For Educational Purposes only. B natural is the third of the G7 in a minor ii-V-I. Do not get confused, since we are not saying that it is the harmonic minor scale of the fifth degree. Starting with The Tertian Chords of The Harmonic Minor Scale The lesson could not be displayed because JavaScript is disabled. Your email address will not be published. The harmonic minor scale has a very "Gothic" or "Medieval" sound which comes from the major seventh interval opposing the minor third. The harmonic minor scale (or Aeolian ♯7 scale) has the same notes as the natural minor scale except that the seventh degree is raised by one semitone, creating an augmented second between the sixth and seventh degrees. He graduated from The Royal Academy of Music in 2012 and then launched Hello Music Theory in 2014. The harmonic minor scale on C. Using The Harmonic Minor Scale In Melody. In addition, the dominant V7 is very easy to identify with the ear, especially in a context of a minor tonality. Bach to Surf Guitar pioneer Dick Dale (Check out the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack) to modern Progressive Fusion and Metal players.It’s also widely used in Flamenco and Shred Metal genres extensively.. I will here only briefly describe the natural minor scale, since you can have all the details of this scale in the lesson “How to form a natural minor scale“.First of all: why is the natural minor scale named as such? The harmonic minor scale and the natural minor scale (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) are pretty much the same expect the harmonic minor has raised it’s 7th by one semitone. Dan Farrant, the founder of Hello Music Theory, has been teaching music for over 10 years helping thousands of students unlock the joy of music. The harmonic minor scale is sometimes known as the Aeolian ♯7 scale. Harmonic Minor Scales overview A: A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, A A#/Bb: A#, C, C#, D#, F, F#, A, A# (theoretically correct is B#, E# and G## instead of C, F and A) / Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb, A, Bb The most common use of the harmonic minor scale presents itself in chord progressions in a minor key. Any C minor scale (natural, harmonic, or melodic) is a relative minor scale of E♭ major; Any C minor scale (natural, harmonic, or melodic) is a parallel minor scale of C major; So far we have only worked with natural minor scales; they always follow the “W H W W H W W” formula. These can be described as intervals, as semi-notes or steps on the guitar fingerboard from the first note to the next octave. Note: when we say “played on top of the V7 chord” it means that it is the harmonic minor scale of the first degree (Im7), only played when the V7 chord appears. To play a harmonic minor scale, you simply raise the seventh note of the scale by a half-step as you go up and down the scale. Harmonic minor scale in Different Keys There are a couple of ways I use to work out the Harmonic minor scale for a different key: Do the method described above which is to find the Major Scale, then the relative minor scale, then make the 7th note natural and not flat. Harmonic minor scale formula = W-H-W-W-H-A2-H Hopefully, you know that “W” stands for whole step and “H” for half step. The context in which the harmonic minor scale most often appears in solos, riffs or arrangements is when a V7 chord resolves in a minor chord. As you can see in the table on the right, instead of having a 7 like Natural Minor, it now has a 7 like the Major Scale. Master the minor pentatonic scale using the whole fretboard. Unlike major scales where there is just the one, there are a few different types of minor scales. To play a harmonic minor scale, you simply raise the seventh note of the natural minor scale by a half-step as you go up and down the scale. © Hello Music Theory 2020 | All rights reserved | Sitemap. They all have one thing in common which is they have a flattened third note of the scale. We tend to say that major scales have a ‘happier’ and ‘cheerier’ sound, whereas minor scales have The Formula of the Harmonic Minor scale. In this case, to use this scale on top of these chords, you would need to identify, for example, if the chord with the extension m7, let’s say Em7, is the fourth degree of the song (IVm7) as we see in the shape for this progression: For that, the song would need to be in B minor, so you could play the harmonic B minor scale at the time that this Em7 chord appears, because the associated key would be: However, if the song were in G major and the Em7 chord appeared, it would be the sixth degree (VIm7) that belongs to the major key, that is, it would not allow the use of the harmonic B minor scale over it (generically speaking). If you’ve never fooled around with harmonic minor before, you’ll be immediately taken with the exotic almost Spanish sound. Just think of the harmonic minor being used for it's harmonic functions. This is very important to know, as this is the chord progression that appears most in the songs when the subject is harmonic minor. Harmonic Minor The harmonic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale in only one way – the 7th scale degree is raised by half-step. I’ll be adding more details to this post soon so post any questions you have and I’ll do my best to answer. The only difference is that we raise the 7th note by a semitone (half step). The formula for forming a harmonic minor scale is W-H-W-W-H-W 1/2-H. (Whole step – half step – whole step – whole step – half step – whole step and a 1/2 step – half step.) The melodic minor scale, as it's name implies, is used mainly in melodic lines. Harmonic minor scale in Different Keys There are a couple of ways I use to work out the Harmonic minor scale for a different key: Do the method described above which is to find the Major Scale, then the relative minor scale, then make the 7th note natural and not flat. The “A2” is for the augmented 2nd interval between the 6th & 7th sale degrees. The harmonic minor scale can be derived two different ways. You could also notate that as m3 for minor 3rd or W+1/2 for a whole step plus a half step. For example: the notes of the A natural minor scale are exactly the same as the notes of the C major scale, the A natural minor scale only starts on the A instead … Thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions get in touch! In the major scale, the V→I movement creates a strong and decisive feel of resolution. In the Natural minor scale the V (5) chord is a minor chord (Gmin7, G Bb D F, in the key of C). If you’re studying an instrument then learning about the harmonic minor scale is definitely something you’ll need to do. I’m Dan and I run this website. Harmonic minor scale formula = W-H-W-W-H-A2-H. Hopefully, you know that “W” stands for whole step and “H” for half step. Why we use harmony from both Natural and Harmonic Minor – Natural Minor alone lacks essential jazz chords, like the V7 dominant. The A Harmonic Minor scale consists of seven notes. Harmonic Minor Scale The harmonic minor scale raises the 7th note of the natural minor scale by a half step and has the following scale formula: W – H – W – W – H – W+… 3 - Build an A minor scale. There is another way to discover the natural minor scale. The harmonic minor scale is interesting and dynamic-sounding. Often favoured in genres like heavy metal and jazz for its dark tones, harmonic minor scale guitar playing can help us add a darker element to our playing style, creating new moods that aren’t possible using just the minor scale. Download my free eBook with all my favourite music theory resources. How to use the harmonic minor scale. Conclusion Written as steps: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole and a half, half. The problem is that, in practice, the chords Im(M7), IIImaj7(#5) rarely appear, and the other chords with the extensions m7(b5), m7, 7, maj7, appear in numerous contexts, which makes the approach difficult, because it may be that these chords belong to another key that is not the harmonic minor. The “A2” is for the augmented 2nd interval between the 6th & 7th sale degrees. In this music theory video lesson, we will learn how to build the harmonic minor scale. Changing the 7th to a major 7th, transforms the scale into a Harmonic Minor scale. For example, if the E7 chord appears resolving in the Am chord, we would use the A minor harmonic scale at the time that E7 was being played. See the shape of the harmonic minor scale of A (the seventh major degree is highlighted in red) below: Try playing this scale repeatedly to feel the melody. The minor scale sort of sounds a bit like it can’t be used in a melodic context. We will not do this whole procedure again so as not to get boring. 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