A flat harmonic minor scale

A flat harmonic minor scale uses the notes A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F♭ and G. Counted from A♭, its formula is 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7, and the distance between neighbouring notes follows the pattern W H W W H W+H H.

Notes, formula and steps

Read from the root, the A flat harmonic minor scale contains root (A♭), major 2nd (B♭), minor 3rd (C♭), perfect 4th (D♭), perfect 5th (E♭), minor 6th (F♭) and major 7th (G). The step pattern W H W W H W+H H (W = whole step, H = half step, W+H = a step and a half) is the same for every harmonic minor scale, so you can rebuild it from any note. This scale has 6 flats: A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭ and F♭.

How to play the A flat harmonic minor scale on piano

Start on A♭ and play A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F♭ and G going up, then come back down. Say the note names out loud while you play: it links the sound, the keys and the names. Practise hands separately first, slowly with the metronome, then speed up.

How to play the A flat harmonic minor scale on guitar

On guitar, the root A♭ sits at fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string. Start from one of these roots and play the notes of the fretboard map above in order, one string after another. The whole-neck view shows every place the A flat harmonic minor scale appears, so you can connect the positions instead of staying in one box.

Chords in the A flat harmonic minor scale

Stacking every other note of the scale gives one chord per degree: A♭m, B♭dim, C♭aug, D♭m, E♭, F♭ and Gdim. These are the chords you can combine to write a progression that stays in the A flat harmonic minor scale.

Relative and parallel scales

The A flat harmonic minor scale is a close variant of the A flat natural minor scale: same root and most of the same notes, with one or two altered degrees that give it its own colour. Its parallel scale, on the same root, is the A flat major scale. Moving between them is a classic way to change colour without changing key.

About the harmonic minor scale

The natural minor with a raised 7th: dark, intense, with an exotic flavour that evokes the Middle East, flamenco or neoclassical metal. Its signature sound is the step and a half between the ♭6 and the 7, plus the leading tone a semitone below the root, which pulls hard towards the tonic and makes every cadence sound decisive.

It exists to give minor keys a major V chord: V7 to i (for example E7 to Am). Play it over that V7, over i and iv, and over the vii°7 chord. Classical music, flamenco, neoclassical metal, klezmer and Eastern European folk all use it, and its 5th mode (Phrygian dominant) colours countless flamenco and metal riffs.

On guitar, take your natural minor positions and raise the 7th by one fret, then repeat the 1½-step jump between the ♭6 and the 7 until it sits under the fingers. On piano, play it over a i iv V7 i progression in the left hand. Sing the ♭6, 7, root line slowly: it is the scale's fingerprint and the key to its phrasing.

Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7, steps W H W W H W+H H. Only one note differs from the natural minor: the raised 7th. Harmonised in sevenths, the harmonic minor gives im(maj7), iiø7, ♭IIImaj7♯5, ivm7, V7, ♭VImaj7 and vii°7, which is where the dominant V7 and the diminished seventh chord of a minor key come from.

Related

• A flat natural minor scale
• A flat major scale
• A flat minor pentatonic scale
• A flat major pentatonic scale
• A flat blues scale
• A flat Dorian mode
• A flat Mixolydian mode
• E flat harmonic minor scale
• A♭m
• A♭sus2
• A♭sus4

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