note to a C. Each minor key shares a key signature with a major key. In key of D minor the 7th note is a C note and the 5th chord in the key of D minor is Am that contains the C note however, it is super cool to change that 5th chord from Am to an A major chord. For example, the notes in a one octave A natural minor scale are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A, whereas the notes in an A harmonic minor scale are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, A, despite there being no G# in the key signature (the key of A minor has no sharps or flats). The harmonic minor scale is best thought of as a theoretical construct to describe how some composers deal with composing in minor keys. The Harmonic Minor scale is simply a D minor scale with a raised 7th note. This is because when writing music in a minor key, composers of the day would generally harmonise their lead lines using notes from the harmonic minor (rather than the natural or melodic minor scales) – which is how it acquired its name.Ĭompared to natural minor scales (also known as Aeolian modal scales), which have no additional accidentals (sharps or flats) to those already in their key signatures, the seventh degrees of harmonic minor scales are raised by a semitone. If you play a harmonic minor scale on the guitar unaccompanied what you hear may be reminiscent of classical music, particularly that from the Baroque period. All styles of music use minor scales to produce melodies, riffs, and chord progressions.

Minor scales are as old as Western music itself. The Harmonic minor scale is played starting from hole 4 blow.

The harmonic minor scale is so named because, particularly in baroque and classical times, it was this scale, rather than (for example) a natural minor or melodic minor scale, which would have been used to harmonise music in a minor key. Minor Scale Guide: Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic Minor Scales. The left column represents the key of the harmonica, labeled in 1st Position. The harmonic minor scale is one of several minor guitar scales that can be used in improvisation.