Harmonic Minor Scale on Guitar

How to play the harmonic minor scale on guitar

Start where the scale rings most:
A harmonic minor with the open strings.

The harmonic minor scale (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7) sits well on the guitar. In A its notes are A B C D E F G#, and five of the six open strings belong to it, so you can play it in the first position with the open strings ringing.

Start with the open position in A, then the same idea in E, then the whole neck. Keep the root in your ear: play the open A string between phrases and let G#, the 7th, lean back into it.

A harmonic minor open position notes

With the root on the open 5th string, every open string except G is part of the scale. The open G is replaced by G# on the 1st fret of the 3rd string, and that G# is the leading tone that gives the scale its pull.

In the harmonic minor scale, 6th string (E): E open, F 1, G# 4
5th string (A): A open, B 2, C 3
4th string (D): D open, E 2, F 3
3rd string (G): G# 1, A 2, B 4
2nd string (B): B open, C 1, D 3
1st string (E): E open, F 1, G# 4

E harmonic minor open position notes

In E the notes are E F# G A B C D#. The open E, A, G, B and high E strings belong to the scale; the open D does not, because the scale has D#. The root moves to the open 6th string.

6th string (E): E open, F# 2, G 3
5th string (A): A open, B 2, C 3
4th string (D): D# 1, E 2, F# 4
3rd string (G): G open, A 2
2nd string (B): B open, C 1, D# 4
1st string (E): E open, F# 2, G 3

Harmonic minor on the guitar fretboard

Every note of A harmonic minor to the 12th fret:
find the roots first, then the shapes around them.

The map below shows every note of A harmonic minor from the open strings to the 12th fret. In the harmonic minor scale, from the 12th fret the whole pattern repeats one octave higher.

Find the roots first. In A they sit on the 6th string at the 5th fret, on the 5th string open and at the 12th fret, on the 4th string at the 7th fret, on the 3rd string at the 2nd fret, on the 2nd string at the 10th fret and on the 1st string at the 5th fret. Every shape you learn is built around these points.

Harmonic minor neck regions at a glance

Five regions of five frets each
hold every note of the scale in one hand position.

In the harmonic minor scale, the fretboard at the top of this page splits the neck into five regions of five frets: 0 to 4, 3 to 7, 5 to 9, 7 to 11 and 9 to 13. Each region holds every note of the harmonic minor scale in one hand position, from the 6th string to the 1st, each note once. In A the player opens on region 3, frets 5 to 9, with the root under the index finger on the 6th string.

Other systems divide the neck too: three notes per string gives seven even shapes for fast runs, the favourite of neoclassical players. The fixed regions give scales and chords one map: the harmonic minor chord player uses the same five regions, so a chord and its scale sit under the same hand.

Harmonic minor guitar chords: the harmonic field in A

Seven chords, one on each degree:
the major V and the diminished vii° are what make it harmonic.

The harmonic minor harmonic field has seven chords. In A the triads are Am, Bdim, C+, Dm, E, F and G#dim, and the seventh chords are Am(maj7), Bm7b5, Cmaj7#5, Dm7, E7, Fmaj7 and G#dim7. Every shape on the chords page was checked note by note.

Harmonic minor triads in A

i, Am: the home chord, minor.
ii°, Bdim: B D F, the minor ii V i starts here.
bIII+, C+: C E G#, the augmented chord no major or natural minor key has.
iv, Dm: the minor subdominant.
V, E: major thanks to G#, the chord that pulls back to Am.
bVI, F: a major chord a half step above the 5th.
vii°, G#dim: G# B D, three notes of E7, so it pulls to Am too.

Harmonic minor seventh chords in A

Adding a seventh to each triad gives Am(maj7), Bm7b5, Cmaj7#5, Dm7, E7, Fmaj7 and G#dim7. E7 is the chord the scale is most often played over. Am(maj7), the minor chord with a major 7th, is the sound of film noir and spy themes, and G#dim7 is symmetrical: the same shape moved up three frets gives the same chord.

Harmonic minor cadences: E to Am and Bm7b5 E7 Am

Two moves carry most of the sound. The perfect cadence E to Am, where G# rises a half step to A. Then the minor ii V i, Bm7b5 E7 Am, the jazz and bossa cadence of every minor key. For a classical touch, play Dm E Am, the iv V i.

Harmonic minor in neoclassical and classical guitar

Two worlds built on the same seven notes:
the concert hall and the high-gain amplifier.

Neoclassical metal players use the scale for fast runs, sweep-picked arpeggios of Am and E, and pedal tones on the open strings, often switching to Phrygian dominant over the V chord. Classical guitarists meet it in every minor-key piece, in the leading tone that ends each cadence and in arpeggio studies over i, iv and V.

Classical and neoclassical guitar techniques for harmonic minor

Five techniques bring the scale to life,
from the right-hand fingers to the pick.

Scale runs (i m): index and middle alternating, every note clear and even.
Tremolo: the thumb on the bass and a m i repeating the melody note.
Arpeggios: p i m a over the i and V chords.
Alternate picking: down and up strokes for three-notes-per-string runs.
Sweep picking: one stroke through an arpeggio, for Am and E shapes.

Harmonic minor guitar practice path

Follow the steps in order:
each one has its own page with diagrams, tab and a player.

1. Open position in A, slowly, against the open A string.
2. The same in E, against the low E string.
3. The harmonic minor scale on one string, from the open string to the 12th fret.
4. The roots across the neck, then the five regions.
5. The seven chords and the E to Am cadence.
6. Arpeggios of Am and E7, then licks and improvisation over the backing tracks.