A Harmonic Minor Scale on guitar
The harmonic minor scale has a distinct "exotic" or classical sound, famously used in neoclassical metal and flamenco music. It's a natural minor scale with a raised 7th.
The notes of A Harmonic Minor Scale
Built on A, the scale degrees spell out like this. The degree is the number you would call that note relative to A:
RiffRoute writes every accidental as a sharp. A sharp and the flat above it are the same fret, so A♯ is B♭ and so on.
Where it lands on the fretboard
Every fret from the open string up to the 12th that belongs to the A Harmonic Minor Scale, string by string. Root notes are highlighted.
- Low E: 0, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
- A: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12
- D: 0, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12
- G: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10
- B: 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12
- High E: 0, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12
Your anchor points: A is at fret 5 on the low E string and fret 0 on the A string. Start every pattern from one of those and you always know where home is.
The big leap between the 6th and 7th notes gives this scale its unique flavor. Try it in A minor!
Chords that fit
These chords from RiffRoute's library use only notes inside the A Harmonic Minor Scale, so they will not clash with it:
- E Major
- F Major
- A Minor
- D Minor
- E Dominant 7th
- E Power Chord
- A Power Chord
- D Power Chord
- D Suspended 2nd
- A Suspended 2nd
Same notes, different home
These scales contain exactly the same notes as the A Harmonic Minor Scale. The fretboard pattern is identical — what changes is which note you treat as home:
Other A scales
Same starting note, different colour. Switching between these over one A chord is the quickest way to hear what each scale does:
- A Major Scale
- A Natural Minor Scale
- A Major Pentatonic Scale
- A Minor Pentatonic Scale
- A Blues Scale
- A Mixolydian Mode
The Harmonic Minor scale in other keys
Practise it in the app
A list of frets only gets you so far. RiffRoute shows the A Harmonic Minor Scale lit up on a full fretboard, plays it back and lets you practise it against a backing track.